diff --git a/core/src/index.ts b/core/src/index.ts
index a1ff9fc4991..6576ef6109f 100644
--- a/core/src/index.ts
+++ b/core/src/index.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ export type {
   FrameworkPluginFactory,
 } from "./plugins/framework.js";
 export type { OnServerStart } from "./preview-env.js";
+export { toVitePath } from "./vite/vite-paths.js";
 
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 
diff --git a/core/src/vite/plugins/virtual-plugin.ts b/core/src/vite/plugins/virtual-plugin.ts
index f5c84001f32..aa823c71b06 100644
--- a/core/src/vite/plugins/virtual-plugin.ts
+++ b/core/src/vite/plugins/virtual-plugin.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import path from "path";
 import type { Logger } from "pino";
 import type * as vite from "vite";
 import { transformWithEsbuild } from "vite";
+import { toVitePath } from "../vite-paths.js";
 
 const VIRTUAL_PREFIX = `/@previewjs-virtual:`;
 const VIRTUAL_PREFIX2 = `/@id/__x00__`;
@@ -172,9 +173,7 @@ export function virtualPlugin(options: {
       if (!entry || entry.kind !== "file") {
         return;
       }
-      // Note: backslash handling is Windows-specific.
-      const virtualModuleId =
-        VIRTUAL_PREFIX + absoluteFilePath.replace(/\\/g, "/");
+      const virtualModuleId = VIRTUAL_PREFIX + toVitePath(absoluteFilePath);
       const node = moduleGraph.getModuleById(virtualModuleId);
       return node && [node];
     },
diff --git a/core/src/vite/vite-manager.ts b/core/src/vite/vite-manager.ts
index 0d5c8714f97..82be49dcfed 100644
--- a/core/src/vite/vite-manager.ts
+++ b/core/src/vite/vite-manager.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import {
 } from "./plugins/preview-script.js";
 import { publicAssetImportPluginPlugin } from "./plugins/public-asset-import-plugin.js";
 import { virtualPlugin } from "./plugins/virtual-plugin.js";
+import { toVitePath } from "./vite-paths.js";
 
 const POSTCSS_CONFIG_FILE = [
   ".postcssrc",
@@ -513,7 +514,7 @@ export class ViteManager {
     const { viteServer, config } = state;
     if (info.virtual) {
       const modules = await viteServer.moduleGraph.getModulesByFile(
-        absoluteFilePath
+        toVitePath(absoluteFilePath)
       );
       for (const module of modules || []) {
         if (!module.id) {
diff --git a/core/src/vite/vite-paths.ts b/core/src/vite/vite-paths.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1e36a5ed488
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/vite/vite-paths.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+export function toVitePath(absoluteFilePath: string) {
+  if (absoluteFilePath.match(/^[a-z]:/)) {
+    // Vite uses uppercase drive letters on Windows.
+    absoluteFilePath =
+      absoluteFilePath[0]?.toUpperCase() + absoluteFilePath.substring(1);
+  }
+  // Vite uses forward slash even on Windows.
+  return absoluteFilePath.replace(/\\/g, "/");
+}
diff --git a/daemon/package.json b/daemon/package.json
index 8cb8adf3e9d..0adb4728d1d 100644
--- a/daemon/package.json
+++ b/daemon/package.json
@@ -42,8 +42,6 @@
     "@previewjs/loader": "workspace:*",
     "@types/node": "^20.10.0",
     "exclusive-promises": "^1.0.3",
-    "exit-hook": "^3.2.0",
-    "is-wsl": "^3.1.0",
     "rimraf": "^5.0.5",
     "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
     "typescript": "^5.2.2",
diff --git a/daemon/src/api.ts b/daemon/src/api.ts
index 80c4eb776e1..9c4f97cf67e 100644
--- a/daemon/src/api.ts
+++ b/daemon/src/api.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,3 @@
-export type KillRequest = Record<never, never>;
-
-export type KillResponse = {
-  pid: number;
-};
-
 export type CrawlFileRequest = {
   absoluteFilePath: string;
 };
diff --git a/daemon/src/client.ts b/daemon/src/client.ts
index fe2eb103f3f..39046f7cdc5 100644
--- a/daemon/src/client.ts
+++ b/daemon/src/client.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,10 @@
 import { exclusivePromiseRunner } from "exclusive-promises";
-import { existsSync, readFileSync, unlinkSync } from "fs";
 import http from "http";
 import type {
   CheckPreviewStatusRequest,
   CheckPreviewStatusResponse,
   CrawlFileRequest,
   CrawlFileResponse,
-  KillRequest,
-  KillResponse,
   StartPreviewRequest,
   StartPreviewResponse,
   StopPreviewRequest,
@@ -71,7 +68,6 @@ export function createClient(baseUrl: string): Client {
   }
 
