Skip to content

[1.7.8 Update] Failed to start WordPress Server #3201

@TheAggressive

Description

@TheAggressive

Quick summary

I just updated to the newest version of Studio to see if the slow issues are fixed, I went to start a site that was already setup and I'm given this error on any site I try to start.

Image

Here are the logs its talking about:

[2026-04-23T04:35:22.886Z][erro][main] Failed to kill child process with pid 25620. This likely means the process is already terminated. CLI args: [
  "_events"
]
[2026-04-23T04:35:23.379Z][info][main] App is terminating[2026-04-23T04:35:26.641Z][info][main] Starting new session
[2026-04-23T04:35:26.642Z][info][main] Checking for update on app launch: https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/studio-app/updates?platform=win32&studioArch=x64&version=1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] App version: 1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] Environment: production
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] Built from commit: 318534f34a38f47f85f550f4de196389711839a6
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] Local timezone: America/Phoenix
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] App locale: en-US
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] System locale: en-US
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.371Z][info][main] Used language: en
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.393Z][info][main] Migrated auth/locale to C:\Users\[REDACTED]\.studio\shared.json
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.401Z][info][main] Migrated sites/snapshots to C:\Users\[REDACTED]\.studio\cli.json
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.409Z][info][main] Migrated Desktop settings from C:\Users\[REDACTED]\AppData\Roaming\Studio\appdata-v1.json to C:\Users\[REDACTED]\.studio\app.json
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.411Z][info][main] Migrated old appdata file from C:\Users\[REDACTED]\AppData\Roaming\Studio\appdata-v1.json to C:\Users\[REDACTED]\AppData\Roaming\Studio\appdata-v1.deprecated.json
[2026-04-23T04:35:28.438Z][info][main] Setting Sentry user ID: a185849d-abcd-49b6-b3a2-fff678b5f4e0
[2026-04-23T04:35:42.692Z][info][main] [CLI] [{"id":"9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a","name":"Aggressive Apparel","path":"\\\\wsl.localhost\\Ubuntu\\home\\shawn\\Websites\\aggressive-apparel-studio","port":8883,"phpVersion":"8.4","customDomain":"aggressive.wp.local","enableHttps":true,"adminPassword":"ZVQ5SCZwajZtcENLWUpBKWY3SWN5KHVW","isWpAutoUpdating":true,"autoStart":false,"url":"https://aggressive.wp.local","running":false},{"id":"32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94","name":"LAAO","path":"\\\\wsl.localhost\\Ubuntu\\home\\shawn\\Websites\\laartsonlinecom","port":8882,"phpVersion":"8.3","customDomain":"laao.wp.local","enableHttps":true,"adminPassword":"QGgmV2NtSGJzN1BGZjhoeVNvSTUyaVFO","isWpAutoUpdating":true,"autoStart":false,"url":"https://laao.wp.local","running":false}]
[2026-04-23T04:35:44.958Z][info][main] [CLI] []
[2026-04-23T04:39:58.610Z][info][main] Starting server for 'Aggressive Apparel'
[2026-04-23T04:40:00.242Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T04:40:00.251Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T04:40:01.596Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting HTTP proxy server…
[2026-04-23T04:40:01.630Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Generating SSL certificates…
[2026-04-23T04:40:01.632Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Adding domain to hosts file…
[2026-04-23T04:40:04.153Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Setting up SQLite integration, if needed…
[2026-04-23T04:40:04.435Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting WordPress server…
[2026-04-23T04:40:49.890Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'startServer': CliCommandError: [Last error message] Failed to start WordPress server: WordPress server process exited unexpectedly
  [Base message] Failed to start site
  [Exit code] 1
[2026-04-23T04:40:49.896Z][info][main] Stopping server with ID 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a
[2026-04-23T04:40:51.668Z][info][main] Server is not running
[2026-04-23T04:41:11.426Z][info][main] Starting server for 'Aggressive Apparel'
[2026-04-23T04:41:13.045Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T04:41:13.056Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T04:41:13.070Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Generating SSL certificates…
[2026-04-23T04:41:13.072Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Adding domain to hosts file…
[2026-04-23T04:41:13.073Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Setting up SQLite integration, if needed…
[2026-04-23T04:41:13.352Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting WordPress server…
[2026-04-23T04:41:57.663Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'startServer': CliCommandError: [Last error message] Failed to start WordPress server: WordPress server process exited unexpectedly
  [Base message] Failed to start site
  [Exit code] 1
[2026-04-23T04:41:57.666Z][info][main] Stopping server with ID 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a
[2026-04-23T04:41:59.453Z][info][main] Server is not running
[2026-04-23T04:42:07.423Z][info][main] Manually checking for update: https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/studio-app/updates?platform=win32&studioArch=x64&version=1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:43:36.343Z][erro][main] Failed to kill child process with pid 49008. This likely means the process is already terminated. CLI args: [
