# tailscale node re-registers as NAME-1 after docker compose down -v

TL;DR: `docker compose down -v` deleted the volume holding tailscale's state, so the node forgot its identity and registered as a brand-new machine with a -1 suffix. Keep the state volume (drop the `-v`, or declare the volume external) and the name stays put.

```text
symptom: your node was "homelab", and after recreating the containers
"homelab-1" appears in the admin console as a separate machine
```

## Steps

1. Stop deleting the state volume. Recreate without `-v`:

```bash
docker compose down
docker compose up -d
```

Expected: the node rejoins with its original name.

2. For a durable fix, declare the tailscale state volume as external in compose so no command wipes it:

```yaml
volumes:
  tailscale-state:
    external: true
```

Expected: future `down -v` runs leave the state volume alone.

3. Remove the stray -1 duplicate from the admin console machines list.

Expected: one entry per real node again.

## When this applies

- node names gain -1, -2 suffixes after container recreation
- ACLs or DNS entries target the old name and break after the rename
- any Docker setup storing tailscale state in a compose-managed volume

## When it doesnt

- `authkey already used` errors — that is key reuse, not state loss
- the name changes on a bare-metal install — no volumes involved there
- two genuinely different machines — they are supposed to have different names

## Compatibility

tailscale in Docker Compose with state in a named volume.

## Other phrasings

- `tailscale docker duplicate machine after down -v`
- `tailscale node name changed to -1`

## Why it happens

Tailscale's node identity lives in its state directory. Delete the directory and the next start looks like a new machine; the control plane keeps the old name taken, so the newcomer gets a numeric suffix. The `-v` flag is what wipes the anonymous and named volumes.

## Edge cases

- If the state is already gone, you cannot recover the old identity; accept the new name or re-key the node deliberately.
- External volumes must be created once by hand before first `up`, or compose will complain.