diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/commands/project_commands.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/commands/project_commands.rs
index 564012f..4768638 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/commands/project_commands.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/commands/project_commands.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ use tauri::{Emitter, State};
 
 use crate::commands::aws_commands;
 use crate::docker;
-use crate::models::{container_config, AppSettings, Backend, BedrockAuthMethod, Project, ProjectPath, ProjectStatus};
+use crate::models::{container_config, AppSettings, Backend, BedrockAuthMethod, Project, ProjectPath, ProjectRemovalReport, ProjectResetOutcome, ProjectStatus};
 use crate::storage::secure;
 use crate::AppState;
 
@@ -696,7 +696,7 @@ pub async fn add_project(
 pub async fn remove_project(
     project_id: String,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
-) -> Result<(), String> {
+) -> Result<ProjectRemovalReport, String> {
     // **H-2: the only writer of these three categories that held nothing.**
     // This purges migration artifacts, removes `triple-c-snapshot-{id}` and
     // both named volumes — and a compaction resolves that same tag when its
@@ -722,12 +722,76 @@ pub async fn remove_project(
     // holding an entire snapshot image that nothing will ever reference again.
     crate::commands::migration_commands::purge_migration_artifacts(&project_id).await;
 
-    // Stop and remove container if it exists
-    if let Some(ref project) = state.projects_store.get(&project_id) {
-        if let Some(ref container_id) = project.container_id {
-            state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(container_id).await;
+    // Stop and remove container if it exists. Everything named in `report`
+    // below is what will be unreachable the moment this function drops the
+    // project record — see [`ProjectRemovalReport`] and
+    // `storage::pending_cleanup`, which is what makes it reachable anyway.
+    let mut report = ProjectRemovalReport::default();
+    let existing_project = state.projects_store.get(&project_id);
+
+    if let Some(ref project) = existing_project {
+        // Resolved via `find_existing_container` unconditionally rather than
+        // trusting `project.container_id` — that field can be *stale*, not
+        // just absent: `start_project_container_locked`'s recreate path
+        // removes the old container, creates a new one, and does not persist
+        // the new id until after `start_container` succeeds, so a start
+        // failure in between (a missing `/dev/net/tun`, an image that exits
+        // immediately) leaves the stored id pointing at a container that no
+        // longer exists while a live one sits under the same deterministic
+        // name. Removing by a stale id then 404s — success as far as Docker
+        // is concerned — while the real container survives to block every
+        // subsequent volume removal with a 409, with nothing in the report
+        // ever naming it. `find_existing_container` is what every other
+        // destroyer of a project's container already resolves through
+        // (`start_project_container`, migration's recreate paths) for this
+        // exact reason.
+        //
+        // A `Docker unreachable` error here is treated as "assume a
+        // container is still there" rather than "assume none is", matching
+        // `remove_volumes_by_name`'s fail-closed handling of the same
+        // situation — the alternative silently drops the one resource most
+        // likely to block everything else if it does exist.
+        //
+        // Exec sessions are closed for `project.container_id` unconditionally,
+        // before the lookup above and regardless of whether it succeeds —
+        // that is host-side state with no Docker dependency, so it must not
+        // wait on a daemon that might not answer. Resolving through
+        // `find_existing_container` instead of using it directly would leave
+        // these open in exactly the two cases this whole change exists to
+        // handle: Docker unreachable (no id resolved, no way to ever close
+        // them again once the project record is gone) and the stale-id race
+        // (sessions were opened against the container that actually exists,
+        // which is what gets resolved below, not the stored id).
+        if let Some(ref stored_id) = project.container_id {
+            state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(stored_id).await;
+        }
+        let container_ref = match docker::find_existing_container(project).await {
+            Ok(found) => found,
+            Err(e) => {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "Could not check for an existing container for project {}: {}",
+                    project_id, e
+                );
+                report.container = Some(project.container_name());
+                None
+            }
+        };
+        if let Some(ref container_id) = container_ref {
+            if project.container_id.as_deref() != Some(container_id.as_str()) {
+                state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(container_id).await;
+            }
             let _ = docker::stop_container(container_id).await;
-            let _ = docker::remove_container(container_id).await;
+            if let Err(e) = docker::remove_container(container_id).await {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "Failed to remove container {} for project {}: {}",
+                    container_id, project_id, e
+                );
+                // Recorded by name, not id: the name is the stable handle a
+                // later retry can still resolve (Docker's remove-container
+                // call accepts either), and it is what `container_ref` above
+                // falls back to finding in the first place.
+                report.container = Some(project.container_name());
+            }
         }
 
         // Legacy MCP cleanup (pre-MCP-removal installs): drop any leftover MCP
@@ -738,10 +802,9 @@ pub async fn remove_project(
         // Clean up the snapshot image + volumes
         if let Err(e) = docker::remove_snapshot_image(project).await {
             log::warn!("Failed to remove snapshot image for project {}: {}", project_id, e);
+            report.image = Some(docker::get_snapshot_image_name(project));
         }
-        if let Err(e) = docker::remove_project_volumes(project).await {
-            log::warn!("Failed to remove project volumes for project {}: {}", project_id, e);
-        }
+        report.volumes = docker::remove_project_volumes(project).await;
     }
 
     // Clean up keychain secrets for this project
@@ -749,7 +812,216 @@ pub async fn remove_project(
         log::warn!("Failed to delete keychain secrets for project {}: {}", project_id, e);
     }
 
