diff --git a/internal/pods/pods.go b/internal/pods/pods.go
index ef6e87e..0b10acb 100644
--- a/internal/pods/pods.go
+++ b/internal/pods/pods.go
@@ -70,6 +70,23 @@ func (m *Manager) publicHTMLMount(user string) (host, spec string) {
 	return host, host + ":/home/dev/public_html"
 }
 
+// hasMount reports whether the named container already has a mount at the given
+// destination path. Used to detect pods created before a mount was introduced so
+// ensure can recreate them. A failed inspect reports false (treat as missing).
+func (m *Manager) hasMount(name, dest string) bool {
+	out, err := exec.Command(m.engine, "container", "inspect",
+		"-f", "{{range .Mounts}}{{println .Destination}}{{end}}", name).Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(string(out), "\n") {
+		if strings.TrimSpace(line) == dest {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // Engine reports the active container engine.
 func (m *Manager) Engine() string { return m.engine }
 
@@ -106,9 +123,21 @@ func (m *Manager) ensure(user string) (string, error) {
 	}
 	// Already exists?
 	if err := exec.Command(m.engine, "container", "inspect", name).Run(); err == nil {
-		_ = exec.Command(m.engine, "start", name).Run() // no-op if running
-		m.tuneApt(name)
-		return name, nil
+		// Self-heal pods created before the homepage bind existed: recreate so
+		// ~/public_html maps to the served dir. The named home volume persists
+		// across rm, so the member's files are kept. Only heal when the pod is
+		// idle (no live session) — never pull a running pod out from under an
+		// active session; a still-unbound pod heals on its next idle attach.
+		m.mu.Lock()
+		idle := m.attached[name] == 0
+		m.mu.Unlock()
+		if pubSpec != "" && idle && !m.hasMount(name, "/home/dev/public_html") {
+			_ = exec.Command(m.engine, "rm", "-f", name).Run() // fall through to recreate with the bind
+		} else {
+			_ = exec.Command(m.engine, "start", name).Run() // no-op if running
+			m.tuneApt(name)
+			return name, nil
+		}
 	}
 	args := []string{
 		"run", "-d",