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, ProjectRemovalReport, ProjectStatus};
+use crate::models::{container_config, AppSettings, Backend, BedrockAuthMethod, Project, ProjectPath, ProjectRemovalReport, ProjectResetOutcome, ProjectStatus};
 use crate::storage::secure;
 use crate::AppState;
 
@@ -730,7 +730,21 @@ pub async fn remove_project(
     let existing_project = state.projects_store.get(&project_id);
 
     if let Some(ref project) = existing_project {
-        if let Some(ref container_id) = project.container_id {
+        // `project.container_id` can be `None` or stale — a crash between
+        // creating a container and persisting its id is the same race every
+        // other destroyer of a project's container already guards against
+        // with `find_existing_container` (`start_project_container`,
+        // migration's recreate paths). Removal is the one place that
+        // mattered least before this fix, because a container `remove_project`
+        // missed just sat there; now a miss here poisons the volume removal
+        // right after it (Docker refuses to delete a volume a container still
+        // references) and mints a pending-cleanup record for volumes with no
+        // way to name the container actually blocking them.
+        let container_ref = match &project.container_id {
+            Some(id) => Some(id.clone()),
+            None => docker::find_existing_container(project).await.ok().flatten(),
+        };
+        if let Some(ref container_id) = container_ref {
             state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(container_id).await;
             let _ = docker::stop_container(container_id).await;
             if let Err(e) = docker::remove_container(container_id).await {
@@ -738,7 +752,11 @@ pub async fn remove_project(
                     "Failed to remove container {} for project {}: {}",
                     container_id, project_id, e
                 );
-                report.container = Some(container_id.clone());
+                // 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());
             }
         }
 
@@ -770,17 +788,23 @@ pub async fn remove_project(
             recorded_at: chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
         };
         match crate::storage::pending_cleanup::save(&record) {
-            Ok(()) => log::warn!(
+            Ok(()) => {
+                report.retry_scheduled = true;
+                log::warn!(
                     "Project {} removed with Docker resources still present: {:?} — recorded for \
                      automatic retry on next launch",
                     project_id, report
-            ),
-            Err(e) => log::error!(
+                );
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                report.retry_scheduled = false;
+                log::error!(
                     "Project {} removed with Docker resources still present ({:?}), and the \
-                 pending-cleanup record could not be written ({}) — nothing will retry removing \
-                 them",
+                     pending-cleanup record could not be written ({}) — nothing will retry \
+                     removing them",
                     project_id, report, e
-            ),
+                );
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -852,6 +876,26 @@ pub async fn retry_pending_cleanup_logged() {
             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.
+            let age = chrono::DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(&record.recorded_at)
+                .ok()
+                .map(|t| chrono::Utc::now().signed_duration_since(t.with_timezone(&chrono::Utc)));
+            match age {
+                Some(age) if age > chrono::Duration::days(PENDING_CLEANUP_STALE_AFTER_DAYS) => {
+                    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
+                    );
+                }
+                _ => {}
+            }
             if let Err(e) = crate::storage::pending_cleanup::save(&record) {
                 log::warn!(
                     "Could not update pending cleanup record for project {} ({}): {}",
@@ -867,6 +911,11 @@ pub async fn retry_pending_cleanup_logged() {
     );
 }
 
+/// 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;
+
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn update_project(
     project: serde_json::Value,
@@ -1341,7 +1390,7 @@ 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
@@ -1368,8 +1417,16 @@ 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 {
+    // Remove existing container. Resolved the same way `remove_project` now
+    // is — `project.container_id` can be `None` or stale — because 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.
+    let container_ref = match &project.container_id {
+        Some(id) => Some(id.clone()),
+        None => docker::find_existing_container(&project).await.ok().flatten(),
+    };
+    if let Some(ref container_id) = container_ref {
         state.exec_manager.close_sessions_for_container(container_id).await;
         let _ = docker::stop_container(container_id).await;
         docker::remove_container(container_id).await?;
@@ -1397,7 +1454,8 @@ pub async fn rebuild_project_container(
 
     // 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_volumes })
 }
 
 /// Reconcile project statuses against actual Docker container state.

app/src-tauri/src/docker/container.rs

@@ -3585,7 +3585,7 @@ pub async fn remove_volumes_by_name(names: &[String]) -> Vec<String> {
 
     let mut leftover = Vec::new();
     for vol in names {
-        match docker.remove_volume(vol, None).await {
+        match remove_one_volume_with_retry(&docker, vol).await {
             Ok(_) => log::info!("Removed volume {}", vol),
             Err(bollard::errors::Error::DockerResponseServerError {
                 status_code: 404, ..
@@ -3599,6 +3599,28 @@ pub async fn remove_volumes_by_name(names: &[String]) -> Vec<String> {
     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
 /// current project settings.  Returns `true` when the container must be
 /// recreated (mounts or env vars differ).

