diff --git a/package/include/docker-state.php b/package/include/docker-state.php
index 7d90115..3771450 100644
--- a/package/include/docker-state.php
+++ b/package/include/docker-state.php
@@ -27,13 +27,33 @@
     require_once MODERNUI_DOCKER_CLIENT;               // populates $dockerManPaths + $driver
 }
 
-function modernui_docker_state(bool $withStats = false): array
+// True when getAllInfo() returned no rows while the docker daemon still lists
+// containers — i.e. the stock update_container flow is mid-rewrite of the
+// webui-info docker.json that getAllInfo() reads. getDockerContainers() hits
+// the docker socket directly and is unaffected by that rewrite, so it's the
+// source of truth: an empty info list alongside a non-empty daemon means
+// "transient rewrite", not "genuinely empty server". The caller responds 503
+// for the transient case so the client keeps its current state and retries,
+// instead of blanking the page on a momentarily-empty snapshot.
+function modernui_is_transient_empty(int $infoCount, int $daemonCount): bool
+{
+    return $infoCount === 0 && $daemonCount > 0;
+}
+
+// $transient is set true (by-ref) when the snapshot is a transient mid-rewrite
+// empty (see modernui_is_transient_empty). On that path the returned array is
+// empty and the caller should respond 503 rather than serve it.
+function modernui_docker_state(bool $withStats = false, bool &$transient = false): array
 {
     global $dockerManPaths, $driver;  // bound from DockerClient.php's top-level scope
 
+    $transient = false;
+
     modernui_maybe_migrate_folder_view2();
 
     $containers = [];
+    $infoCount = 0;
+    $daemonCount = 0;
     if (class_exists('DockerTemplates') && class_exists('DockerClient')) {
         try {
             // Two data sources to merge:
@@ -41,7 +61,8 @@ function modernui_docker_state(bool $withStats = false): array
             //   getDockerContainers() →  docker socket data (Image, Status, Id, Ports, NetworkMode)
             // Keyed by container Name in both.
             $templates = new DockerTemplates();
-            $info = $templates->getAllInfo(false, true, false);
+            $info = (array)$templates->getAllInfo(false, true, false);
+            $infoCount = count($info);
 
             $client = new DockerClient();
             $rawContainers = $client->getDockerContainers();
@@ -51,6 +72,7 @@ function modernui_docker_state(bool $withStats = false): array
                     $byName[$ct['Name']] = $ct;
                 }
             }
+            $daemonCount = count($byName);
 
             // Sizes + live CPU/RAM are both expensive (sizes walks each
             // container's RW layer; `docker stats --no-stream` blocks ~1s for
@@ -61,7 +83,7 @@ function modernui_docker_state(bool $withStats = false): array
             $sizes = $withStats ? modernui_fetch_sizes($client) : [];
             $stats = $withStats ? modernui_fetch_docker_stats() : [];
 
-            foreach ((array)$info as $name => $row) {
+            foreach ($info as $name => $row) {
                 $container = $byName[$name] ?? [];
                 $shortId = substr((string)($container['Id'] ?? ''), 0, 12);
                 $vdisk = $sizes[$shortId] ?? null;
@@ -74,6 +96,15 @@ function modernui_docker_state(bool $withStats = false): array
         }
     }
 
+    // Mid-rewrite of the webui-info docker.json: bail before reading folders/tags
+    // and let the caller serve a 503. The client treats that as "keep current
+    // state, retry on the next resync" rather than accepting an empty list. A
+    // genuinely empty server (daemon also empty) falls through and returns [].
+    if (modernui_is_transient_empty($infoCount, $daemonCount)) {
+        $transient = true;
+        return [];
+    }
+
     $folders = modernui_read_folders();
     $tags    = modernui_read_tags();
 
