diff --git a/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py b/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py
index c68cd73..92a0cf1 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py
+++ b/apps/api/src/api/tool_instances.py
@@ -2470,26 +2470,16 @@ async def recreate_tunnel_endpoint(
         tool_type.default_port,
     )
 
-    # Find the tool container — try stored ID first, then fall back to exact name
+    # Find the tool container — try stored ID first, then fall back to name lookup
     tool_container_id = instance.container_id
     if tool_container_id:
         logger.info("Using stored container_id: %s", tool_container_id)
     else:
-        # Use exact name match via inspect to avoid substring collisions with tunnel containers
-        inspect_result = subprocess.run(
-            ["docker", "inspect", "-f", "{{.Id}}", expected_name],
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-        )
-        if inspect_result.returncode == 0 and inspect_result.stdout.strip():
-            tool_container_id = inspect_result.stdout.strip()
-            logger.info("Found container by exact name: %s", tool_container_id)
+        tool_container_id = get_container_id(expected_name)
+        if tool_container_id:
+            logger.info("Found container by name: %s", tool_container_id)
         else:
-            logger.error(
-                "Container %s not found via docker inspect: %s",
-                expected_name,
-                inspect_result.stderr,
-            )
+            logger.error("Container %s not found", expected_name)
             raise HTTPException(
                 status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
                 detail="Could not find running container for this instance",
diff --git a/apps/api/src/services/docker.py b/apps/api/src/services/docker.py
index edd965d..5e5a606 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/services/docker.py
+++ b/apps/api/src/services/docker.py
@@ -179,22 +179,41 @@ def execute_compose_command(
 def get_container_id(instance_name: str) -> str | None:
     """Get the container ID for a compose service.
 
-    Uses exact name matching via docker inspect to avoid substring collisions
-    with tunnel containers (e.g. tunnel-code-server-... matching code-server-...).
+    Uses exact name matching to avoid substring collisions with tunnel
+    containers (e.g. tunnel-code-server-... matching code-server-...).
+    Falls back to case-insensitive matching since Docker DNS is case-
+    insensitive but docker inspect is case-sensitive.
 
     Args:
-        instance_name: The exact container name (case-insensitive for Docker).
+        instance_name: The expected container name.
 
     Returns:
         Container ID or None if not found.
     """
+    expected = instance_name.lower()
+
+    # Fast path: exact match via docker inspect
     result = subprocess.run(
-        ["docker", "inspect", "-f", "{{.Id}}", instance_name.lower()],
+        ["docker", "inspect", "-f", "{{.Id}}", expected],
         capture_output=True,
         text=True,
     )
     if result.returncode == 0 and result.stdout.strip():
         return result.stdout.strip()
+
+    # Fallback: list all containers and do case-insensitive exact match
+    ps_result = subprocess.run(
+        ["docker", "ps", "-a", "--format", "{{.Names}}\t{{.ID}}"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    if ps_result.returncode == 0:
+        for line in ps_result.stdout.strip().splitlines():
+            parts = line.split("\t")
+            if len(parts) == 2:
+                name, cid = parts
+                if name.lower() == expected:
+                    return cid
     return None