diff --git a/.claude/skills/ipx-prod-check/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/ipx-prod-check/SKILL.md
index a48cd44..ed9fd8f 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/ipx-prod-check/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/ipx-prod-check/SKILL.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Start every check by seeing that all three run, since Loki cannot see a containe
 docker ps -a --filter name=iPX --filter name=ipx-web --filter name=ipx-directory --format '{{.Names}} {{.Status}}'
 ```
 
-All three should be `(healthy)`. Then work through ipx (the checks below), the page, the
+All three should be `Up`, with no recent restart; they have no Docker healthcheck (#218). Then work through ipx (the checks below), the page, the
 directory, Tower and the monitoring itself, in that order.
 
 ## ipx
@@ -226,8 +226,8 @@ a count says something happened, the lines and traces say why.
 
 Caddy logs one JSON line a request (#210), logger `http.log.access.log0`: Loki's `| json` gives
 `request_uri`, `request_method`, `request_remote_ip`, `status`, `duration` (seconds, not ms), `size`.
-The request's headers and a `?token=` are filtered out before it is written. Its healthcheck
-requests come from `127.0.0.1` every 30 s; leave them out. `/api` and `/media` pass on to ipx and
+The request's headers and a `?token=` are filtered out before it is written. Requests from
+`127.0.0.1` are local checks; leave them out. `/api` and `/media` pass on to ipx and
 are in ipx's own access log too, with ipx's time; Caddy's `duration` for them adds the hop.
 
 ```sh
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index f0802c5..3cab993 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -103,11 +103,13 @@ docker tag mirror.gcr.io/library/rust:1-slim-trixie rust:1-slim-trixie
 
 Run those again now and then, or the local copies go stale.
 
-The healthcheck runs `ipx status` against the control socket, so `(healthy)` in `docker ps` means
-the daemon answers there and can read its database, not just that the web port is up. The socket
-answers `status` itself instead of queuing it behind the worker's current job, so a long scan or
-download does not fail the check; it also means a worker stuck on one job would still pass. The
-container restarts on its own after a reboot.
+The containers have no Docker healthcheck (#218): Docker runs one with `exec`, which on Tower
+fails whenever root is logged out, because elogind removes `/run/user/0`, where containerd puts
+each exec's state. Whether ipx is well is Prometheus's question (`up`, the worker's job and time)
+and `ipx status` against the control socket, which says the daemon answers and can read its
+database. The socket answers `status` itself instead of queuing it behind the worker's current
+job, so a worker stuck on one job still answers it. The containers restart on their own after a
+reboot.
 