-    state.projects_store.remove(&project_id)
+    if !report.is_clean() {
+        let record = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::PendingCleanup {
+            project_id: project_id.clone(),
+            project_name: existing_project.map(|p| p.name).unwrap_or_default(),
+            container_id: report.container.clone(),
+            image: report.image.clone(),
+            volumes: report.volumes.clone(),
+            recorded_at: chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
+        };
+        match crate::storage::pending_cleanup::save(&record) {
+            Ok(()) => {
+                report.retry_scheduled = true;
+                log::warn!(
+                    "Project {} removed; could not confirm these Docker resources were removed: \
+                     {:?} — recorded for automatic retry on next launch",
+                    project_id, report
+                );
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                report.retry_scheduled = false;
+                log::error!(
+                    "Project {} removed; could not confirm these Docker resources were removed \
+                     ({:?}), and the pending-cleanup record could not be written ({}) — nothing \
+                     will retry removing them",
+                    project_id, report, e
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // The pending-cleanup record above must not outlive the project record it
+    // describes: if the store's own write fails (full disk, permissions) the
+    // project is still on disk and will reload on the next launch, but the
+    // record would tell startup housekeeping to delete its container and
+    // volumes out from under it. Roll the record back rather than leaving
+    // that mismatch for the retry to discover the hard way.
+    //
+    // This is a second, narrower line of defence, not the only one — a crash
+    // between the `save` above and the `remove` below leaves exactly the same
+    // mismatch with no error for either side to catch, which is why
+    // `retry_pending_cleanup_logged` also refuses to act on a record whose
+    // project is still listed in `projects.json`. Belt and suspenders: a
+    // caught failure here is handled immediately rather than waiting for the
+    // next launch to notice.
+    if let Err(e) = state.projects_store.remove(&project_id) {
+        if !report.is_clean() {
+            if let Err(clear_err) = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::clear(&project_id) {
+                log::error!(
+                    "Project {} was not removed ({}), and its pending-cleanup record could not \
+                     be rolled back either ({}) — it will name this still-live project until \
+                     startup housekeeping's own guard clears it",
+                    project_id, e, clear_err
+                );
+            }
+        }
+        return Err(e);
+    }
+    Ok(report)
+}
+
+/// Retry every pending-cleanup record left behind by a [`remove_project`]
+/// that could not finish. Run once at startup alongside the other reapers
+/// (see `lib.rs`'s "Startup disk housekeeping" block) — never on a timer and
+/// never blocking anything, since a locked volume or an in-use image can sit
+/// unresolved for an arbitrary amount of time and the daemon may not even be
+/// up yet.
+///
+/// Not a `#[tauri::command]`: nothing in the UI surfaces this list yet
+/// (deliberately — see `SnapshotSweepReport`'s doc comment for the same
+/// reasoning), so there is no IPC contract to keep. A record that still has
+/// leftovers after this is written back so the next run does not lose track
+/// of what changed; one that is now empty is deleted.
+///
+/// Takes the `ProjectsStore` so it can refuse to touch a project that is
+/// still live: `remove_project` writes a pending-cleanup record durably
+/// (fsync'd) *before* it asks the store to drop the project, and that
+/// store write is a plain `fs::write` with no fsync of its own. A crash or
+/// power loss in the gap between the two — or the store write failing
+/// outright, on top of the round-2 fix that only rolls the record back when
+/// that failure is caught in-process — can leave a record on disk pointing
+/// at a project `projects.json` still lists. Without this check, the very
+/// first retry after such a crash deletes that project's container,
+/// snapshot image and *both volumes, including the one holding the OAuth
+/// credential and every session transcript*, out from under a project the
+/// user still sees in the sidebar. A record whose project still exists is
+/// therefore always stale — cleared without touching Docker, not retried.
+pub async fn retry_pending_cleanup_logged(projects_store: &crate::storage::projects_store::ProjectsStore) {
+    let records = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::list();
+    if records.is_empty() {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let mut cleaned = 0usize;
+    let mut still_pending = 0usize;
+
+    for mut record in records {
+        if projects_store.get(&record.project_id).is_some() {
+            log::warn!(
+                "Pending cleanup record for project {} ({}) names a project that still exists — \
+                 clearing the record without touching Docker rather than risk deleting a live \
+                 project's resources",
+                record.project_id, record.project_name
+            );
+            if let Err(e) = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::clear(&record.project_id) {
+                log::error!(
+                    "Could not clear the stale pending-cleanup record for still-live project {} \
+                     ({}): {}",
+                    record.project_id, record.project_name, e
+                );
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if let Some(container_id) = record.container_id.take() {
+            match docker::remove_container(&container_id).await {
+                Ok(()) => {}
+                Err(e) => {
+                    log::warn!(
+                        "Pending cleanup: still could not remove container {} for project {} \
+                         ({}): {}",
+                        container_id, record.project_id, record.project_name, e
+                    );
+                    record.container_id = Some(container_id);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if let Some(image) = record.image.take() {
+            match docker::remove_image_by_name(&image).await {
+                Ok(()) => {}
+                Err(e) => {
+                    log::warn!(
+                        "Pending cleanup: still could not remove image {} for project {} ({}): {}",
+                        image, record.project_id, record.project_name, e
+                    );
+                    record.image = Some(image);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if !record.volumes.is_empty() {
+            record.volumes = docker::remove_volumes_by_name(&record.volumes).await;
+        }
+
+        if record.is_empty() {
+            if let Err(e) = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::clear(&record.project_id) {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "Pending cleanup for project {} ({}) finished but the record could not be \
+                     deleted: {}",
+                    record.project_id, record.project_name, e
+                );
+            }
+            cleaned += 1;
+        } else {
+            still_pending += 1;
+            // `recorded_at` is otherwise write-only — nothing read it back,
+            // which is exactly the shape `storage::migration_store` calls out
+            // as a bug in its own history ("nothing ever removed them"). A
+            // record that has failed every retry for a week is no longer
+            // routine: escalate the log level so it is not indistinguishable
+            // from one seen for the first time.
+            match pending_cleanup_is_stale(&record.recorded_at, chrono::Utc::now()) {
+                Some(true) => {
+                    log::error!(
+                        "Pending cleanup for project {} ({}) has not succeeded in over {} \
+                         days: {:?} — this may need a manual `docker volume rm` / \
+                         `docker rmi` / `docker rm`",
+                        record.project_id, record.project_name, PENDING_CLEANUP_STALE_AFTER_DAYS, record
+                    );
+                }
+                Some(false) => {}
+                // Silent otherwise would mean a record with a corrupted
+                // timestamp never escalates and nothing says why.
+                None => log::debug!(
+                    "Pending cleanup record for project {} ({}) has an unreadable recorded_at \
+                     ({:?}) — its age cannot be tracked",
+                    record.project_id, record.project_name, record.recorded_at
+                ),
+            }
+            if let Err(e) = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::save(&record) {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "Could not update pending cleanup record for project {} ({}): {}",
+                    record.project_id, record.project_name, e
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    log::info!(
+        "Pending cleanup retry: {} project(s) fully cleaned up, {} still have leftovers",
+        cleaned, still_pending
+    );
+}
+
+/// After this many days of a pending-cleanup record failing every retry,
+/// `retry_pending_cleanup_logged` escalates its log line from `warn` to
+/// `error` — see the comment at its call site.
+const PENDING_CLEANUP_STALE_AFTER_DAYS: i64 = 7;
+
+/// Whether a pending-cleanup record's `recorded_at` is older than
+/// [`PENDING_CLEANUP_STALE_AFTER_DAYS`], measured against `now`. `None` means
+/// the timestamp could not be parsed at all — a corrupted or (hypothetically)
+/// hand-edited record — which callers must not silently treat as "not stale"
+/// without saying why. `now` is a parameter rather than read internally so
+/// this is testable without a live clock.
+fn pending_cleanup_is_stale(recorded_at: &str, now: chrono::DateTime<chrono::Utc>) -> Option<bool> {
+    let recorded = chrono::DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(recorded_at)
+        .ok()?
+        .with_timezone(&chrono::Utc);
+    Some(now.signed_duration_since(recorded) > chrono::Duration::days(PENDING_CLEANUP_STALE_AFTER_DAYS))
 }
 
 #[tauri::command]
@@ -1226,7 +1498,7 @@ pub async fn rebuild_project_container(
     project_id: String,
     app_handle: tauri::AppHandle,
     state: State<'_, AppState>,
-) -> Result<Project, String> {
+) -> Result<ProjectResetOutcome, String> {
     // Reset deletes both volumes and the snapshot image. Doing that while a
     // migration is mid-flight pulls the ground out from under it and leaves an
     // orphan migration record pointing at images that no longer exist — and
@@ -1253,25 +1525,58 @@ pub async fn rebuild_project_container(
     // `start_project_container` below re-arms it against the new one.
     state.auth_bridge.stop(&project_id).await;
 
-    // Remove existing container
-    if let Some(ref container_id) = project.container_id {
-        state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(container_id).await;
+    // Remove existing container. Resolved via `find_existing_container`
+    // unconditionally, not `project.container_id` — see the long comment in
+    // `remove_project` for why that field can be stale, not just absent. A
+    // container this misses blocks the volume removal immediately below with
+    // a 409, and Reset silently keeping the old volumes is exactly the bug
+    // this whole change is closing. Unlike `remove_project`'s best-effort
+    // handling of the same lookup failing, `?` here aborts Reset outright:
+    // every step after this one needs Docker too, so there is no useful
+    // partial progress to make without it.
+    // Closed for the stored id unconditionally, then again for the resolved
+    // one if it differs — see the matching comment in `remove_project` for
+    // why the stale-id race can leave sessions open under either identity.
+    if let Some(ref stored_id) = project.container_id {
+        state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(stored_id).await;
+    }
+    let container_ref = docker::find_existing_container(&project).await?;
+    if let Some(ref container_id) = container_ref {
+        if project.container_id.as_deref() != Some(container_id.as_str()) {
+            state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(container_id).await;
+        }
         let _ = docker::stop_container(container_id).await;
         docker::remove_container(container_id).await?;
         state.projects_store.set_container_id(&project_id, None)?;
     }
 