   const client: Client = {
-    kill: () => makeRPC<KillRequest, KillResponse>("/previewjs/kill")({}),
     crawlFile: makeRPC("/crawl-file"),
     startPreview: makeRPC("/previews/start"),
     checkPreviewStatus: makeRPC("/previews/status"),
@@ -81,20 +77,7 @@ export function createClient(baseUrl: string): Client {
   return client;
 }
 
-export function destroyDaemon(lockFilePath: string) {
-  if (existsSync(lockFilePath)) {
-    const pid = parseInt(readFileSync(lockFilePath, "utf8"));
-    try {
-      process.kill(pid, "SIGKILL");
-    } catch {
-      // The daemon was already dead.
-    }
-    unlinkSync(lockFilePath);
-  }
-}
-
 export interface Client {
-  kill(): Promise<KillResponse>;
   crawlFile(request: CrawlFileRequest): Promise<CrawlFileResponse>;
   startPreview(request: StartPreviewRequest): Promise<StartPreviewResponse>;
   checkPreviewStatus(
diff --git a/daemon/src/index.ts b/daemon/src/index.ts
index 335fb37f58b..a38dee16a89 100644
--- a/daemon/src/index.ts
+++ b/daemon/src/index.ts
@@ -1,23 +1,13 @@
 import type { PreviewServer, Workspace } from "@previewjs/core";
 import { load } from "@previewjs/loader/runner";
-import exitHook from "exit-hook";
-import {
-  appendFileSync,
-  existsSync,
-  readFileSync,
-  unlinkSync,
-  writeFileSync,
-} from "fs";
+import { appendFileSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
 import http from "http";
-import isWsl from "is-wsl";
 import path from "path";
 import type {
   CheckPreviewStatusRequest,
   CheckPreviewStatusResponse,
   CrawlFileRequest,
   CrawlFileResponse,
-  KillRequest,
-  KillResponse,
   StartPreviewRequest,
   StartPreviewResponse,
   StopPreviewRequest,
@@ -25,51 +15,6 @@ import type {
   UpdatePendingFileRequest,
   UpdatePendingFileResponse,
 } from "./api.js";
-import { createClient } from "./client.js";
-
-const lockFilePath = process.env.PREVIEWJS_LOCK_FILE;
-if (lockFilePath) {
-  if (existsSync(lockFilePath)) {
-    const pid = parseInt(readFileSync(lockFilePath, "utf8"));
-    try {
-      // Test if PID is still running. This will fail if not.
-      process.kill(pid, 0);
-    } catch {
-      // Previous process ended prematurely (e.g. hardware crash).
-      try {
-        unlinkSync(lockFilePath);
-      } catch {
-        // It's possible for several processes to try unlinking at the same time.
-        // For example, a running daemon that is exiting at the same time.
-        // Ignore.
-      }
-    }
-  }
-  try {
-    writeFileSync(lockFilePath, process.pid.toString(10), {
-      flag: "wx",
-    });
-    exitHook((signal) => {
-      // Note: The bracketed tag is required for VS Code and IntelliJ to detect exit.
-      process.stdout.write(
-        `[exit] Preview.js daemon shutting down with signal: ${signal}\n`
-      );
-      try {
-        unlinkSync(lockFilePath);
-      } catch {
-        // It's possible for several processes to try unlinking at the same time.
-        // For example, a new daemon that will replace this one.
-        // Ignore.
-      }
-    });
-  } catch {
-    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-    console.error(
-      `Unable to obtain lock: ${lockFilePath}\nYou can delete this file manually if you wish to override the lock.`
-    );
-    process.exit(1);
-  }
-}
 
 const logFilePath = process.env.PREVIEWJS_LOG_FILE;
 