@@ -269,5 +300,16 @@ function modernui_normalize_ports(array $rawPorts, string $url): array
     // ?stats=1 opts into the expensive size + docker-stats fetches. The
     // front-end only sends it when the Stats pill is on.
     $withStats = isset($_GET['stats']) && $_GET['stats'] === '1';
-    modernui_json_response(modernui_docker_state($withStats));
+    $transient = false;
+    $snapshot = modernui_docker_state($withStats, $transient);
+    if ($transient) {
+        // Mid-rewrite of the webui-info docker.json by the stock update flow:
+        // the container list is momentarily empty though the daemon still has
+        // them. 503 tells the client to keep its current state and retry —
+        // fetchSnapshot() throws on the non-200 and resync()'s catch swallows
+        // it. See modernui_is_transient_empty.
+        modernui_json_response(['error' => 'transient', 'retry' => true], 503);
+    } else {
+        modernui_json_response($snapshot);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/ts/docker/boot.ts b/src/ts/docker/boot.ts
index 65cf004..2345987 100644
--- a/src/ts/docker/boot.ts
+++ b/src/ts/docker/boot.ts
@@ -147,6 +147,13 @@ export async function boot(): Promise<void> {
       // Only request stats when the toggle is on — saves a second+ on
       // every fetch when stats aren't shown. nchan deltas keep CPU/RAM
       // fresh for running containers regardless.
+      // docker-state.php returns 503 during the window the stock update_container
+      // flow rewrites the webui-info docker.json that getAllInfo() reads (the
+      // container list is momentarily empty though the daemon still has them).
+      // fetchSnapshot() throws on that non-200, so the catch below keeps the
+      // current state and we retry on the next resync — instead of blanking the
+      // page and poisoning the SWR cache with an empty list. A genuinely empty
+      // server returns 200 with an empty list and renders the empty state.
       const snapshot = await fetchSnapshot({ withStats: store.getShowStats() });
       lastServerUptime = snapshot.serverUptime;
       store.setState({
@@ -167,11 +174,16 @@ export async function boot(): Promise<void> {
   // snapshot of the in-flight pull/recreate sequence. The page mounts a panel
   // that consumes this.
   //
-  // The onBatchComplete callback fires on the script's `_DONE_` marker — we
-  // force-clear the docker store's updating set + refetch so the panel and
-  // per-row "update available" badges don't sit on stale state if the digest
-  // cache hasn't caught up yet. Without this fallback, "Working…" would
-  // linger until the 5-min watchdog fired.
+  // The onBatchComplete callback fires on the script's `_DONE_` marker. We
+  // resync THEN clear the updating set — order matters. reconcileUpdating()
+  // force-clears a recreated container's stale "update available" badge (the
+  // Unraid digest cache lags after a pull; see store.ts), but only while that
+  // container's update probe still exists. Clearing probes first — as this used
+  // to — left reconcile nothing to match, so the freshly-updated badge persisted
+  // on the lagging cache until a manual page reload. So: resync first (the
+  // rotated-id snapshot reconciles and clears the badge), then clearAllUpdating
+  // mops up any probe that didn't self-reconcile (a no-op/failed update) so the
+  // panel doesn't sit on "Working…" until the 5-min watchdog.
   const progressStore = createUpdateProgressStore(
     (image) => {
       // image string ("linuxserver/plex:latest") → container.name. Match
@@ -185,8 +197,7 @@ export async function boot(): Promise<void> {
       return null;
     },
     () => {
-      store.clearAllUpdating();
-      void resync();
+      void resync().then(() => store.clearAllUpdating());
     },
   );
 