-    // Remove snapshot image + volumes so Reset creates from the clean base image
+    // Remove snapshot image + volumes so Reset creates from the clean base
+    // image. Both leftovers are surfaced, not just logged — an image that
+    // survives is the more serious of the two, since
+    // `start_project_container_locked` below builds from
+    // `triple-c-snapshot-{id}:latest` whenever it exists, so a leftover image
+    // means Reset silently rebuilds the exact system layer it promised to
+    // discard. No pending-cleanup record for either: unlike `remove_project`,
+    // Reset keeps the project record, so a later Reset attempt can retry
+    // these itself rather than needing startup housekeeping to do it.
+    let mut leftover_image = None;
     if let Err(e) = docker::remove_snapshot_image(&project).await {
         log::warn!("Failed to remove snapshot image for project {}: {}", project_id, e);
+        leftover_image = Some(docker::get_snapshot_image_name(&project));
     }
-    if let Err(e) = docker::remove_project_volumes(&project).await {
-        log::warn!("Failed to remove project volumes for project {}: {}", project_id, e);
+    let leftover_volumes = docker::remove_project_volumes(&project).await;
+    if leftover_image.is_some() || !leftover_volumes.is_empty() {
+        log::warn!(
+            "Reset for project {} could not fully clean up — image: {:?}, volumes: {:?} — the \
+             new container may be built from, or reuse, old contents instead of starting clean",
+            project_id, leftover_image, leftover_volumes
+        );
     }
 
     // Start fresh. The locked variant, because `_guard` above is this project's
     // claim and the public command would be refused by it.
-    start_project_container_locked(project_id, app_handle, state).await
+    let project = start_project_container_locked(project_id, app_handle, state).await?;
+    Ok(ProjectResetOutcome { project, leftover_image, leftover_volumes })
 }
 
 /// Reconcile project statuses against actual Docker container state.
@@ -1379,6 +1684,54 @@ fn default_docker_socket() -> String {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    // ── Pending-cleanup aging ────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_record_younger_than_the_threshold_is_not_stale() {
+        let now = "2026-08-25T00:00:00Z".parse().unwrap();
+        let recorded_at = "2026-08-19T00:00:00Z"; // 6 days before `now`
+        assert_eq!(pending_cleanup_is_stale(recorded_at, now), Some(false));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_record_exactly_at_the_threshold_is_not_yet_stale() {
+        let now = "2026-08-25T00:00:00Z".parse().unwrap();
+        let recorded_at = "2026-08-18T00:00:00Z"; // exactly 7 days before `now`
+        assert_eq!(
+            pending_cleanup_is_stale(recorded_at, now),
+            Some(false),
+            "the boundary itself must not already read as stale"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_record_older_than_the_threshold_is_stale() {
+        let now = "2026-08-25T00:00:00Z".parse().unwrap();
+        let recorded_at = "2026-08-17T00:00:00Z"; // 8 days before `now`
+        assert_eq!(pending_cleanup_is_stale(recorded_at, now), Some(true));
+    }
+
+    /// A clock that ran fast when the record was written leaves a timestamp
+    /// in the future. This must read as "not stale" rather than underflow or
+    /// panic — `signed_duration_since` returns a negative `Duration` here,
+    /// which compares less than any positive threshold correctly.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_timestamp_in_the_future_is_not_stale() {
+        let now = "2026-08-25T00:00:00Z".parse().unwrap();
+        let recorded_at = "2026-08-26T00:00:00Z"; // one day after `now`
+        assert_eq!(pending_cleanup_is_stale(recorded_at, now), Some(false));
+    }
+
+    /// A corrupted or hand-edited `recorded_at` must not silently read as
+    /// "not stale" through some default — callers need to be able to tell
+    /// "definitely not stale" apart from "cannot tell".
+    #[test]
+    fn an_unparseable_recorded_at_reports_unknown_rather_than_not_stale() {
+        let now = "2026-08-25T00:00:00Z".parse().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(pending_cleanup_is_stale("not a timestamp", now), None);
+        assert_eq!(pending_cleanup_is_stale("", now), None);
+    }
+
     fn path(host: &str, mount: &str) -> ProjectPath {
         ProjectPath {
             host_path: host.to_string(),
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/docker/container.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/docker/container.rs
index a48cf72..038e837 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/docker/container.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/docker/container.rs
@@ -1935,7 +1935,7 @@ pub async fn remove_container(container_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
         "Removing container {} (v=false: named volumes such as claude config are preserved)",
         container_id
     );
-    docker
+    match docker
         .remove_container(
             container_id,
             Some(RemoveContainerOptions {
@@ -1945,7 +1945,17 @@ pub async fn remove_container(container_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
             }),
         )
         .await
-        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to remove container: {}", e))
+    {
+        Ok(()) => Ok(()),
+        // Already gone is the outcome this call wants, not a failure — a
+        // caller retrying a leftover from a previous, partially-failed removal
+        // (see `remove_project`) must not be told it failed forever just
+        // because a *different* attempt already succeeded.
+        Err(bollard::errors::Error::DockerResponseServerError {
+            status_code: 404, ..
+        }) => Ok(()),
+        Err(e) => Err(format!("Failed to remove container: {}", e)),
+    }
 }
 
 /// Return the snapshot image name for a project.
@@ -3496,13 +3506,27 @@ async fn rewrite_image_without_secrets(
 }
 
 /// Remove the snapshot image for a project (used on Reset / project removal).
+///
+/// A project that never started never built a snapshot, so "no such image" is
+/// the ordinary case, not a failure — it is treated the same as success and
+/// logged at most at `info`. A real failure (the image is in use, a
+/// permission error, the daemon dropped the connection) is the one thing this
+/// returns `Err` for, and callers must not throw that away: see the
+/// `remove_project` doc comment on `ProjectRemovalReport` for why an
+/// unreported failure here used to make the resource unreachable forever.
 pub async fn remove_snapshot_image(project: &Project) -> Result<(), String> {
-    let docker = get_docker()?;
-    let image_name = get_snapshot_image_name(project);
+    remove_image_by_name(&get_snapshot_image_name(project)).await
+}
 
-    docker
+/// Remove a Docker image by name/tag, treating "does not exist" as success.
+/// Shared by [`remove_snapshot_image`] and the pending-cleanup retry, which
+/// only has the image name (the project record is already gone by then).
+pub async fn remove_image_by_name(image_name: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let docker = get_docker()?;
+
+    match docker
         .remove_image(
-            &image_name,
+            image_name,
             Some(RemoveImageOptions {
                 force: true,
                 noprune: false,
@@ -3510,25 +3534,91 @@ pub async fn remove_snapshot_image(project: &Project) -> Result<(), String> {
             None,
         )
         .await
-        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to remove snapshot image {}: {}", image_name, e))?;
-
-    log::info!("Removed snapshot image {}", image_name);
-    Ok(())
+    {
+        Ok(_) => {
+            log::info!("Removed snapshot image {}", image_name);
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        Err(bollard::errors::Error::DockerResponseServerError {
+            status_code: 404, ..
+        }) => Ok(()),
+        Err(e) => Err(format!("Failed to remove snapshot image {}: {}", image_name, e)),
+    }
 }
 