  "_events"
]
[2026-04-23T04:43:38.007Z][info][main] App is terminating[2026-04-23T04:43:38.992Z][info][main] Starting new session
[2026-04-23T04:43:38.992Z][info][main] Checking for update on app launch: https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/studio-app/updates?platform=win32&studioArch=x64&version=1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.486Z][info][main] App version: 1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.486Z][info][main] Environment: production
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.487Z][info][main] Built from commit: 318534f34a38f47f85f550f4de196389711839a6
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.487Z][info][main] Local timezone: America/Phoenix
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.487Z][info][main] App locale: en-US
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.487Z][info][main] System locale: en-US
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.487Z][info][main] Used language: en
[2026-04-23T04:43:41.492Z][info][main] Setting Sentry user ID: a185849d-abcd-49b6-b3a2-fff678b5f4e0
[2026-04-23T04:43:43.356Z][info][main] [CLI] [{"id":"9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a","name":"Aggressive Apparel","path":"\\\\wsl.localhost\\Ubuntu\\home\\shawn\\Websites\\aggressive-apparel-studio","port":8883,"phpVersion":"8.4","customDomain":"aggressive.wp.local","enableHttps":true,"adminPassword":"ZVQ5SCZwajZtcENLWUpBKWY3SWN5KHVW","isWpAutoUpdating":true,"autoStart":false,"url":"https://aggressive.wp.local","running":false},{"id":"32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94","name":"LAAO","path":"\\\\wsl.localhost\\Ubuntu\\home\\shawn\\Websites\\laartsonlinecom","port":8882,"phpVersion":"8.3","customDomain":"laao.wp.local","enableHttps":true,"adminPassword":"QGgmV2NtSGJzN1BGZjhoeVNvSTUyaVFO","isWpAutoUpdating":true,"autoStart":false,"url":"https://laao.wp.local","running":false}]
[2026-04-23T04:43:45.341Z][info][main] [CLI] []
[2026-04-23T04:45:01.250Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'installWordPressSkillById': Error: EEXIST: file already exists, symlink '\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\shawn\Websites\aggressive-apparel-studio\.agents\skills\studio-cli' -> '\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\shawn\Websites\aggressive-apparel-studio\.claude\skills\studio-cli'
    at async Object.symlink (node:internal/fs/promises:999:10)
    at async ensureSkillSymlink (C:\Users\Shawn\AppData\Local\studio\app-1.7.8\resources\app.asar\dist\main\index.js:11446:7)
    at async installSkillToSite (C:\Users\Shawn\AppData\Local\studio\app-1.7.8\resources\app.asar\dist\main\index.js:11432:3)
    at async installSkillById (C:\Users\Shawn\AppData\Local\studio\app-1.7.8\resources\app.asar\dist\main\index.js:29553:3)
    at async installWordPressSkillById (C:\Users\Shawn\AppData\Local\studio\app-1.7.8\resources\app.asar\dist\main\index.js:44601:3)
    at async Session.<anonymous> (node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:116462)
[2026-04-23T04:45:15.506Z][info][main] [CLI Site Editor] Executing: studio site set --path \\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\shawn\Websites\aggressive-apparel-studio --xdebug --admin-email admin@localhost.com --debug-log --no-debug-display
[2026-04-23T04:45:17.099Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T04:45:17.114Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T04:45:23.935Z][info][main] Starting server for 'Aggressive Apparel'
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.516Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.526Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.536Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting HTTP proxy server…
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.561Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Generating SSL certificates…
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.562Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Adding domain to hosts file…
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.563Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Setting up SQLite integration, if needed…
[2026-04-23T04:45:25.862Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting WordPress server…
[2026-04-23T04:46:09.904Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'startServer': CliCommandError: [Last error message] Failed to start WordPress server: WordPress server process exited unexpectedly
  [Base message] Failed to start site
  [Exit code] 1
[2026-04-23T04:46:09.909Z][info][main] Stopping server with ID 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a
[2026-04-23T04:46:11.518Z][info][main] Server is not running
[2026-04-23T04:46:18.989Z][erro][main] Failed to kill child process with pid 46748. This likely means the process is already terminated. CLI args: [
  "_events"
]
[2026-04-23T04:46:20.568Z][info][main] App is terminating[2026-04-23T04:56:22.594Z][info][main] Starting new session
[2026-04-23T04:56:22.596Z][info][main] Checking for update on app launch: https://public-api.wordpress.com/wpcom/v2/studio-app/updates?platform=win32&studioArch=x64&version=1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] App version: 1.7.8
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] Environment: production
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] Built from commit: 318534f34a38f47f85f550f4de196389711839a6
