diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 37d63af..f4aef1f 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+# [2.5.1] - 2026-10-02
+
+- Fixed - `slic composer-cache set` and `unset` save their settings without starting a stopped stack. When confirmed, only running PHP services are recreated to apply the cache mount, leaving stopped services and dependencies alone. CI can configure the cache before selecting a project's PHP version without starting containers prematurely.
+
 # [2.5.0] - 2026-09-28
 
 - Breaking Change - Playwright suites that launch browsers directly must use built-in fixtures or explicitly connect to the remote browser. Browser-facing `localhost` URLs and `download.path()` calls may also need changes. See the [migration guidance](docs/playwright.md#update-setup-code-that-launches-a-browser-directly) before upgrading.
diff --git a/slic.php b/slic.php
index fc05577..204c607 100644
--- a/slic.php
+++ b/slic.php
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
 ] );
 
 $cli_name = 'slic';
-const CLI_VERSION = '2.5.0';
+const CLI_VERSION = '2.5.1';
 
 // If the run-time option `-q`, for "quiet", is specified, then do not print the header.
 if ( in_array( '-q', $argv, true ) || ( in_array( 'exec', $argv, true ) && ! in_array( 'help', $argv, true ) ) ) {
diff --git a/src/slic.php b/src/slic.php
index b541c75..208cbbc 100644
--- a/src/slic.php
+++ b/src/slic.php
@@ -1256,18 +1256,35 @@ function slic_handle_composer_cache( callable $args ) {
 
 	echo PHP_EOL . PHP_EOL;
 
+	// Setting the cache before `slic use` must not start containers with the default PHP version.
+	$running_services = array_values( array_filter( array_keys( php_services() ), static function ( string $service ): bool {
+		return service_running( $service );
+	} ) );
+
+	if ( ! $running_services ) {
+		echo 'The cache setting will apply when the PHP services next start.' . PHP_EOL;
+
+		return;
+	}
+
 	$restart_services = ask(
-		'Would you like to restart the WordPress (NOT the database) and Codeception services now?',
+		'Would you like to recreate the running PHP services (' . implode( ', ', $running_services ) . ') to apply the cache setting now?',
 		'yes'
 	);
+
 	if ( $restart_services ) {
 		putenv( "COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR={$value}" );
 
-		// Call for a hard restart to make sure the web-server will restart its php-fpm connection.
-		restart_php_services( true );
+		// Bind mount changes require recreation. Leave stopped services and dependencies alone.
+		$status = slic_realtime()( array_merge( [ 'up', '--wait', '--no-deps', '--force-recreate' ], $running_services ) );
+
+		if ( $status !== 0 ) {
+			echo magenta( 'Could not recreate the PHP services with the new Composer cache directory.' . PHP_EOL );
+			exit( $status );
+		}
 	} else {
 		echo colorize(
-			PHP_EOL . PHP_EOL . "Tear down the stack with <light_cyan>down</light_cyan> and restart it to apply the new settings!" . PHP_EOL
+			PHP_EOL . 'The cache setting is saved. Recreate the PHP services to apply it.' . PHP_EOL
 		);
 	}
 }