 /// Remove both named volumes for a project (used on Reset / project removal).
-pub async fn remove_project_volumes(project: &Project) -> Result<(), String> {
-    let docker = get_docker()?;
-    for vol in [
+///
+/// Returns the names of volumes that still exist afterwards — empty means
+/// both are gone (removed here, or never created). This used to always
+/// return `Ok(())` regardless of what actually happened, which made the
+/// `if let Err(e)` at every call site unreachable by construction; see
+/// triple-c#31. A volume Docker reports as simply not existing is not a
+/// leftover and is not included.
+pub async fn remove_project_volumes(project: &Project) -> Vec<String> {
+    remove_volumes_by_name(&[
         home_volume_name(&project.id),
         config_volume_name(&project.id),
-    ] {
-        match docker.remove_volume(&vol, None).await {
+    ])
+    .await
+}
+
+/// Remove a set of named volumes, treating "does not exist" as success.
+/// Returns the names that still exist afterwards — empty means every one is
+/// gone (removed here, or never created).
+///
+/// Shared by [`remove_project_volumes`] and the pending-cleanup retry, the
+/// latter calling this with whatever the former could not remove the first
+/// time. Used to always report success regardless of what actually happened,
+/// which made every `if let Err(e)` at its call sites unreachable by
+/// construction; see triple-c#31.
+pub async fn remove_volumes_by_name(names: &[String]) -> Vec<String> {
+    let docker = match get_docker() {
+        Ok(d) => d,
+        Err(e) => {
+            // Can't reach the daemon to even try, so nothing here can be
+            // confirmed removed. Reporting all as leftover is the safe
+            // direction: worst case a later retry finds them already gone.
+            log::warn!("Could not remove volumes {:?}: {}", names, e);
+            return names.to_vec();
+        }
+    };
+
+    let mut leftover = Vec::new();
+    for vol in names {
+        match remove_one_volume_with_retry(&docker, vol).await {
             Ok(_) => log::info!("Removed volume {}", vol),
-            Err(e) => log::warn!("Failed to remove volume {} (may not exist): {}", vol, e),
+            Err(bollard::errors::Error::DockerResponseServerError {
+                status_code: 404, ..
+            }) => {}
+            Err(e) => {
+                log::warn!("Failed to remove volume {}: {}", vol, e);
+                leftover.push(vol.clone());
+            }
         }
     }
-    Ok(())
+    leftover
+}
+
+/// Remove one volume, retrying once after a short delay on a 409 ("volume is
+/// in use"). Docker releasing a volume's mount reference after the container
+/// using it is removed is not always instantaneous, so the very first call
+/// site of this — `remove_project`, whose container removal lands
+/// immediately before its volume removal — could otherwise turn an ordinary
+/// race into a permanent pending-cleanup record and an alarming toast for
+/// something that would have cleared itself half a second later.
+async fn remove_one_volume_with_retry(
+    docker: &bollard::Docker,
+    name: &str,
+) -> Result<(), bollard::errors::Error> {
+    match docker.remove_volume(name, None).await {
+        Err(bollard::errors::Error::DockerResponseServerError {
+            status_code: 409, ..
+        }) => {
+            tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(500)).await;
+            docker.remove_volume(name, None).await
+        }
+        other => other,
+    }
 }
 
 /// Check whether the existing container's configuration still matches the
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 24b6bae..2bbe8f1 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -250,6 +250,7 @@ pub fn run() {
             // an image open and the sweep will not force; pins are untagged
             // second so the images they were holding are dangling by the time
             // the sweep lists them; the sweep runs last and collects both.
+            let projects_store_for_cleanup = projects_store_setup.clone();
             tauri::async_runtime::spawn(async move {
                 crate::docker::reap_probe_containers().await;
                 let reaped = crate::docker::reap_stale_migration_pins().await;
@@ -257,6 +258,15 @@ pub fn run() {
                     log::info!("Startup housekeeping dropped {} stale rollback pin(s)", reaped);
                 }
                 crate::docker::sweep_orphaned_snapshots_logged("startup").await;
+                // A container/image/volume `remove_project` could not delete
+                // is recorded rather than lost — see triple-c#31 — and this is
+                // the only place anything ever retries it. Takes the store so
+                // it can refuse to touch a project that turns out to still be
+                // live — see the long comment on the function itself.
+                crate::commands::project_commands::retry_pending_cleanup_logged(
+                    &projects_store_for_cleanup,
+                )
+                .await;
             });
 
             // Auto-start web terminal server if enabled in settings
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/models/project.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/models/project.rs
index dfa8f38..5c22e15 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/models/project.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/models/project.rs
@@ -422,6 +422,61 @@ pub enum ProjectStatus {
     Error,
 }
 