 Before the container, ipx ran by hand in code-server, with its files in `/config/.config/ipx/` and
 `/config/.local/share/ipx/`. Those are still there and the container does not read them. If you run
@@ -199,8 +201,7 @@ seeking through files, a flood of wrong passwords. Things about them:
   127.0.0.1, as production trusts Cloudflare Access's; only the sign-in test uses a password.
 * Each threshold is a budget well above what the request takes now: it is there to catch a query
   that has started asking once per feed, or writers queueing on a lock, not a slow minute.
-* `ipx status`, the Docker healthcheck, runs every second throughout, and a run fails if one takes
-  the healthcheck's 5s.
+* `ipx status` runs every second throughout, and a run fails if one takes 5s.
 * One at a time: `node tests/load/run.js signin`. All four take about six minutes.
 * The daemon is on **SQLite** unless `--postgres`, which puts it in `IPX_TEST_DATABASE_URL`, in
   a schema of its own (`ipx_load`) dropped and made again each run. That URL, in `/src/.envrc`, is
diff --git a/crates/directory/CHANGELOG.md b/crates/directory/CHANGELOG.md
index 0d8121a..3362945 100644
--- a/crates/directory/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/crates/directory/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- The example in docs/directory.md has no healthcheck; `ipx-directory health` is still there to run by hand (#218).
+
 ## [1.0.0] - 2026-10-12
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/crates/directory/src/main.rs b/crates/directory/src/main.rs
index 0f38daa..460f543 100644
--- a/crates/directory/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/directory/src/main.rs
@@ -25,8 +25,7 @@ enum Cmd {
         #[command(subcommand)]
         cmd: TokenCmd,
     },
-    /// Check that the directory on this machine answers and can read its database: the
-    /// container's healthcheck.
+    /// Check that the directory on this machine answers and can read its database.
     Health,
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/ipx/CHANGELOG.md b/crates/ipx/CHANGELOG.md
index 1dfe3f7..af3e159 100644
--- a/crates/ipx/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/crates/ipx/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- `docker-compose.yml` has no healthchecks: Docker runs them with exec, which can fail on the host while ipx is well. The library's counts in `/metrics` are kept every 30 s by the daemon itself (#218).
+
 ## [1.0.0] - 2026-10-12
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/crates/ipx/src/ipc.rs b/crates/ipx/src/ipc.rs
index b1b5587..26c216d 100644
--- a/crates/ipx/src/ipc.rs
+++ b/crates/ipx/src/ipc.rs
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ fn log_event(e: &Event, wire: bool) {
             )
         };
     }
-    // The healthcheck's answer, every 30s: a reply on the socket rather than work done, so it
+    // `ipx status`'s answer: a reply on the socket rather than work done, so it
     // stays with the rest of the conversation, and the Scans tab stays about scans.
     if matches!(e, Event::Status { .. }) {
         return line!(info, "ipx::io", format!("<- {json}"));
diff --git a/crates/ipx/src/main.rs b/crates/ipx/src/main.rs
index 7dbc73e..5e1917c 100644
--- a/crates/ipx/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/ipx/src/main.rs
@@ -254,8 +254,8 @@ impl Ctx {
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     let cli = Cli::parse();
-    // The daemon only: `ipx status` runs every half minute as the healthcheck, and a trace
-    // for each would bury the ones worth looking at.
+    // The daemon only: a trace for every `ipx status` a script runs would bury the ones worth
+    // looking at.
     let otel = match cli.command {
         Command::Daemon { .. } => ipx_directory::otel::provider("ipx")?,
         _ => None,
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn status(ctx: &Ctx) -> Event {
     match ctx.db.counts().await {
         Ok((pending, downloaded)) => {
             let feeds = subscriptions(ctx).await.map(|s| s.len()).unwrap_or(0);
-            // Kept for /metrics, which asks the database nothing (#195): the healthcheck asks this every 30 s.
+            // Kept for /metrics, which asks the database nothing (#195); the daemon counts every 30 s.
             use std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed;
             let st = &metrics::STATS;
             st.feeds.store(feeds as i64, Relaxed);
@@ -663,6 +663,21 @@ async fn daemon(
     // must not wait behind it.
     tokio::spawn(deadair::run(ctx.clone(), rx_stop.clone()));
     tokio::spawn(directory::run(ctx.clone(), rx_stop.clone()));
+    // The library's counts for /metrics. The Docker healthcheck asked for them every 30 s until
+    // it was removed: Docker runs it with exec, which failed on Tower whenever root was logged
+    // out (#218).
+    {
+        let (ctx, mut stop) = (ctx.clone(), rx_stop.clone());
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let mut every = tokio::time::interval(std::time::Duration::from_secs(30));
+            loop {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    _ = every.tick() => { status(&ctx).await; }
+                    _ = stop.changed() => break,
+                }
+            }
+        });
+    }
 