@@ -112,8 +57,30 @@ export async function startDaemon({
   versionCode,
   port,
 }: DaemonStartOptions) {
+  const parentProcessId = parseInt(
+    process.env["PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID"] || "0"
+  );
+  if (!parentProcessId) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "Missing environment variable: PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID"
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Kill the daemon if the parent process dies.
+  setInterval(() => {
+    try {
+      process.kill(parentProcessId, 0);
+      // Parent process is still alive, see https://stackoverflow.com/a/21296291.
+    } catch (e) {
+      process.stdout.write(
+        `[exit] Parent process with PID ${parentProcessId} exited. Daemon exiting.\n`
+      );
+      process.exit(0);
+    }
+  }, 1000);
+
   const previewjs = await load({
-    installDir: loaderInstallDir,
+    installDir: loaderInstallDir.replace(/\//g, path.sep),
     workerFilePath: loaderWorkerPath,
     onServerStartModuleName,
   });
@@ -121,50 +88,6 @@ export async function startDaemon({
 
   const previewServers: Record<string, PreviewServer> = {};
   const endpoints: Record<string, (req: any) => Promise<any>> = {};
-  let wslRoot: string | null = null;
-
-  function transformAbsoluteFilePath(absoluteFilePath: string) {
-    if (!isWsl) {
-      return absoluteFilePath;
-    }
-    if (absoluteFilePath.match(/^[a-z]:.*$/i)) {
-      if (!wslRoot) {
-        wslRoot = detectWslRoot();
-      }
-      // This is a Windows path, which needs to be converted to Linux format inside WSL.
-      return `${wslRoot}/${absoluteFilePath
-        .substring(0, 1)
-        .toLowerCase()}/${absoluteFilePath.substring(3).replace(/\\/g, "/")}`;
-    }
-    // This is already a Linux path.
-    return absoluteFilePath;
-  }
-
-  function detectWslRoot() {
-    const wslConfPath = "/etc/wsl.conf";
-    const defaultRoot = "/mnt";
-    try {
-      if (!existsSync(wslConfPath)) {
-        return defaultRoot;
-      }
-      const configText = readFileSync(wslConfPath, "utf8");
-      const match = configText.match(/root\s*=\s*(.*)/);
-      if (!match) {
-        return defaultRoot;
-      }
-      const detectedRoot = match[1]!.trim();
-      if (detectedRoot.endsWith("/")) {
-        return detectedRoot.substring(0, detectedRoot.length - 1);
-      } else {
-        return detectedRoot;
-      }
-    } catch (e) {
-      logger.warn(
-        `Unable to read WSL config, assuming default root: ${defaultRoot}`
-      );
-      return defaultRoot;
-    }
-  }
 
   const app = http.createServer((req, res) => {
     if (req.headers["origin"]) {
@@ -236,23 +159,13 @@ export async function startDaemon({
 
   class NotFoundError extends Error {}
 
-  endpoint<KillRequest, KillResponse>("/previewjs/kill", async () => {
-    setTimeout(() => {
-      logger.info("Seppuku was requested. Bye bye.");
-      process.exit(0);
-    }, 1000);
-    return {
-      pid: process.pid,
-    };
-  });
-
   const inWorkspace = <T>(
     absoluteFilePath: string,
     run: (workspace: Workspace | null) => Promise<T>
   ) =>
     previewjs.inWorkspace({
       versionCode,
-      absoluteFilePath: transformAbsoluteFilePath(absoluteFilePath),
+      absoluteFilePath,
       run,
     });
 
@@ -265,10 +178,7 @@ export async function startDaemon({
         }
         const { components, stories } = await workspace.crawlFiles([
           path
-            .relative(
-              workspace.rootDir,
-              transformAbsoluteFilePath(absoluteFilePath)
-            )
+            .relative(workspace.rootDir, absoluteFilePath)
             .replace(/\\/g, "/"),
         ]);
         return {
@@ -326,47 +236,14 @@ export async function startDaemon({
   endpoint<UpdatePendingFileRequest, UpdatePendingFileResponse>(
     "/pending-files/update",
     async (req) => {
-      await previewjs.updateFileInMemory(
-        transformAbsoluteFilePath(req.absoluteFilePath),
-        req.utf8Content
-      );
+      await previewjs.updateFileInMemory(req.absoluteFilePath, req.utf8Content);
       return {};
     }
   );
 