diff --git a/tests/unit-php/docker-state.test.php b/tests/unit-php/docker-state.test.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..628a51e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit-php/docker-state.test.php
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+<?php
+
+// Tests for docker-state.php's transient-empty disambiguation.
+//
+// Background: while the stock update_container flow recreates a container it
+// rewrites the webui-info docker.json that DockerTemplates::getAllInfo() reads,
+// so getAllInfo() momentarily returns an empty list even though the docker
+// daemon still has every container. Serving that empty list blanked the
+// modernui /Docker page. getDockerContainers() hits the docker socket directly
+// (the source of truth, unaffected by the rewrite), so modernui_is_transient_empty()
+// distinguishes "mid-rewrite" (info empty, daemon non-empty → 503) from a
+// genuinely empty server (both empty → 200 with []).
+//
+// We can't exercise modernui_docker_state() end-to-end — it needs Unraid's
+// DockerTemplates/DockerClient, absent in the sandbox — but its bootstrap is
+// guarded by is_file()/PHP_SAPI so requiring the file is safe and the pure
+// helper is testable in isolation.
+
+// Quiet the bootstrap's $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] read under CLI.
+$_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] = $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] ?? sys_get_temp_dir();
+
+require_once __DIR__ . '/../../package/include/docker-state.php';
+
+// ===========================================================================
+// modernui_is_transient_empty()
+// ===========================================================================
+
+assert(
+    modernui_is_transient_empty(0, 43) === true,
+    'info empty + daemon non-empty → transient (mid-rewrite)'
+);
+
+assert(
+    modernui_is_transient_empty(0, 0) === false,
+    'both empty → genuinely empty server, NOT transient (must render empty state)'
+);
+
+assert(
+    modernui_is_transient_empty(43, 43) === false,
+    'steady state: info and daemon both populated → not transient'
+);
+
+assert(
+    modernui_is_transient_empty(43, 0) === false,
+    'info populated but daemon empty (odd) → not flagged; only an empty info triggers'
+);
+
+assert(
+    modernui_is_transient_empty(1, 0) === false,
+    'a single info row is non-empty → not transient'
+);
+
+echo "docker-state.test.php OK\n";
diff --git a/tests/unit-ts/docker/boot.test.ts b/tests/unit-ts/docker/boot.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ccbd3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit-ts/docker/boot.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { isDockerPageEnabled } from '../../../src/ts/docker/boot';
+
+// The transient-empty-snapshot guard that used to live here moved server-side:
+// docker-state.php now returns 503 (not 200 + `containers: []`) while the stock
+// update_container flow rewrites webui-info docker.json, so resync()'s catch
+// keeps current state. See modernui_is_transient_empty in docker-state.php and
+// docker-state.test.php. Removing the client heuristic also fixes the inverse
+// bug — a genuinely empty server (all containers deleted) now renders the empty
+// state instead of being suppressed as "transient".
+
+describe('isDockerPageEnabled gate', () => {
+  it('defaults ON when the attribute is absent', () => {
+    delete document.documentElement.dataset.modernuiDocker;
+    expect(isDockerPageEnabled(document)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns false only when explicitly "off"', () => {
+    document.documentElement.dataset.modernuiDocker = 'off';
+    expect(isDockerPageEnabled(document)).toBe(false);
+    document.documentElement.dataset.modernuiDocker = 'on';
+    expect(isDockerPageEnabled(document)).toBe(true);
+    delete document.documentElement.dataset.modernuiDocker;
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit-ts/docker/store.test.ts b/tests/unit-ts/docker/store.test.ts
index e07c1c2..46eac0e 100644
--- a/tests/unit-ts/docker/store.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit-ts/docker/store.test.ts
@@ -408,6 +408,30 @@ describe('updating state', () => {
     expect(store.getState().containers[0].updateAvailable).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it('loses the badge force-clear if probes are cleared BEFORE the reconciling snapshot', () => {
+    // Ordering contract for boot.ts onBatchComplete (the stuck-badge bug): the
+    // id-rotation force-clear only runs while the update probe still exists.
+    // clearAllUpdating() before the resync's setState() deletes the probe, so
+    // reconcileUpdating() has nothing to match and the badge falls back to the
+    // snapshot's stale updateAvailable=true. onBatchComplete must therefore
+    // resync FIRST, then clear. This test pins that dependency so a future
+    // reorder back to clear-then-resync fails loudly.
+    const store = createDockerStore();
+    const s = sampleState();
+    s.containers[0] = mkContainer({ name: 'plex', id: 'old-id', updateAvailable: true });
+    store.setState(s);
+    store.markUpdating(['plex']);
+
+    // Wrong order: wipe probes before the recreated snapshot arrives.
+    store.clearAllUpdating();
+    const next = sampleState();
+    next.containers[0] = mkContainer({ name: 'plex', id: 'new-id', updateAvailable: true });
+    store.setState(next);
+
+    // No probe survived, so the lagging-cache badge persists — the bug.
+    expect(store.getState().containers[0].updateAvailable).toBe(true);
+  });
+
   it('clears entries when updateAvailable flips true→false (id unchanged path)', () => {
     const store = createDockerStore();
     const s = sampleState();