app/src-tauri/src/models/project.rs

@@ -432,12 +432,21 @@ pub enum ProjectStatus {
 /// belonged to no longer exists.
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct ProjectRemovalReport {
-    /// The project's container, if it could not be removed.
+    /// 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 {
@@ -447,6 +456,22 @@ impl ProjectRemovalReport {
     }
 }
 
+/// What `rebuild_project_container` (Reset) produced: the project as it
+/// stands after restarting, and any volume Reset could not clear.
+///
+/// Reset's contract is "back to a clean base image", so a leftover volume
+/// here is reused as-is by the container this creates — the opposite of what
+/// was asked for — and unlike [`ProjectRemovalReport`] there is no
+/// pending-cleanup record for it: the project id survives Reset, so a later
+/// Reset attempt can retry the same volume itself.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+pub struct ProjectResetOutcome {
+    pub project: Project,
+    /// 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

app/src-tauri/src/storage/pending_cleanup.rs

@@ -10,13 +10,21 @@
 //! `commands::project_commands::retry_pending_cleanup_logged`) and deletes
 //! the ones that fully succeed.
 //!
-//! Same write-temp-then-rename shape as `projects.json` and the migration
-//! store, and the same per-project-file layout as
-//! `storage::migration_store` — a stuck cleanup record for one project must
-//! never block the retry of another's.
+//! **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::PathBuf;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
@@ -27,6 +35,11 @@ pub struct PendingCleanup {
     /// 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>,
@@ -63,29 +76,15 @@ fn sanitize(project_id: &str) -> String {
         .collect()
 }
 
-fn path_for(project_id: &str) -> Result<PathBuf, String> {
-    Ok(dir()?.join(format!("{}.json", sanitize(project_id))))
-}
-
 /// Write (or overwrite) a project's pending-cleanup record.
 pub fn save(record: &PendingCleanup) -> Result<(), String> {
-    let path = path_for(&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");
-    fs::write(&tmp, data).map_err(|e| format!("Failed to write pending cleanup record: {}", e))?;
-    fs::rename(&tmp, &path).map_err(|e| format!("Failed to commit pending cleanup record: {}", e))
+    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> {
-    let path = path_for(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)),
-    }
+    clear_in(&dir()?, project_id)
 }
 
 /// Every pending-cleanup record on disk. An unparseable file is logged and
@@ -93,7 +92,50 @@ pub fn clear(project_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
 /// "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() };
-    let Ok(entries) = fs::read_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()
@@ -116,28 +158,50 @@ pub fn list() -> Vec<PendingCleanup> {
         .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_data_dir(name: &str) -> PathBuf {
-        std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("triple-c-pending-cleanup-{}-{}", name, uuid::Uuid::new_v4().simple()))
+    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("abc123".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(),
         }
     }
 
-    /// `list`/`save`/`clear` go through `dirs::data_dir()`, so these exercise
-    /// the pure parts directly against a temp directory rather than the real
-    /// one — same approach `migration_store`'s tests take for `sanitize`.
     #[test]
     fn project_ids_cannot_escape_the_pending_cleanup_directory() {
         assert_eq!(sanitize("../../etc/passwd"), "______etc_passwd");
@@ -161,26 +225,43 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(r.is_empty());
     }
 
-    /// Save-then-list-then-clear against a real (temp) directory, bypassing
-    /// `dir()`'s hardcoded `dirs::data_dir()` join by writing/reading the
-    /// files directly the way `save`/`list` do internally.
+    /// 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_data_dir("roundtrip");
-        fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
+        let dir = temp_dir("roundtrip");
         let rec = record("proj-1");
-        let path = dir.join(format!("{}.json", sanitize(&rec.project_id)));
 
-        let data = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&rec).unwrap();
-        fs::write(&path, data).unwrap();
+        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()]);
 
-        let loaded: PendingCleanup =
-            serde_json::from_str(&fs::read_to_string(&path).unwrap()).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(loaded.project_id, "proj-1");
-        assert_eq!(loaded.volumes, vec!["triple-c-home-abc".to_string()]);
+        clear_in(&dir, "proj-1").expect("clear");
+        assert!(list_in(&dir).is_empty());
 