+/// What `remove_project` could not delete, named so the UI can say so instead
+/// of reporting a clean removal that was not one.
+///
+/// The project record is dropped from `projects.json` regardless — see the
+/// long comment on `remove_project` for why refusing is not the answer — but
+/// anything named here is also written to a pending-cleanup record that
+/// startup housekeeping retries, so it stays reachable after the project it
+/// belonged to no longer exists.
+#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct ProjectRemovalReport {
+    /// The project's container, if it could not be removed. Named by its
+    /// deterministic `triple-c-{id}` name (see `Project::container_name`),
+    /// not the container id, since the id can be stale or absent and the
+    /// name is what a later retry can still resolve.
+    pub container: Option<String>,
+    /// The `triple-c-snapshot-{id}` image, if it could not be removed.
+    pub image: Option<String>,
+    /// Named volumes (home, claude config) that could not be removed.
+    pub volumes: Vec<String>,
+    /// True once the leftovers above were durably recorded for automatic
+    /// retry on the next launch. False means the pending-cleanup record
+    /// itself could not be written — nothing will retry these, and the UI
+    /// must say so rather than promising a retry that will not happen.
+    /// Meaningless (and left at its default) when `is_clean()` is true.
+    pub retry_scheduled: bool,
+}
+
+impl ProjectRemovalReport {
+    /// True when nothing was left behind.
+    pub fn is_clean(&self) -> bool {
+        self.container.is_none() && self.image.is_none() && self.volumes.is_empty()
+    }
+}
+
+/// What `rebuild_project_container` (Reset) produced: the project as it
+/// stands after restarting, and anything Reset could not clear.
+///
+/// Reset's contract is "back to a clean base image", so a leftover volume or
+/// image here is reused/rebuilt-from as-is by the container this creates —
+/// the opposite of what was asked for — and unlike [`ProjectRemovalReport`]
+/// there is no pending-cleanup record for either: the project id survives
+/// Reset, so a later Reset attempt can retry them itself.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+pub struct ProjectResetOutcome {
+    pub project: Project,
+    /// The `triple-c-snapshot-{id}` image, if Reset could not remove it. The
+    /// more serious of the two leftovers here: the new container is created
+    /// from this image whenever it exists, so a surviving image means Reset
+    /// silently rebuilt the exact system layer it was asked to discard.
+    pub leftover_image: Option<String>,
+    /// Volumes that survived Reset and were mounted into the new container
+    /// unchanged.
+    pub leftover_volumes: Vec<String>,
+}
+
 /// Which AI model backend/provider the project uses.
 /// - `Anthropic`: Direct Anthropic API (user runs `claude login` inside the container)
 /// - `Bedrock`: AWS Bedrock with per-project AWS credentials
@@ -650,6 +705,25 @@ impl Project {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    // ── ProjectRemovalReport ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_report_is_clean_only_with_nothing_left_behind() {
+        assert!(ProjectRemovalReport::default().is_clean());
+
+        let mut r = ProjectRemovalReport::default();
+        r.container = Some("abc123".to_string());
+        assert!(!r.is_clean(), "a leftover container must not read as clean");
+
+        let mut r = ProjectRemovalReport::default();
+        r.image = Some("triple-c-snapshot-x:latest".to_string());
+        assert!(!r.is_clean(), "a leftover image must not read as clean");
+
+        let mut r = ProjectRemovalReport::default();
+        r.volumes.push("triple-c-home-x".to_string());
+        assert!(!r.is_clean(), "a leftover volume must not read as clean");
+    }
+
     // ── Custom environment variable names ─────────────────────────────────
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/storage/mod.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/storage/mod.rs
index 1559e3e..151759b 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/storage/mod.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/storage/mod.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 pub mod migration_store;
+pub mod pending_cleanup;
 pub mod projects_store;
 pub mod secure;
 pub mod settings_store;
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/storage/pending_cleanup.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/storage/pending_cleanup.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..85e89ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/storage/pending_cleanup.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,349 @@
+//! Host-side record of Docker resources `remove_project` could not delete.
+//!
+//! `remove_project` drops a project's id from `projects.json` unconditionally
+//! — see the comment on `ProjectRemovalReport` — so once that happens nothing
+//! in the app can name the leftover container, image or volume again by any
+//! path a user can reach. This is what keeps it reachable anyway: one JSON
+//! file per affected project under `<data_dir>/triple-c/pending-cleanup/`,
+//! written *before* the project record is dropped. Startup housekeeping
+//! retries every record on the next launch (see
+//! `commands::project_commands::retry_pending_cleanup_logged`) and deletes
+//! the ones that fully succeed.
+//!
+//! **This record is written in the same instant its record in `projects.json`
+//! is destroyed, and it is the only remaining handle on the leftover
+//! resource** — which is a stronger claim on durability than an ordinary
+//! write-temp-then-rename gives. `storage::migration_store::save` carries the
+//! same reasoning for the migration state file: `fs::write` returns once the
+//! bytes are in the page cache, and a rename over them is atomic with respect
+//! to other readers, not to power loss. A crash in that window leaves the
+//! rename applied and the data half-written, which [`list`] then treats as
+//! unparseable and skips — reproducing the exact bug this module exists to
+//! close, silently, with only a startup log line as evidence. So `save` here
+//! takes the same `File::create` → `write_all` → `sync_all` → `rename` →
+//! directory-sync shape `migration_store` does.
+
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct PendingCleanup {
+    pub project_id: String,
+    /// Kept only so a log line or a future UI can name the project without a
+    /// second lookup — the project record itself is already gone by the time
+    /// this is read back.
+    pub project_name: String,
+    /// The project's container, if it could not be removed. Named by its
+    /// deterministic `triple-c-{id}` name rather than the (possibly stale)
+    /// container id Docker handed out — Docker's remove-container API
+    /// accepts either, and the name is the one identifier guaranteed to still
+    /// resolve to the same container by the time a retry runs.
+    pub container_id: Option<String>,
+    pub image: Option<String>,
+    pub volumes: Vec<String>,
+    pub recorded_at: String,
+}
+
+impl PendingCleanup {
+    /// True once nothing named here still needs to be removed.
+    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
+        self.container_id.is_none() && self.image.is_none() && self.volumes.is_empty()
+    }
+}
+
+/// `<data_dir>/triple-c/pending-cleanup`, created on demand.
+fn dir() -> Result<PathBuf, String> {
+    let dir = dirs::data_dir()
+        .ok_or_else(|| {
+            "Could not determine data directory. Set XDG_DATA_HOME on Linux.".to_string()
+        })?
+        .join("triple-c")
+        .join("pending-cleanup");
+    fs::create_dir_all(&dir)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to create pending-cleanup directory: {}", e))?;
+    Ok(dir)
+}
+
+/// Project ids are UUIDs, but they arrive over IPC, so refuse to let one steer
+/// the write anywhere but the pending-cleanup directory. Mirrors
+/// `storage::migration_store::sanitize`.
+fn sanitize(project_id: &str) -> String {
+    project_id
+        .chars()
+        .map(|c| if c.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || c == '-' || c == '_' { c } else { '_' })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+/// Write (or overwrite) a project's pending-cleanup record.
+pub fn save(record: &PendingCleanup) -> Result<(), String> {
+    save_in(&dir()?, record)
+}
+
+/// Remove a project's pending-cleanup record. Missing is success — this is
+/// how a fully-succeeded retry (or a record that never existed) is expressed.
+pub fn clear(project_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
+    clear_in(&dir()?, project_id)
+}
+
+/// Every pending-cleanup record on disk. An unparseable file is logged and
+/// skipped rather than blocking every other project's retry — the same
+/// "one bad record can't wedge the rest" reasoning as the migration store.
+pub fn list() -> Vec<PendingCleanup> {
+    let Ok(dir) = dir() else { return Vec::new() };
+    list_in(&dir)
+}
+
+fn path_in(dir: &Path, project_id: &str) -> PathBuf {
+    dir.join(format!("{}.json", sanitize(project_id)))
+}
+
+/// Durable write: fsync the file before the rename, and fsync the directory
+/// after it — see the module doc comment for why a plain
+/// write-temp-then-rename is not enough here. Mirrors
+/// `storage::migration_store::save`/`sync_dir`.
+fn save_in(dir: &Path, record: &PendingCleanup) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let path = path_in(dir, &record.project_id);
+    let data = serde_json::to_string_pretty(record)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to serialize pending cleanup record: {}", e))?;
+    let tmp = path.with_extension("json.tmp");
+
+    {
+        use std::io::Write;
+        let mut file = fs::File::create(&tmp)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to write pending cleanup record: {}", e))?;
+        file.write_all(data.as_bytes())
+            .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to write pending cleanup record: {}", e))?;
+        file.sync_all()
+            .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to flush pending cleanup record to disk: {}", e))?;
+    }
+
+    fs::rename(&tmp, &path)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to commit pending cleanup record: {}", e))?;
+    sync_dir(&path);
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn clear_in(dir: &Path, project_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let path = path_in(dir, project_id);
+    match fs::remove_file(&path) {
+        Ok(()) => Ok(()),
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => Ok(()),
+        Err(e) => Err(format!("Failed to remove pending cleanup record: {}", e)),
+    }
+}
+
+fn list_in(dir: &Path) -> Vec<PendingCleanup> {
+    let Ok(entries) = fs::read_dir(dir) else { return Vec::new() };
+
+    entries
+        .flatten()
+        .filter(|e| e.path().extension().is_some_and(|ext| ext == "json"))
+        .filter_map(|e| {
+            let path = e.path();
+            let data = fs::read_to_string(&path).ok()?;
+            match serde_json::from_str::<PendingCleanup>(&data) {
+                Ok(record) => Some(record),
+                Err(err) => {
+                    // Moved aside rather than left in place: a record nothing
+                    // ever repairs would otherwise warn on every single
+                    // startup forever, same as an ordinary `.json` file it
+                    // would keep looking like one to `list_in` on the next
+                    // call too. One aside-copy is enough here — this only
+                    // ever holds names to retry removing, not the class of
+                    // once-in-a-lifetime crash evidence `migration_store`
+                    // keeps multiple timestamped backups of.
+                    let corrupt = path.with_extension("json.corrupt");
+                    let moved = !corrupt.exists() && fs::rename(&path, &corrupt).is_ok();
+                    log::warn!(
+                        "Could not parse pending cleanup record {}: {}{}",
+                        path.display(),
+                        err,
+                        if moved {
+                            format!(" — moved aside to {}", corrupt.display())
+                        } else {
+                            " — leaving it in place".to_string()
+                        }
+                    );
+                    None
+                }
+            }
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+/// fsync the directory holding `path`, so a rename into it survives power
+/// loss. Best effort only on the platforms where it is meaningless: Windows
+/// has no directory handle to sync and errors on the attempt, so failure is
+/// logged rather than propagated — the file's own `sync_all` above is what
+/// carries the data. Mirrors `storage::migration_store::sync_dir`, which is
+/// private to that module, so this is a small deliberate duplicate rather
+/// than a shared dependency between two otherwise-independent stores.
+fn sync_dir(path: &Path) {
+    let Some(dir) = path.parent() else { return };
+    match fs::File::open(dir).and_then(|d| d.sync_all()) {
+        Ok(()) => {}
+        Err(e) => log::debug!(
+            "Could not fsync the pending-cleanup directory {}: {} — the record itself was flushed",
+            dir.display(),
+            e
+        ),
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn temp_dir(name: &str) -> PathBuf {
+        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
+            "triple-c-pending-cleanup-{}-{}",
+            name,
+            uuid::Uuid::new_v4().simple()
+        ));
+        fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
+        dir
+    }
+
+    fn record(project_id: &str) -> PendingCleanup {
+        PendingCleanup {
+            project_id: project_id.to_string(),
+            project_name: "Some Project".to_string(),
+            container_id: Some("triple-c-abc".to_string()),
+            image: Some("triple-c-snapshot-abc:latest".to_string()),
+            volumes: vec!["triple-c-home-abc".to_string()],
+            recorded_at: "2026-08-25T00:00:00Z".to_string(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn project_ids_cannot_escape_the_pending_cleanup_directory() {
+        assert_eq!(sanitize("../../etc/passwd"), "______etc_passwd");
+        assert_eq!(sanitize("a/b"), "a_b");
+        assert_eq!(
+            sanitize("ab62cd24-51aa-4645-8f5c-17a124062050"),
+            "ab62cd24-51aa-4645-8f5c-17a124062050"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn is_empty_reflects_whatever_still_needs_removing() {
+        let mut r = record("p1");
+        assert!(!r.is_empty());
+
+        r.container_id = None;
+        r.image = None;
+        assert!(!r.is_empty(), "a leftover volume alone still counts");
+
+        r.volumes.clear();
+        assert!(r.is_empty());
+    }
+
+    /// Exercises the real `save_in`/`list_in`/`clear_in` — not a
+    /// re-implementation of their bodies — against a temp directory standing
+    /// in for `dir()`.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_saved_record_round_trips_and_clearing_removes_it() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("roundtrip");
+        let rec = record("proj-1");
+
+        save_in(&dir, &rec).expect("save");
+        let found = list_in(&dir);
+        assert_eq!(found.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(found[0].project_id, "proj-1");
+        assert_eq!(found[0].volumes, vec!["triple-c-home-abc".to_string()]);
+
+        clear_in(&dir, "proj-1").expect("clear");
+        assert!(list_in(&dir).is_empty());
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    /// A second `save` for the same project overwrites rather than appending
+    /// — a retry that narrows the leftovers must not leave the old, wider
+    /// record behind it.
+    #[test]
+    fn saving_the_same_project_twice_overwrites_not_appends() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("overwrite");
+        let mut rec = record("proj-1");
+        save_in(&dir, &rec).expect("save");
+
+        rec.container_id = None;
+        rec.image = None;
+        save_in(&dir, &rec).expect("save again");
+
+        let found = list_in(&dir);
+        assert_eq!(found.len(), 1, "one file per project, not one per save");
+        assert!(found[0].container_id.is_none());
+        assert_eq!(found[0].volumes, vec!["triple-c-home-abc".to_string()]);
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    /// A record that fails to parse must not poison the rest of the listing.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_unparseable_record_is_skipped_not_fatal() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("corrupt");
+        fs::write(dir.join("bad.json"), "{ not json").unwrap();
+        save_in(&dir, &record("proj-2")).expect("save");
+
+        let found = list_in(&dir);
+        assert_eq!(found.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(found[0].project_id, "proj-2");
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    /// A record that fails to parse is moved aside once, rather than left in
+    /// place to be re-warned about — and re-warned about — on every future
+    /// launch forever.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_unparseable_record_is_moved_aside_exactly_once() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("corrupt-aside");
+        let bad = dir.join("bad.json");
+        fs::write(&bad, "{ not json").unwrap();
+
+        list_in(&dir);
+        assert!(!bad.exists(), "the bad file should have been moved aside");
+        let corrupt = dir.join("bad.json.corrupt");
+        assert!(corrupt.exists(), "and the moved copy should be at .json.corrupt");
+
+        // A second pass must not warn about `bad.json` again — it is gone —
+        // and must not choke on `.json.corrupt` already being there.
+        assert!(list_in(&dir).is_empty());
+        assert!(corrupt.exists(), "the aside copy is not itself deleted");
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    /// `list_in` must not pick up the `.json.tmp` staging file `save_in`
+    /// leaves behind if a crash lands between the write and the rename — the
+    /// whole point of the temp-then-rename dance is that only the renamed
+    /// file is ever a complete record.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_leftover_tmp_file_is_not_listed() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("tmp-leftover");
+        fs::write(dir.join("proj-3.json.tmp"), "not a complete record").unwrap();
+        assert!(list_in(&dir).is_empty());
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+
+    /// Clearing by project id must remove exactly the file that id maps to
+    /// under `sanitize`, and nothing else.
+    #[test]
+    fn clearing_one_project_does_not_touch_another() {
+        let dir = temp_dir("clear-scoped");
+        save_in(&dir, &record("proj-a")).unwrap();
+        save_in(&dir, &record("proj-b")).unwrap();
+
+        clear_in(&dir, "proj-a").unwrap();
+
+        let found = list_in(&dir);
+        assert_eq!(found.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(found[0].project_id, "proj-b");
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/src/components/projects/home/ProjectHome.tsx b/app/src/components/projects/home/ProjectHome.tsx
index 9245f4d..024446e 100644
--- a/app/src/components/projects/home/ProjectHome.tsx
+++ b/app/src/components/projects/home/ProjectHome.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import { useShallow } from "zustand/react/shallow";
+import { projectRemovalIsClean } from "../../../lib/types";
 import { useAppState } from "../../../store/appState";
 import { useProjectActions } from "../../../hooks/useProjectActions";
 import { useProjects } from "../../../hooks/useProjects";
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ import ConfigTab from "./ConfigTab";
 import FilesTab from "./FilesTab";
 import BrowserTab from "./BrowserTab";
 import { formatUptime } from "./format";
+import { describeLeftovers, leftoverPronoun, leftoverVerb } from "./removalReport";
 