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] Local timezone: America/Phoenix
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] App locale: en-US
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] System locale: en-US
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.015Z][info][main] Used language: en
[2026-04-23T04:56:24.021Z][info][main] Setting Sentry user ID: a185849d-abcd-49b6-b3a2-fff678b5f4e0
[2026-04-23T04:56:26.170Z][info][main] [CLI] [{"id":"9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a","name":"Aggressive Apparel","path":"\\\\wsl.localhost\\Ubuntu\\home\\shawn\\Websites\\aggressive-apparel-studio","port":8883,"phpVersion":"8.4","customDomain":"aggressive.wp.local","enableHttps":true,"adminPassword":"ZVQ5SCZwajZtcENLWUpBKWY3SWN5KHVW","adminEmail":"admin@localhost.com","isWpAutoUpdating":true,"autoStart":false,"enableXdebug":true,"enableDebugLog":true,"enableDebugDisplay":false,"url":"https://aggressive.wp.local","running":false},{"id":"32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94","name":"LAAO","path":"\\\\wsl.localhost\\Ubuntu\\home\\shawn\\Websites\\laartsonlinecom","port":8882,"phpVersion":"8.3","customDomain":"laao.wp.local","enableHttps":true,"adminPassword":"QGgmV2NtSGJzN1BGZjhoeVNvSTUyaVFO","isWpAutoUpdating":true,"autoStart":false,"url":"https://laao.wp.local","running":false}]
[2026-04-23T04:56:28.057Z][info][main] [CLI] []
[2026-04-23T04:56:30.216Z][info][main] Starting server for 'Aggressive Apparel'
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.008Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.017Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.026Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting HTTP proxy server…
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.046Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Generating SSL certificates…
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.048Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Adding domain to hosts file…
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.049Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Setting up SQLite integration, if needed…
[2026-04-23T04:56:32.305Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting WordPress server…
[2026-04-23T04:57:16.250Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'startServer': CliCommandError: [Last error message] Failed to start WordPress server: WordPress server process exited unexpectedly
  [Base message] Failed to start site
  [Exit code] 1
[2026-04-23T04:57:16.256Z][info][main] Stopping server with ID 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a
[2026-04-23T04:57:17.823Z][info][main] Server is not running
[2026-04-23T04:58:07.671Z][info][main] Starting server for 'LAAO'
[2026-04-23T04:58:09.258Z][info][main] [CLI - 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T04:58:09.267Z][info][main] [CLI - 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T04:58:09.278Z][info][main] [CLI - 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94] Generating SSL certificates…
[2026-04-23T04:58:09.279Z][info][main] [CLI - 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94] Adding domain to hosts file…
[2026-04-23T04:58:09.280Z][info][main] [CLI - 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94] Setting up SQLite integration, if needed…
[2026-04-23T04:58:09.483Z][info][main] [CLI - 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94] Starting WordPress server…
[2026-04-23T04:58:53.618Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'startServer': CliCommandError: [Last error message] Failed to start WordPress server: WordPress server process exited unexpectedly
  [Base message] Failed to start site
  [Exit code] 1
[2026-04-23T04:58:53.621Z][info][main] Stopping server with ID 32f7229c-8ad5-40c8-a171-1388cc074d94
[2026-04-23T04:58:55.329Z][info][main] Server is not running
[2026-04-23T05:03:41.684Z][info][main] Starting server for 'Aggressive Apparel'
[2026-04-23T05:03:43.529Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting process daemon…
[2026-04-23T05:03:43.538Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Loading site…
[2026-04-23T05:03:44.039Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Generating SSL certificates…
[2026-04-23T05:03:44.040Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Adding domain to hosts file…
[2026-04-23T05:03:44.041Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Setting up SQLite integration, if needed…
[2026-04-23T05:03:44.307Z][info][main] [CLI - 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a] Starting WordPress server…
[2026-04-23T05:04:28.133Z][erro][main] Error occurred in handler for 'startServer': CliCommandError: [Last error message] Failed to start WordPress server: WordPress server process exited unexpectedly
  [Base message] Failed to start site
  [Exit code] 1
[2026-04-23T05:04:28.143Z][info][main] Stopping server with ID 9e52adc8-6295-43dd-99c7-b41b50d3be2a
[2026-04-23T05:04:29.798Z][info][main] Server is not running

Steps to reproduce

  1. Start the App
  2. Click "Start Site"
  3. Wait for Error to popup...

What you expected to happen

The site to actually work

What actually happened

The Error came up on any site I already had.

Impact

All

Available workarounds?

No and the app is unusable

Platform

Windows

Logs or notes

No response

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    Type

    Projects

    Status

    Triage

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions