diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 53086b8..d46f8e4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -459,8 +459,13 @@ export default function App() {
     snapshotHistory()
     const existingNode = nodes.find((n) => n.id === editNodeId)
     updateNode(editNodeId, data)
-    // If container_mode changed, apply structural changes (children parentId, node dimensions)
-    if (typeof data.container_mode === 'boolean') {
+    // Only run the structural container transition when container_mode ACTUALLY
+    // changed. The modal always includes container_mode in its payload, so firing
+    // on presence alone re-ran the absolute<->relative child-position conversion on
+    // every edit (e.g. an icon change), corrupting nested child positions (they pile
+    // up in a corner). Gate on a real toggle instead.
+    const prevContainerMode = !!existingNode?.data.container_mode
+    if (typeof data.container_mode === 'boolean' && data.container_mode !== prevContainerMode) {
       setProxmoxContainerMode(editNodeId, data.container_mode)
     }
     // Sync virtual edge when parent_id changes on an LXC/VM node
diff --git a/frontend/src/stores/__tests__/canvasStore/containers.test.ts b/frontend/src/stores/__tests__/canvasStore/containers.test.ts
index 76a8902..501f910 100644
--- a/frontend/src/stores/__tests__/canvasStore/containers.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/stores/__tests__/canvasStore/containers.test.ts
@@ -169,6 +169,23 @@ describe('canvasStore — containers & nesting', () => {
     expect(updatedChild?.extent).toBeUndefined()
   })
 
+  // Regression: editing any field on a container host (e.g. its icon) used to
+  // re-fire setProxmoxContainerMode(true) because the modal always re-sends
+  // container_mode. Re-running the ON transition re-applied the
+  // absolute->relative conversion to children that were ALREADY relative,
+  // collapsing them into a corner. A redundant ON call must now be a no-op for
+  // already-nested children.
+  it('setProxmoxContainerMode ON is idempotent for already-nested children', () => {
+    const proxmox: Node<NodeData> = { id: 'px', type: 'proxmox', position: { x: 500, y: -300 }, width: 852, height: 212, data: { label: 'px', type: 'proxmox', status: 'unknown', services: [], container_mode: true } }
+    const child: Node<NodeData> = { id: 'vm1', type: 'vm', position: { x: 10, y: 62 }, data: { label: 'vm1', type: 'vm', status: 'unknown', services: [], parent_id: 'px' }, parentId: 'px', extent: 'parent' }
+    useCanvasStore.setState({ nodes: [proxmox, child] })
+    useCanvasStore.getState().setProxmoxContainerMode('px', true)
+    const c = useCanvasStore.getState().nodes.find((n) => n.id === 'vm1')
+    expect(c?.position).toEqual({ x: 10, y: 62 })
+    expect(c?.parentId).toBe('px')
+    expect(c?.extent).toBe('parent')
+  })
+
   it('loadCanvas sorts parents before children', () => {
     const parent = makeNode('p1')
     const child: Node<NodeData> = { ...makeNode('c1', { parent_id: 'p1' }), parentId: 'p1', extent: 'parent' }
diff --git a/frontend/src/stores/canvasStore.ts b/frontend/src/stores/canvasStore.ts
index 34be96c..c3ef3d3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/stores/canvasStore.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/stores/canvasStore.ts
@@ -448,7 +448,14 @@ export const useCanvasStore = create<CanvasState>((set) => ({
             : { ...withMode, width: undefined, height: undefined }
         }
         if (n.data.parent_id === proxmoxId) {
+          // Idempotency guard: only convert a child's position when its nesting
+          // state actually changes. A child that already matches the target mode
+          // keeps its position untouched -- re-running the absolute<->relative
+          // conversion on an already-relative child corrupts it (children pile
+          // into a corner). See handleUpdateNode in App.tsx.
+          const alreadyNested = n.parentId === proxmoxId && n.extent === 'parent'
           if (enabled && parentNode) {
+            if (alreadyNested) return n
             return {
               ...n,
               parentId: proxmoxId,
@@ -460,6 +467,7 @@ export const useCanvasStore = create<CanvasState>((set) => ({
             }
           }
           if (!enabled && parentNode) {
+            if (!n.parentId) return n
             return {
               ...n,
               parentId: undefined,