 const TABS = [
   { id: "overview", label: "Overview" },
@@ -282,7 +284,25 @@ export default function ProjectHome({ projectId, active }: Props) {
           onConfirm={async () => {
             setConfirmRemove(false);
             try {
-              await remove(project.id);
+              const report = await remove(project.id);
+              if (!projectRemovalIsClean(report)) {
+                const verb = leftoverVerb(report);
+                if (report.retry_scheduled) {
+                  useAppState.getState().pushToast({
+                    kind: "info",
+                    message: `“${project.name}” was removed, but Triple-C could not confirm all its Docker resources were removed`,
+                    detail: `Triple-C could not confirm ${describeLeftovers(report)} ${verb} removed. It will check again the next time it starts.`,
+                  });
+                } else {
+                  // The pending-cleanup record itself failed to save — no
+                  // retry will happen, so this must not promise one.
+                  useAppState.getState().pushToast({
+                    kind: "error",
+                    message: `“${project.name}” was removed, but Triple-C could not confirm its Docker resources were removed`,
+                    detail: `Triple-C could not confirm ${describeLeftovers(report)} ${verb} removed, and could not record this for a retry. You may need to remove ${leftoverPronoun(report)} manually (\`docker rm\` / \`docker rmi\` / \`docker volume rm\`).`,
+                  });
+                }
+              }
             } catch (e) {
               useAppState.getState().pushToast({
                 kind: "error",
diff --git a/app/src/components/projects/home/removalReport.test.ts b/app/src/components/projects/home/removalReport.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d9c752
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/src/components/projects/home/removalReport.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import { describeLeftovers, leftoverVerb } from "./removalReport";
+import { projectRemovalIsClean } from "../../../lib/types";
+import type { ProjectRemovalReport } from "../../../lib/types";
+
+function report(overrides: Partial<ProjectRemovalReport> = {}): ProjectRemovalReport {
+  return {
+    container: null,
+    image: null,
+    volumes: [],
+    retry_scheduled: false,
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+describe("projectRemovalIsClean", () => {
+  it("is true only when nothing survived", () => {
+    expect(projectRemovalIsClean(report())).toBe(true);
+    expect(projectRemovalIsClean(report({ container: "triple-c-abc" }))).toBe(false);
+    expect(projectRemovalIsClean(report({ image: "triple-c-snapshot-abc:latest" }))).toBe(false);
+    expect(projectRemovalIsClean(report({ volumes: ["triple-c-home-abc"] }))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("describeLeftovers", () => {
+  it("names each kind of leftover", () => {
+    expect(describeLeftovers(report({ container: "triple-c-abc" }))).toBe("its container");
+    expect(describeLeftovers(report({ image: "x" }))).toBe("its saved image");
+    expect(describeLeftovers(report({ volumes: ["v1"] }))).toBe("a volume");
+    expect(describeLeftovers(report({ volumes: ["v1", "v2"] }))).toBe("2 volumes");
+  });
+
+  it("joins multiple kinds together", () => {
+    expect(
+      describeLeftovers(report({ container: "triple-c-abc", image: "x", volumes: ["v1", "v2"] })),
+    ).toBe("its container, its saved image, 2 volumes");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("leftoverVerb", () => {
+  it("is singular for exactly one leftover of any kind", () => {
+    expect(leftoverVerb(report({ container: "triple-c-abc" }))).toBe("was");
+    expect(leftoverVerb(report({ image: "x" }))).toBe("was");
+    expect(leftoverVerb(report({ volumes: ["v1"] }))).toBe("was");
+  });
+
+  it("is plural once more than one thing survived, including multiple volumes alone", () => {
+    expect(leftoverVerb(report({ container: "triple-c-abc", image: "x" }))).toBe("were");
+    expect(leftoverVerb(report({ volumes: ["v1", "v2"] }))).toBe("were");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/app/src/components/projects/home/removalReport.ts b/app/src/components/projects/home/removalReport.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52f9aa4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/src/components/projects/home/removalReport.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import type { ProjectRemovalReport } from "../../../lib/types";
+
+/**
+ * Names what a `ProjectRemovalReport` says survived, for the leftover toast.
+ *
+ * Worded as "could not confirm" rather than "is still on disk": the same
+ * report shape covers a genuine leftover (a locked volume) and a daemon that
+ * was simply unreachable at the time, in which case nothing was ever created
+ * and there is nothing to find — asserting certainty either way would be
+ * wrong in one of those cases.
+ */
+export function describeLeftovers(report: ProjectRemovalReport): string {
+  const parts: string[] = [];
+  if (report.container) parts.push("its container");
+  if (report.image) parts.push("its saved image");
+  if (report.volumes.length === 1) parts.push("a volume");
+  else if (report.volumes.length > 1) parts.push(`${report.volumes.length} volumes`);
+  return parts.join(", ");
+}
+
+/** How many distinct things `describeLeftovers` is describing — a container
+ *  and an image each count as one, however many volumes are named. Shared by
+ *  `leftoverVerb` and `leftoverPronoun` so the two can never disagree about
+ *  singular vs. plural. */
+function leftoverCount(report: ProjectRemovalReport): number {
+  return (report.container ? 1 : 0) + (report.image ? 1 : 0) + report.volumes.length;
+}
+
+/** Verb agreement for `describeLeftovers`'s output — "its container" needs
+ *  "was", "its container, a volume" needs "were". */
+export function leftoverVerb(report: ProjectRemovalReport): "was" | "were" {
+  return leftoverCount(report) === 1 ? "was" : "were";
+}
+
+/** Pronoun agreement for referring back to `describeLeftovers`'s output —
+ *  "remove it manually" for one thing, "remove them manually" for more. */
+export function leftoverPronoun(report: ProjectRemovalReport): "it" | "them" {
+  return leftoverCount(report) === 1 ? "it" : "them";
+}
diff --git a/app/src/hooks/useProjectActions.ts b/app/src/hooks/useProjectActions.ts
index 07ded95..a8102d1 100644
--- a/app/src/hooks/useProjectActions.ts
+++ b/app/src/hooks/useProjectActions.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { save } from "@tauri-apps/plugin-dialog";
 import type { Project } from "../lib/types";
 import * as commands from "../lib/tauri-commands";
 import { formatBytes } from "../lib/formatBytes";
+import { describeResetLeftovers, resetLeftoverPronoun } from "../lib/resetOutcome";
 import { useAppState } from "../store/appState";
 import { useProjects } from "./useProjects";
 import { useTerminal } from "./useTerminal";
@@ -28,13 +29,14 @@ export function useProjectActions(project: Project) {
   );
 