-        fs::remove_file(&path).unwrap();
-        assert!(!path.exists());
+        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();
     }
@@ -188,30 +269,44 @@ mod tests {
     /// 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_data_dir("corrupt");
-        fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
+        let dir = temp_dir("corrupt");
         fs::write(dir.join("bad.json"), "{ not json").unwrap();
-        let good = record("proj-2");
-        fs::write(
-            dir.join("proj-2.json"),
-            serde_json::to_string_pretty(&good).unwrap(),
-        )
-        .unwrap();
+        save_in(&dir, &record("proj-2")).expect("save");
 
-        let mut found = Vec::new();
-        for entry in fs::read_dir(&dir).unwrap().flatten() {
-            let path = entry.path();
-            if path.extension().is_some_and(|ext| ext == "json") {
-                if let Ok(data) = fs::read_to_string(&path) {
-                    if let Ok(r) = serde_json::from_str::<PendingCleanup>(&data) {
-                        found.push(r);
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        }
+        let found = list_in(&dir);
         assert_eq!(found.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(found[0].project_id, "proj-2");
 
         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();
+    }
 }

app/src/components/projects/home/ProjectHome.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
 import { useShallow } from "zustand/react/shallow";
-import type { ProjectRemovalReport } from "../../../lib/types";
+import { projectRemovalIsClean, type ProjectRemovalReport } from "../../../lib/types";
 import { useAppState } from "../../../store/appState";
 import { useProjectActions } from "../../../hooks/useProjectActions";
 import { useProjects } from "../../../hooks/useProjects";
@@ -31,7 +31,15 @@ const TABS = [
 
 export type ProjectHomeTabId = (typeof TABS)[number]["id"];
 
-/** Names what a `ProjectRemovalReport` says survived, for the leftover toast. */
+/**
+ * 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.
+ */
 function describeLeftovers(report: ProjectRemovalReport): string {
   const parts: string[] = [];
   if (report.container) parts.push("its container");
@@ -294,12 +302,22 @@ export default function ProjectHome({ projectId, active }: Props) {
             setConfirmRemove(false);
             try {
               const report = await remove(project.id);
-              if (report.container || report.image || report.volumes.length > 0) {
+              if (!projectRemovalIsClean(report)) {
+                if (report.retry_scheduled) {
                   useAppState.getState().pushToast({
                     kind: "info",
-                  message: `“${project.name}” was removed, but some Docker resources are still on disk`,
-                  detail: `Triple-C will retry removing ${describeLeftovers(report)} the next time it starts.`,
+                    message: `“${project.name}” was removed, but Triple-C could not confirm all its Docker resources were cleaned up`,
+                    detail: `Triple-C could not confirm ${describeLeftovers(report)} were removed. It will check again the next time it starts.`,
                   });
+                } else {
+                  // The pending-cleanup record itself failed to save — no
+                  // retry will happen, so this must not promise one.
+                  useAppState.getState().pushToast({
+                    kind: "error",
+                    message: `“${project.name}” was removed, but its Docker resources could not be cleaned up`,
+                    detail: `Triple-C could not confirm ${describeLeftovers(report)} were removed, and could not record this for a retry. You may need to remove them manually (\`docker rm\` / \`docker rmi\` / \`docker volume rm\`).`,
+                  });
+                }
               }
             } catch (e) {
               useAppState.getState().pushToast({

app/src/hooks/useProjectActions.ts

@@ -28,13 +28,14 @@ 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 +55,22 @@ 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_volumes.length > 0) {
+          const n = outcome.leftover_volumes.length;
+          pushToast({
+            kind: "error",
+            message: `Reset for “${project.name}” could not fully clean up`,
+            detail: `${n === 1 ? "A volume" : `${n} volumes`} could not be removed, so the new \
+container may still contain data from before the reset. You may need to remove ${n === 1 ? "it" : "them"} \
+manually with \`docker volume rm\`.`,
+          });
+        }
+        return outcome;
+      }),
+    [run, rebuild, project.id, project.name, pushToast],
   );
 
   const openClaudeTerminal = useCallback(async () => {

app/src/hooks/useProjects.ts

@@ -136,9 +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],
   );

app/src/lib/tauri-commands.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { invoke } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
-import type { Project, ProjectPath, ProjectRemovalReport, 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");
@@ -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");
 

app/src/lib/types.ts

@@ -78,12 +78,30 @@ export type ProjectStatus =
   | "error";
 
 /** What `removeProject` could not delete. The project is removed from the
- *  sidebar either way; anything named here is recorded on the host and
- *  retried automatically the next time the app starts. */
+ *  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;
+  leftover_volumes: string[];
 }
 
 export type Backend =