Docker Container Terminates After a Certain Period ​

Context ​

A Docker container launches successfully but unexpectedly stops after operating for a duration without other observable errors.

Symptom ​

When a Docker container image is executed, the CLI remains inactive before automatically closing after prolonged idleness. This behavior persists even for containers launched in background via docker run -d.

Root Cause ​

The container image includes a predefined 300-second timeout (TMOUT) setting in /etc/profile. When users access the container via SSH and maintain terminal inactivity beyond this threshold, the system forcibly terminates the session.

Resolution ​

1. Deploy the container with existing TMOUT configuration.

   shell

   docker run -itd XXX bash

2. Adjust container settings through interactive execution.

   shell

   docker exec -it $container_id bash

   1. Disable the timeout by setting TMOUT=0 in /etc/profile:

      

   2. Ensure profile loading by adding source /etc/profile to /root/.bashrc:

      

3. Reinitialize the container to apply permanent changes:

   shell

   docker restart $container_id