   const run = useCallback(
-    async (label: string, fn: () => Promise<unknown>) => {
+    async <T,>(label: string, fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T | undefined> => {
       setBusy(true);
       setContainerProgress(project.id, null);
       try {
-        await fn();
+        return await fn();
       } catch (e) {
         fail(`${label} failed for “${project.name}”`, e);
+        return undefined;
       } finally {
         setContainerProgress(project.id, null);
         setBusy(false);
@@ -54,8 +56,25 @@ export function useProjectActions(project: Project) {
   );
 
   const handleReset = useCallback(
-    () => run("Reset", () => rebuild(project.id)),
-    [run, rebuild, project.id],
+    () =>
+      run("Reset", async () => {
+        const outcome = await rebuild(project.id);
+        if (outcome.leftover_image || outcome.leftover_volumes.length > 0) {
+          // Not "run `docker volume rm`" — by the time this renders, the new
+          // container this same call just started already has the leftover
+          // volume mounted, so that command would just hit the same 409
+          // Reset did. Stopping the project first is what actually frees it.
+          pushToast({
+            kind: "error",
+            message: `Reset for “${project.name}” did not fully clean up`,
+            detail: `Triple-C could not remove ${describeResetLeftovers(outcome)} from before the reset, so \
+the new container may still be built from, or contain, old data. Stop the project, then try \
+Reset again, or remove ${resetLeftoverPronoun(outcome)} manually once stopped.`,
+          });
+        }
+        return outcome;
+      }),
+    [run, rebuild, project.id, project.name, pushToast],
   );
 
   const openClaudeTerminal = useCallback(async () => {
diff --git a/app/src/hooks/useProjects.test.ts b/app/src/hooks/useProjects.test.ts
index 1130479..3a2cded 100644
--- a/app/src/hooks/useProjects.test.ts
+++ b/app/src/hooks/useProjects.test.ts
@@ -140,3 +140,27 @@ describe("useProjects puts the status back when a refused command never ran", ()
     expect(statusOf()).toBe("stopped");
   });
 });
+
+describe("useProjects.rebuild on success", () => {
+  it("puts the outcome's project, not the whole outcome, into the list", async () => {
+    const rebuilt = project("running");
+    rebuildProjectContainer.mockResolvedValue({
+      project: rebuilt,
+      leftover_image: null,
+      leftover_volumes: [],
+    });
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useProjects());
+    let outcome!: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof result.current.rebuild>>;
+    await act(async () => {
+      outcome = await result.current.rebuild("p1");
+    });
+
+    // A regression here would put the `{ project, leftover_image,
+    // leftover_volumes }` wrapper into the projects list instead of the
+    // `Project` it wraps — a shape mismatch `tsc` would not catch inside a
+    // callback typed to take `unknown` per Tauri's `invoke`.
+    expect(useAppState.getState().projects.find((p) => p.id === "p1")).toEqual(rebuilt);
+    expect(outcome.leftover_volumes).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/app/src/hooks/useProjects.ts b/app/src/hooks/useProjects.ts
index 66868a0..4b88c5e 100644
--- a/app/src/hooks/useProjects.ts
+++ b/app/src/hooks/useProjects.ts
@@ -44,8 +44,9 @@ export function useProjects() {
 