   await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
     app.listen(port, resolve).on("error", async (e: any) => {
-      if (e.code !== "EADDRINUSE") {
-        return reject(e);
-      }
-      try {
-        // There's another daemon running already on the same port.
-        // Attempt to kill it and try again. This can happen for example
-        // when upgrading from one version to another of Preview.js.
-        const client = createClient(`http://localhost:${port}`);
-        const { pid } = await client.kill();
-        // Wait for daemon to be killed.
-        let oldDaemonDead = false;
-        for (let i = 0; !oldDaemonDead && i < 10; i++) {
-          try {
-            // Test if PID is still running. This will fail if not.
-            process.kill(pid, 0);
-            await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
-          } catch {
-            oldDaemonDead = true;
-            app.listen(port, resolve).on("error", reject);
-          }
-        }
-        if (!oldDaemonDead) {
-          reject(
-            new Error(
-              `Unable to kill old daemon server running on port ${port}`
-            )
-          );
-        }
-      } catch (e) {
-        reject(e);
-      }
+      reject(e);
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/integrations/intellij/build.gradle.kts b/integrations/intellij/build.gradle.kts
index eea5f192e89..4ba4ef99310 100644
--- a/integrations/intellij/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/integrations/intellij/build.gradle.kts
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ tasks {
     }
     withType<KotlinCompile> {
         kotlinOptions.jvmTarget = "17"
-        kotlinOptions.freeCompilerArgs = listOf("-Xjvm-default=enable", "-Xopt-in=kotlin.RequiresOptIn")
+        kotlinOptions.freeCompilerArgs = listOf("-Xjvm-default=all", "-Xopt-in=kotlin.RequiresOptIn")
     }
 
     withType<Detekt> {
@@ -82,7 +82,15 @@ tasks {
             files(layout.buildDirectory)
         )
         exec {
-            commandLine("sh", "-c", "../../node_modules/turbo/bin/turbo run build --scope=@previewjs/intellij-daemon")
+            if (System.getProperty("os.name").lowercase().contains("win")) {
+                commandLine(
+                    "cmd.exe",
+                    "/c",
+                    "node " + System.getProperty("user.dir") + "\\..\\..\\node_modules\\turbo\\bin\\turbo run build --scope=@previewjs/intellij-daemon"
+                )
+            } else {
+                commandLine("sh", "-c", "../../node_modules/turbo/bin/turbo run build --scope=@previewjs/intellij-daemon")
+            }
         }
         from(daemonDir) {
             into("${properties("pluginName")}/daemon")
diff --git a/integrations/intellij/src/main/kotlin/com/previewjs/intellij/plugin/services/PreviewJsSharedService.kt b/integrations/intellij/src/main/kotlin/com/previewjs/intellij/plugin/services/PreviewJsSharedService.kt
index c3a1bf4fb25..7fffe797e61 100644
--- a/integrations/intellij/src/main/kotlin/com/previewjs/intellij/plugin/services/PreviewJsSharedService.kt
+++ b/integrations/intellij/src/main/kotlin/com/previewjs/intellij/plugin/services/PreviewJsSharedService.kt
@@ -154,39 +154,24 @@ ${e.stackTraceToString()}""",
             throw Error("No port is available to run Preview.js daemon")
         }
         val nodeVersionProcess =
-            processBuilder("node --version", useWsl = false).directory(nodeDirPath.toFile()).start()
-        var useWsl = false
-        try {
-            if (nodeVersionProcess.waitFor() != 0) {
-                throw Error("Preview.js was unable to run node.\\n\\nIs it installed? You may need to restart your IDE.")
-            }
-            checkNodeVersion(nodeVersionProcess)
-        } catch (e: Error) {
-            // Unable to start Node. Check WSL if we're on Windows.
-            if (!isWindows()) {
-                throw e
-            }
-            val nodeVersionProcessWsl =
-                processBuilder("node --version", useWsl = true).directory(nodeDirPath.toFile()).start()
-            if (nodeVersionProcessWsl.waitFor() == 0) {
-                checkNodeVersion(nodeVersionProcessWsl)
-                useWsl = true
-            } else {
-                // If WSL failed, just ignore it.
-                throw e
-            }
+            processBuilder("node --version").directory(nodeDirPath.toFile()).start()
+        if (nodeVersionProcess.waitFor() != 0) {
+            throw Error("Preview.js was unable to run node.\\n\\nIs it installed? You may need to restart your IDE.")
         }
-        val builder = processBuilder("node --trace-warnings dist/main.js $port", useWsl).redirectErrorStream(true)
+        checkNodeVersion(nodeVersionProcess)
+        val builder = processBuilder("node --trace-warnings dist/main.js $port").redirectErrorStream(true)
             .directory(nodeDirPath.toFile())
+        builder.environment()["PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID"] = ProcessHandle.current().pid().toString()
         val process = builder.start()
         daemonProcess = process
         val daemonOutputReader = BufferedReader(InputStreamReader(process.inputStream))
         val ready = CompletableDeferred<Unit>()
         coroutineScope.launch {
+            var lines = mutableListOf<String>()
             while (!disposed) {
                 while (!daemonOutputReader.ready()) {
                     if (!process.isAlive) {
-                        throw Error("Daemon process died")
+                        ready.completeExceptionally(Error("Daemon process died:\n${lines.joinToString("\n")}"))
                     }
                     delay(100)
                 }
@@ -206,6 +191,7 @@ ${e.stackTraceToString()}""",
                 if (line.contains("[ready]")) {
                     ready.complete(Unit)
                 }
+                lines.add(line)
                 everyProject(project) {
                     printToConsole(cleanStdOut(line + "\n"))
                 }
@@ -263,22 +249,13 @@ ${e.stackTraceToString()}""",
         }
     }
 
