Cannot build the site locally anymore

[Copland-yz]

Describe the bug
I used to build the site successfully on the same computer, same system, same terminal (WSL), but yesterday it suddenly does not work anymore. When I go to localhost:4000 I only see "The site can't be reached".

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Run sudo apt install ruby-dev ruby-bundler nodejs
2. In my case, no error message, then I run bundle config set --local path 'vendor/bundle'
3. Then run bundle install
4. Then run bundle exec jekyll serve -l -H localhost

Expected behavior
I should see the website when I go to localhost:4000

Screenshots

Browser (please complete the following information):

• Device: HP Envy x360 laptop
• OS: Windows 11 Home
• Browser: Chrome
• Version Chrome version? 140.0.7339.127

Additional context

• I am using WSL, version Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS (GNU/Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64)

[rjzupkoii]

What messages are in the console after running bundle exec jekyll serve -l -H localhost?

[Copland-yz]

Configuration file: /mnt/c/Users/USERNAME/Documents/academicpages.github.io/_config.yml
To use retry middleware with Faraday v2.0+, install faraday-retry gem
Source: /mnt/c/Users/USERNAME/Documents/academicpages.github.io
Destination: /mnt/c/Users/USERNAME/Documents/academicpages.github.io/_site
Incremental build: disabled. Enable with --incremental
Generating...
Jekyll Feed: Generating feed for posts
done in 27.825 seconds.
Auto-regeneration may not work on some Windows versions.
Please see: microsoft/WSL#216
If it does not work, please upgrade Bash on Windows or run Jekyll with --no-watch.
Auto-regeneration: enabled for '/mnt/c/Users/USERNAME/Documents/academicpages.github.io'
LiveReload address: http://localhost:35729
Server address: http://localhost:4000/
Server running... press ctrl-c to stop.

[rjzupkoii]

@Copland-yz Thanks for posting the console output. Looking at it, I'm not seeing any error messages so the site should be running locally for you at http://localhost:4000/ - note the http though since localhost:4000 is likely to default to https://localhost:4000 and most browsers will not fall back to HTTP if a site cannot be found at HTTPS.

[Copland-yz]

Thank you for your help! I tried both http and https, neither works. The console output is exactly the same as it used to be, but a month ago I can successfully build it locally. I am wondering if anything updated or no longer compatible. Is anyone using WSL as well but can build the site successfully?

[rjzupkoii]

@Copland-yz I'll check again later this evening, but back on 2025-09-09 when I made the last batch of changes I was using WSL to run the server locally along with Chrome for testing and everything was running fine. If the console says the server is running then the usual process is to try connecting from other web browsers or checking http://127.0.01:4000 since that bypasses DNS look-up.

[rjzupkoii]

@Copland-yz Just tested on the computer I use for Academic Pages development and was able to connect to both http://localhost:4000 and http://127.0.01:4000 with no issues.

[Copland-yz]

I updated my Chrome and then the issue is suddenly solved! Magic. Thank you very much!