   const remove = useCallback(
     async (id: string) => {
-      await commands.removeProject(id);
+      const report = await commands.removeProject(id);
       removeProjectFromList(id);
+      return report;
     },
     [removeProjectFromList],
   );
@@ -135,9 +136,9 @@ export function useProjects() {
   const rebuild = useCallback(
     (id: string) =>
       withOptimisticStatus(id, "starting", async () => {
-        const updated = await commands.rebuildProjectContainer(id);
-        updateProjectInList(updated);
-        return updated;
+        const outcome = await commands.rebuildProjectContainer(id);
+        updateProjectInList(outcome.project);
+        return outcome;
       }),
     [updateProjectInList, withOptimisticStatus],
   );
diff --git a/app/src/lib/resetOutcome.test.ts b/app/src/lib/resetOutcome.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1307f9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/src/lib/resetOutcome.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import { describeResetLeftovers, resetLeftoverPronoun } from "./resetOutcome";
+import type { ProjectResetOutcome } from "./types";
+
+function outcome(overrides: Partial<ProjectResetOutcome> = {}): ProjectResetOutcome {
+  return {
+    project: {} as ProjectResetOutcome["project"],
+    leftover_image: null,
+    leftover_volumes: [],
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+describe("describeResetLeftovers", () => {
+  it("names the image first, then the volumes", () => {
+    expect(describeResetLeftovers(outcome({ leftover_image: "x" }))).toBe(
+      "its previous container image",
+    );
+    expect(describeResetLeftovers(outcome({ leftover_volumes: ["v1"] }))).toBe("a volume");
+    expect(describeResetLeftovers(outcome({ leftover_volumes: ["v1", "v2"] }))).toBe("2 volumes");
+    expect(
+      describeResetLeftovers(outcome({ leftover_image: "x", leftover_volumes: ["v1", "v2"] })),
+    ).toBe("its previous container image and 2 volumes");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("resetLeftoverPronoun", () => {
+  it("is singular for exactly one leftover", () => {
+    expect(resetLeftoverPronoun(outcome({ leftover_image: "x" }))).toBe("it");
+    expect(resetLeftoverPronoun(outcome({ leftover_volumes: ["v1"] }))).toBe("it");
+  });
+
+  it("is plural once more than one thing survived", () => {
+    expect(resetLeftoverPronoun(outcome({ leftover_image: "x", leftover_volumes: ["v1"] }))).toBe(
+      "them",
+    );
+    expect(resetLeftoverPronoun(outcome({ leftover_volumes: ["v1", "v2"] }))).toBe("them");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/app/src/lib/resetOutcome.ts b/app/src/lib/resetOutcome.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2a2bf7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/src/lib/resetOutcome.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import type { ProjectResetOutcome } from "./types";
+
+/**
+ * Names what a `ProjectResetOutcome` says Reset could not clear, for
+ * `useProjectActions`'s Reset toast.
+ *
+ * The image is named first and phrased as "its previous container image"
+ * rather than folded in with the volumes — it is the more serious of the
+ * two: the new container is built from it whenever it exists, so a
+ * surviving image means Reset silently rebuilt the exact system layer it
+ * was asked to discard, while a surviving volume only means old data rides
+ * along.
+ */
+export function describeResetLeftovers(outcome: ProjectResetOutcome): string {
+  const parts: string[] = [];
+  if (outcome.leftover_image) parts.push("its previous container image");
+  if (outcome.leftover_volumes.length === 1) parts.push("a volume");
+  else if (outcome.leftover_volumes.length > 1) parts.push(`${outcome.leftover_volumes.length} volumes`);
+  return parts.join(" and ");
+}
+
+/** How many distinct things `describeResetLeftovers` is describing — the
+ *  image counts as one, however many volumes are named alongside it. */
+function resetLeftoverCount(outcome: ProjectResetOutcome): number {
+  return (outcome.leftover_image ? 1 : 0) + outcome.leftover_volumes.length;
+}
+
+/** Pronoun agreement for referring back to `describeResetLeftovers`'s
+ *  output — "remove it manually" for one thing, "remove them" for more. */
+export function resetLeftoverPronoun(outcome: ProjectResetOutcome): "it" | "them" {
+  return resetLeftoverCount(outcome) === 1 ? "it" : "them";
+}
diff --git a/app/src/lib/tauri-commands.ts b/app/src/lib/tauri-commands.ts
index f9bb0fe..6389a4c 100644
--- a/app/src/lib/tauri-commands.ts
+++ b/app/src/lib/tauri-commands.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { invoke } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
-import type { Project, ProjectPath, ContainerInfo, AppSettings, UpdateInfo, ImageUpdateInfo, FileEntry, FileContents, WebTerminalInfo, SttStatus, GatewayStatus, InstallOptions, ClaudeSession, ContainerCapabilities, ScheduledTask, ScheduledTaskInput, SchedulerNotification, AuthBridgeStatus, BrowserViewStatus, BrowserViewPopoutState, BrowserPageState, PlaywrightDetection, BrowserSetupOutcome, BrowserInstallTarget, ContainerStaleness, MigrationOptions, MigrationReport, MigrationState, ClearTokenOutcome, CaCertInfo, UploadOutcome } from "./types";
+import type { Project, ProjectPath, ProjectRemovalReport, ProjectResetOutcome, ContainerInfo, AppSettings, UpdateInfo, ImageUpdateInfo, FileEntry, FileContents, WebTerminalInfo, SttStatus, GatewayStatus, InstallOptions, ClaudeSession, ContainerCapabilities, ScheduledTask, ScheduledTaskInput, SchedulerNotification, AuthBridgeStatus, BrowserViewStatus, BrowserViewPopoutState, BrowserPageState, PlaywrightDetection, BrowserSetupOutcome, BrowserInstallTarget, ContainerStaleness, MigrationOptions, MigrationReport, MigrationState, ClearTokenOutcome, CaCertInfo, UploadOutcome } from "./types";
 
 // Docker
 export const checkDocker = () => invoke<boolean>("check_docker");
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ export const listProjects = () => invoke<Project[]>("list_projects");
 export const addProject = (name: string, paths: ProjectPath[]) =>
   invoke<Project>("add_project", { name, paths });
 export const removeProject = (projectId: string) =>
-  invoke<void>("remove_project", { projectId });
+  invoke<ProjectRemovalReport>("remove_project", { projectId });
 export const updateProject = (project: Project) =>
   invoke<Project>("update_project", { project });
 export const startProjectContainer = (projectId: string) =>
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export const startProjectContainer = (projectId: string) =>
 export const stopProjectContainer = (projectId: string) =>
   invoke<void>("stop_project_container", { projectId });
 export const rebuildProjectContainer = (projectId: string) =>
-  invoke<Project>("rebuild_project_container", { projectId });
+  invoke<ProjectResetOutcome>("rebuild_project_container", { projectId });
 export const reconcileProjectStatuses = () =>
   invoke<Project[]>("reconcile_project_statuses");
 
diff --git a/app/src/lib/types.ts b/app/src/lib/types.ts
index cc394d6..9a6462c 100644
--- a/app/src/lib/types.ts
+++ b/app/src/lib/types.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,37 @@ export type ProjectStatus =
   | "stopping"
   | "error";
 
+/** What `removeProject` could not delete. The project is removed from the
+ *  sidebar either way. When `retry_scheduled` is true, anything named here
+ *  was recorded on the host and will be retried automatically the next time
+ *  the app starts; when false, the record itself could not be saved and
+ *  nothing will retry it. `retry_scheduled` is meaningless when nothing was
+ *  left behind. */
+export interface ProjectRemovalReport {
+  container: string | null;
+  image: string | null;
+  volumes: string[];
+  retry_scheduled: boolean;
+}
+
+/** True when a `ProjectRemovalReport` left nothing behind. Mirrors the
+ *  Rust-side `ProjectRemovalReport::is_clean`. */
+export function projectRemovalIsClean(report: ProjectRemovalReport): boolean {
+  return !report.container && !report.image && report.volumes.length === 0;
+}
+
+/** What Reset (`rebuildProjectContainer`) produced: the project as it stands
+ *  after restarting, and any volume Reset could not clear — which is reused
+ *  as-is by the new container instead of starting clean. */
+export interface ProjectResetOutcome {
+  project: Project;
+  /** The saved container image, if Reset could not remove it — the new
+   *  container is built from it whenever it exists, so this means Reset
+   *  silently rebuilt the system layer it was asked to discard. */
+  leftover_image: string | null;
+  leftover_volumes: string[];
+}
+
 export type Backend =
   | "anthropic"
   | "bedrock"