-    private fun processBuilder(command: String, useWsl: Boolean): ProcessBuilder {
+    private fun processBuilder(command: String): ProcessBuilder {
         return if (isWindows()) {
-            if (useWsl) {
-                ProcessBuilder(
-                    "wsl",
-                    "bash",
-                    "-lic",
-                    command
-                )
-            } else {
-                ProcessBuilder(
-                    "cmd.exe",
-                    "/C",
-                    command
-                )
-            }
+            ProcessBuilder(
+                "cmd.exe",
+                "/C",
+                command
+            )
         } else {
             // Note: in production builds of IntelliJ / WebStorm, PATH is not initialised
             // from the shell. This means that /usr/local/bin or nvm paths may not be
diff --git a/integrations/vscode/esbuild.mjs b/integrations/vscode/esbuild.mjs
index 5039bf3e581..0260bc39aae 100644
--- a/integrations/vscode/esbuild.mjs
+++ b/integrations/vscode/esbuild.mjs
@@ -19,11 +19,6 @@ try {
       "process.env.PREVIEWJS_PACKAGE_NAME": JSON.stringify(
         process.env.PREVIEWJS_PACKAGE_NAME || "@previewjs/pro"
       ),
-      ...(process.env.PREVIEWJS_PORT && {
-        "process.env.PREVIEWJS_PORT": JSON.stringify(
-          process.env.PREVIEWJS_PORT
-        ),
-      }),
       ...(process.env.PREVIEWJS_MODULES_DIR && {
         "process.env.PREVIEWJS_MODULES_DIR": JSON.stringify(
           path.join(__dirname, process.env.PREVIEWJS_MODULES_DIR)
diff --git a/integrations/vscode/package.json b/integrations/vscode/package.json
index b6005822852..cf305433499 100644
--- a/integrations/vscode/package.json
+++ b/integrations/vscode/package.json
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@
     "esbuild": "^0.19.5",
     "exclusive-promises": "^1.0.3",
     "execa": "^8.0.1",
+    "get-port": "^7.0.0",
     "ovsx": "^0.8.3",
     "rimraf": "^5.0.5",
     "strip-ansi": "^7.1.0",
diff --git a/integrations/vscode/src/index.ts b/integrations/vscode/src/index.ts
index 0fc0d4f46af..34800c97ce2 100644
--- a/integrations/vscode/src/index.ts
+++ b/integrations/vscode/src/index.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { destroyDaemon } from "@previewjs/daemon/client";
 import path from "path";
 import vscode from "vscode";
 import { closePreviewPanel, updatePreviewPanel } from "./preview-panel.js";
@@ -6,7 +5,6 @@ import {
   ensurePreviewServerStarted,
   ensurePreviewServerStopped,
 } from "./preview-server.js";
-import { daemonLockFilePath } from "./start-daemon.js";
 import { createState } from "./state.js";
 