     // Runs one job, abandoning it if a signal arrives. Returns false to end the loop.
     async fn until_stopped(
diff --git a/crates/ipx/src/metrics.rs b/crates/ipx/src/metrics.rs
index c5de83b..013ab4c 100644
--- a/crates/ipx/src/metrics.rs
+++ b/crates/ipx/src/metrics.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ pub struct Stats {
     /// Artwork served from disk, and fetched from the publisher because it was not there.
     pub art_hits: AtomicU64,
     pub art_misses: AtomicU64,
-    /// The library as the healthcheck last counted it, every 30 s; -1 until it has.
+    /// The library as the daemon last counted it, every 30 s; -1 until it has.
     pub feeds: AtomicI64,
     pub pending: AtomicI64,
     pub downloaded: AtomicI64,
@@ -218,9 +218,9 @@ fn work(out: &mut String, st: &Stats, event_queue: usize, retries: usize, art_li
     counter(out, "ipx_art_requests_total", "Artwork asked for: served from disk, or fetched from the publisher.",
         &[("result=\"hit\"", st.art_hits.load(Relaxed) as f64), ("result=\"miss\"", st.art_misses.load(Relaxed) as f64)]);
     for (name, help, v) in [
-        ("ipx_feeds", "Feeds in the catalogue, as the healthcheck last counted.", &st.feeds),
-        ("ipx_downloads_pending", "Files a scan will download on its own, as the healthcheck last counted.", &st.pending),
-        ("ipx_files_downloaded", "Files on disk, as the healthcheck last counted.", &st.downloaded),
+        ("ipx_feeds", "Feeds in the catalogue, as last counted.", &st.feeds),
+        ("ipx_downloads_pending", "Files a scan will download on its own, as last counted.", &st.pending),
+        ("ipx_files_downloaded", "Files on disk, as last counted.", &st.downloaded),
     ] {
         let v = v.load(Relaxed);
         if v >= 0 {
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(out.contains("ipx_worker_busy 0\n") && !out.contains("ipx_worker_job_seconds"), "{out}");
         assert!(out.contains("ipx_jobs_total{kind=\"scan\"} 1\n") && out.contains("# TYPE ipx_jobs_total counter"), "{out}");
         assert!(out.contains("ipx_event_queue 3\n") && out.contains("ipx_feed_retries 1\n"));
-        // The library's counts are left out until the healthcheck has counted it.
+        // The library's counts are left out until the daemon has counted it.
         assert!(!out.contains("ipx_feeds "));
     }
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index edf2647..b4229ad 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -22,12 +22,6 @@ services:
       - ./config:/config         # config.toml, written on first start
       - ./data:/data             # state.db
       - ./downloads:/downloads
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "ipx", "status"]
-      interval: 30s
-      timeout: 5s
-      retries: 3
-      start_period: 10s
 
   ipx-web:
     image: ipx-web
@@ -47,8 +41,3 @@ services:
       - "8099:8080"          # the web UI
     depends_on:
       - ipx
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-q", "--spider", "http://127.0.0.1:8080/favicon.png"]
-      interval: 30s
-      timeout: 5s
-      retries: 3
diff --git a/docs/directory.md b/docs/directory.md
index c42d5bd..eca7c57 100644
--- a/docs/directory.md
+++ b/docs/directory.md
@@ -110,8 +110,6 @@ services:
       - "8100:8100"
     volumes:
       - ./directory:/config:ro    # directory.toml
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "ipx-directory", "health"]
 ```
 
 ## What it will not hold
diff --git a/tests/load/run.js b/tests/load/run.js
index edc6c35..a6e940b 100644
--- a/tests/load/run.js
+++ b/tests/load/run.js
@@ -8,8 +8,7 @@
 // It builds a release binary (debug Argon2 alone takes a second a sign-in, which would measure
 // the build, not ipx), serves generated feeds from this process, starts a daemon on its own
 // config and data under /tmp/ipx-load, wiped first, seeds listeners, then runs each k6 script.
-// While each runs, `ipx status` -- the Docker healthcheck -- is run every second, and the run
-// fails if any answer takes as long as the healthcheck's 5s timeout.
+// While each runs, `ipx status` is run every second, and the run fails if any answer takes 5s.
 //
 // The daemon is on SQLite unless --postgres, which puts it in IPX_TEST_DATABASE_URL, the
 // database the Rust tests use on Postgres too (ipodderx_test on the server production's is on, in