diff --git a/.changeset/compose-dynamic-ip-range.md b/.changeset/compose-dynamic-ip-range.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5486aa8a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/compose-dynamic-ip-range.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+"nostream": patch
+---
+
+fix(compose): keep dynamic container addresses off the static ones
+
+`docker-compose.yml` pins `nostream`, `nostream-db` and `nostream-cache` to `10.10.10.2`–`.4`, but dynamic allocation drew from the bottom of the same `/24`. The observability stack has no dependency that orders it after `nostream`, so `otel-collector` could be given `.2` and `nostream` then failed to start with `Address already in use` — most reliably after a host reboot, when the daemon starts containers in arbitrary order.
+
+Dynamic allocation is now confined to `10.10.10.128/26`. The subnet and gateway are unchanged, so `10.10.10.1` stays the trusted proxy, and the overlay pins (`.5`, `.252`, `.253`) stay outside the pool.
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 564b3a717..b803246c7 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -210,7 +210,17 @@ networks:
     ipam:
       driver: default
       config:
+        # Dynamic addresses are confined to .128/26 so they can never land on a
+        # static one: nostream is .2, and the observability stack takes the first
+        # three free addresses — which were .2, .3 and .4, taken by nostream,
+        # nostream-db and nostream-cache. Docker allocates from the bottom of the
+        # subnet, and otel-collector has no dependency that would order it after
+        # nostream, so whichever container came up first won the address and the
+        # other failed with "Address already in use". The overlays pin .5
+        # (local), .252 (i2p) and .253 (tor) for the same reason.
         - subnet: 10.10.10.0/24
+          gateway: 10.10.10.1
+          ip_range: 10.10.10.128/26
 
 volumes:
   cache:
diff --git a/test/unit/ci/compose-network.spec.ts b/test/unit/ci/compose-network.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e013c44f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/ci/compose-network.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import chai from 'chai'
+import { readFileSync, readdirSync } from 'fs'
+import yaml from 'js-yaml'
+import { join } from 'path'
+
+const { expect } = chai
+
+/**
+ * Docker allocates dynamic addresses from the bottom of a subnet, while several
+ * services are pinned by `ipv4_address`. Without an `ip_range` the two pools
+ * overlap, and which container wins is decided by creation order — so
+ * `otel-collector` could take `10.10.10.2` from `nostream` and the relay then
+ * fails with "Address already in use" (#929). These checks hold the pools apart.
+ */
+
+type Service = {
+  networks?: Record<string, { ipv4_address?: string } | string> | string[]
+}
+
+type Network = {
+  ipam?: { config?: Array<{ subnet?: string; gateway?: string; ip_range?: string }> }
+}
+
+type Compose = { services?: Record<string, Service>; networks?: Record<string, Network> }
+
+const composeFiles = (): string[] =>
+  readdirSync(process.cwd())
+    .filter((file) => /^docker-compose(\.[\w-]+)?\.ya?ml$/.test(file))
+    .sort()
+
+const load = (file: string): Compose =>
+  yaml.load(readFileSync(join(process.cwd(), file), 'utf-8')) as Compose
+
+/** Every static address a compose file pins, as `file: service -> address`. */
+const staticAddresses = (): Array<{ file: string; service: string; address: string }> =>
+  composeFiles().flatMap((file) => {
+    const services = load(file).services ?? {}
+
+    return Object.entries(services).flatMap(([name, service]) => {
+      const networks = service.networks
+      if (!networks || Array.isArray(networks) || typeof networks === 'string') return []
+
+      return Object.values(networks)
+        .filter((entry): entry is { ipv4_address?: string } => typeof entry === 'object' && entry !== null)
+        .filter((entry) => typeof entry.ipv4_address === 'string')
+        .map((entry) => ({ file, service: name, address: entry.ipv4_address as string }))
+    })
+  })
+
+const ipv4ToInt = (address: string): number =>
+  address.split('.').reduce((total, octet) => total * 256 + Number(octet), 0)
+
+const parseCidr = (cidr: string): { base: number; size: number } => {
+  const [address, bits] = cidr.split('/')
+
+  return { base: ipv4ToInt(address), size: 2 ** (32 - Number(bits)) }
+}
+
+const contains = (cidr: string, address: string): boolean => {
+  const { base, size } = parseCidr(cidr)
+  const value = ipv4ToInt(address)
+
+  return value >= base && value < base + size
+}
+
+describe('docker-compose network pools', () => {
+  const defaultNetwork = load('docker-compose.yml').networks?.default
+  const ipam = defaultNetwork?.ipam?.config?.[0] ?? {}
+
+  it('declares an ip_range beside the static addresses', () => {
+    expect(ipam.subnet, 'docker-compose.yml must declare a subnet').to.be.a('string')
+    expect(
+      ipam.ip_range,
+      'docker-compose.yml must confine dynamic allocation with ip_range, or it can hand a pinned address to another container'
+    ).to.be.a('string')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the dynamic range inside the subnet', () => {
+    const { base, size } = parseCidr(ipam.ip_range as string)
+    const subnet = parseCidr(ipam.subnet as string)
+
+    expect(base).to.be.at.least(subnet.base)
+    expect(base + size).to.be.at.most(subnet.base + subnet.size)
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the gateway outside the dynamic range', () => {
+    expect(contains(ipam.subnet as string, ipam.gateway as string), 'gateway must be in the subnet').to.equal(true)
+    expect(contains(ipam.ip_range as string, ipam.gateway as string), 'gateway must not be allocatable').to.equal(
+      false
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('keeps every static address outside the dynamic range', () => {
+    const addresses = staticAddresses()
+
+    expect(addresses.length, 'no static addresses found — the extraction is broken').to.be.greaterThan(0)
+
+    for (const { file, service, address } of addresses) {
+      expect(
+        contains(ipam.subnet as string, address),
+        `${file}: ${service} pins ${address}, which is outside the declared subnet`
+      ).to.equal(true)
+      expect(
+        contains(ipam.ip_range as string, address),
+        `${file}: ${service} pins ${address}, which is inside the dynamic pool ${String(ipam.ip_range)}`
+      ).to.equal(false)
+    }
+  })
+})