 // Note: all commands in package.json must appear here. The reverse is not true.
@@ -183,8 +181,6 @@ export async function activate({ subscriptions }: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
       if (state) {
         state.dispose();
       }
-      currentState = Promise.resolve(null);
-      destroyDaemon(daemonLockFilePath);
       currentState = createState({
         outputChannel,
         runningServerStatusBarItem,
diff --git a/integrations/vscode/src/start-daemon.ts b/integrations/vscode/src/start-daemon.ts
index 4a5976d8c1d..34c1ef4201e 100644
--- a/integrations/vscode/src/start-daemon.ts
+++ b/integrations/vscode/src/start-daemon.ts
@@ -4,32 +4,34 @@ import type { ExecaChildProcess, ExecaReturnValue, Options } from "execa";
 import { execa } from "execa";
 import type { FSWatcher } from "fs";
 import { closeSync, openSync, readFileSync, utimesSync, watch } from "fs";
+import getPort from "get-port";
 import path from "path";
 import stripAnsi from "strip-ansi";
 import type { OutputChannel } from "vscode";
 import vscode from "vscode";
 
-const port = process.env.PREVIEWJS_PORT || "9315";
-const logsPath = path.join(__dirname, "daemon.log");
-
-export const daemonLockFilePath = path.join(__dirname, "process.lock");
-
-export async function ensureDaemonRunning(
-  outputChannel: OutputChannel
-): Promise<{
+export async function startDaemon(outputChannel: OutputChannel): Promise<{
   client: Client;
   watcher: FSWatcher;
   daemonProcess: ExecaChildProcess;
 } | null> {
+  const port = await getPort();
+  const now = new Date();
+  const logsPath = path.join(
+    __dirname,
+    `daemon-${now.getFullYear()}${
+      now.getMonth() + 1
+    }${now.getDate()}${now.getHours()}${now.getMinutes()}-${port}.log`
+  );
   const client = createClient(`http://localhost:${port}`);
-  const daemon = await startDaemon(outputChannel);
+  const daemon = await startDaemonProcess(port, logsPath, outputChannel);
   if (!daemon) {
     return null;
   }
   // Note: we expect startDaemon().process to exit 1 almost immediately when there is another
   // daemon running already (e.g. from another workspace) because of the lock file. This is
   // fine and working by design.
-  const ready = streamDaemonLogs(outputChannel);
+  const ready = streamDaemonLogs(logsPath, outputChannel);
   const watcher = await ready;
   return {
     client,
@@ -40,11 +42,13 @@ export async function ensureDaemonRunning(
 
 // Important: we wrap daemonProcess into a Promise so that awaiting startDaemon()
 // doesn't automatically await the process itself (which may not exit for a long time!).
-async function startDaemon(outputChannel: OutputChannel): Promise<{
+async function startDaemonProcess(
+  port: number,
+  logsPath: string,
+  outputChannel: OutputChannel
+): Promise<{
   daemonProcess: ExecaChildProcess<string>;
 } | null> {
-  const isWindows = process.platform === "win32";
-  let useWsl = false;
   const nodeVersionCommand = "node --version";
   outputChannel.appendLine(`$ ${nodeVersionCommand}`);
   const [command, commandArgs] =
@@ -70,71 +74,34 @@ async function startDaemon(outputChannel: OutputChannel): Promise<{
   if (checkNodeVersion.kind === "valid") {
     outputChannel.appendLine(`✅ Detected compatible NodeJS version`);
   }
-  invalidNode: if (checkNodeVersion.kind === "invalid") {
+  if (checkNodeVersion.kind === "invalid") {
     outputChannel.appendLine(checkNodeVersion.message);
-    if (!isWindows) {
-      return null;
-    }
-    // On Windows, try WSL as well.
-    outputChannel.appendLine(`Attempting again with WSL...`);
-    const wslArgs = wslCommandArgs("node --version");
-    outputChannel.appendLine(
-      `$ wsl ${wslArgs.map((a) => (a.includes(" ") ? `"${a}"` : a)).join(" ")}`
-    );
-    const nodeVersionWsl = await execa("wsl", wslArgs, {
-      cwd: __dirname,
-      reject: false,
-    });
-    const checkNodeVersionWsl = checkNodeVersionResult(nodeVersionWsl);
-    if (checkNodeVersionWsl.kind === "valid") {
-      outputChannel.appendLine(`✅ Detected compatible NodeJS version in WSL`);
-      // The right version of Node is available through WSL. No need to crash, perfect.
-      useWsl = true;
-      break invalidNode;
-    }
-    outputChannel.appendLine(checkNodeVersionWsl.message);
     return null;
   }
-  outputChannel.appendLine(
-    `🚀 Starting Preview.js daemon${useWsl ? " from WSL" : ""}...`
-  );
+  outputChannel.appendLine(`🚀 Starting Preview.js daemon...`);
   outputChannel.appendLine(`Streaming daemon logs to: ${logsPath}`);
   const nodeDaemonCommand = "node --trace-warnings daemon.js";
   const daemonOptions: Options = {
     cwd: __dirname,
-    // https://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html#child_process_options_detached
-    // If we use "inherit", we end up with a "write EPIPE" crash when the child process
-    // tries to log after the parent process exited (even when detached properly).
-    stdio: "ignore",
     env: {
-      PREVIEWJS_LOCK_FILE: daemonLockFilePath,
       PREVIEWJS_LOG_FILE: logsPath,
-      PREVIEWJS_PORT: port,
+      PREVIEWJS_PORT: port.toString(10),
+      PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID: process.pid.toString(10),
     },
   };
-  let daemonProcess: ExecaChildProcess<string>;
-  if (useWsl) {
-    daemonProcess = execa(
-      "wsl",
-      wslCommandArgs(nodeDaemonCommand, true),
-      daemonOptions
-    );
-  } else {
-    const [command, commandArgs] =
-      wrapCommandWithShellIfRequired(nodeDaemonCommand);
-    daemonProcess = execa(command, commandArgs, {
-      ...daemonOptions,
-      detached: true,
-    });
-  }
-  daemonProcess.unref();
+  const [daemonCommand, daemonCommandArgs] =
+    wrapCommandWithShellIfRequired(nodeDaemonCommand);
+  const daemonProcess = execa(daemonCommand, daemonCommandArgs, daemonOptions);
   daemonProcess.on("error", (error) => {
     outputChannel.append(`${error}`);
   });
   return { daemonProcess };
 }
 
