diff --git a/src/lib/server/stacks.ts b/src/lib/server/stacks.ts
index 4f9c406..f025457 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/stacks.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/stacks.ts
@@ -2430,7 +2430,12 @@ export async function redeployStackFromDir(
 			composePath,
 			envPath: hasEnv ? envPath : undefined,
 			composeFileName,
-			stackFiles
+			stackFiles,
+			// A restore rewrote the stack dir and swapped the volume data underneath the
+			// stack. Force-recreate so the container is rebuilt fresh against the restored
+			// state; a plain `up` sees the unchanged compose and only restarts the stopped
+			// container, which can leave it not-yet-running after an in-place swap.
+			forceRecreate: true
 		},
 		composeContent,
 		envVars,
diff --git a/tests/redeploy-force-recreate.test.ts b/tests/redeploy-force-recreate.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a6c459
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/redeploy-force-recreate.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/**
+ * Regression guard: the restore redeploy MUST force-recreate.
+ *
+ * redeployStackFromDir() is the redeploy-from-restored-snapshot path - its ONLY
+ * caller is the backup restore port (backups/index.ts), used by both the in-place
+ * and clone restore paths. A restore rewrites the stack dir and swaps the
+ * volume data underneath the stack, then this function runs `docker compose up`. A
+ * plain `up` sees the unchanged compose and only restarts the container compose
+ * thinks is up-to-date, which after an in-place swap can leave it not-yet-running
+ * (the source of an intermittent post-restore "stack never came up"). Passing
+ * forceRecreate rebuilds the container fresh against the restored state.
+ *
+ * This asserts at the source level (like tests/deploy-stack-online.test.ts) that the
+ * executeComposeCommand('up', ...) inside redeployStackFromDir carries
+ * forceRecreate: true - a real daemon isn't needed to prove the invariant, and it
+ * survives refactors of the surrounding code.
+ */
+// @ts-expect-error -- bun:test is a runtime built-in with no types installed
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+
+const here = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const stacksSrc = readFileSync(join(here, '..', 'src', 'lib', 'server', 'stacks.ts'), 'utf8');
+
+// The body of redeployStackFromDir, from its declaration to the next top-level
+// `export ... function` (paren/brace matching would be overkill - the next export
+// is a hard boundary).
+function redeployStackFromDirBody(source: string): string {
+	const start = source.indexOf('export async function redeployStackFromDir');
+	expect(start).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+	const rest = source.slice(start + 1);
+	const nextExport = rest.indexOf('\nexport ');
+	return rest.slice(0, nextExport === -1 ? undefined : nextExport);
+}
+
+describe('restore redeploy force-recreates', () => {
+	const body = redeployStackFromDirBody(stacksSrc);
+
+	test('redeployStackFromDir runs an `up`', () => {
+		expect(body).toContain("executeComposeCommand(");
+		expect(body).toContain("'up'");
+	});
+
+	test('redeployStackFromDir passes forceRecreate: true', () => {
+		// Whitespace-tolerant: `forceRecreate: true` in the options object.
+		expect(body).toMatch(/forceRecreate\s*:\s*true/);
+	});
+});