---
name: Caddyfile edits must preserve inode
description: Python open().write() breaks Docker bind mounts by creating new inodes — use sed -i or tee instead
type: feedback
---

Never edit the Caddyfile (or any Docker bind-mounted file) with Python's `open(path, 'w').write()` — it creates a new inode and Docker keeps reading the old one.

**Why:** Docker bind mounts track the original file inode. Python's write creates a new file, so `caddy reload` reads stale content. This caused hours of debugging where Caddy appeared to ignore config changes.

**How to apply:** Use `sed -i` for substitutions or `cat newfile | tee /path/to/file > /dev/null` for full rewrites. If the inode is already broken, restart the container (`docker restart caddy`) to re-mount. Always verify with `docker exec caddy cat /etc/caddy/Caddyfile` after edits.