-function streamDaemonLogs(outputChannel: OutputChannel): Promise<FSWatcher> {
+function streamDaemonLogs(
+  logsPath: string,
+  outputChannel: OutputChannel
+): Promise<FSWatcher> {
   const ready = new Promise<FSWatcher>((resolve) => {
     let lastKnownLogsLength = 0;
     let resolved = false;
@@ -270,7 +237,3 @@ function wrapCommandWithShellIfRequired(command: string) {
         ];
   return [segments[0]!, segments.slice(1)] as const;
 }
-
-function wslCommandArgs(command: string, longRunning = false) {
-  return ["bash", "-lic", longRunning ? `${command} &` : command];
-}
diff --git a/integrations/vscode/src/state.ts b/integrations/vscode/src/state.ts
index bf46af4911d..411cc6709b9 100644
--- a/integrations/vscode/src/state.ts
+++ b/integrations/vscode/src/state.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import vscode from "vscode";
 import type { FileAnalyzer } from "./file-analyzer.js";
 import { createFileAnalyzer } from "./file-analyzer.js";
 import { closePreviewPanel } from "./preview-panel.js";
-import { ensureDaemonRunning } from "./start-daemon.js";
+import { startDaemon } from "./start-daemon.js";
 
 const PING_INTERVAL_MILLIS = 1000;
 
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export async function createState({
   runningServerStatusBarItem: vscode.StatusBarItem;
   onDispose: () => void;
 }): Promise<PreviewJsState | null> {
-  const daemon = await ensureDaemonRunning(outputChannel)
+  const daemon = await startDaemon(outputChannel)
     .catch((e) => {
       outputChannel.appendLine(e.stack);
       return null;
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ export async function createState({
         state.previewPanel.dispose();
         state.previewPanel = null;
       }
+      daemon.daemonProcess.kill("SIGKILL");
     },
     pendingFileChanges,
     crawlFile,
diff --git a/loader/src/runner.ts b/loader/src/runner.ts
index 91374a1a77a..c1d3b2dbc01 100644
--- a/loader/src/runner.ts
+++ b/loader/src/runner.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import type { Workspace } from "@previewjs/core";
 import type { ReaderListener } from "@previewjs/vfs";
 import { assertNever } from "assert-never";
+import { execaNode } from "execa";
 import fs from "fs-extra";
-import { fork } from "node:child_process";
 import path from "path";
 import type { Logger } from "pino";
 import pino from "pino";
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ export async function load({
     core,
     logger: globalLogger,
     async updateFileInMemory(absoluteFilePath: string, text: string | null) {
+      absoluteFilePath = core.toVitePath(absoluteFilePath);
       memoryReader.updateFile(absoluteFilePath, text);
       await Promise.all(
         Object.values(serverWorkers).map((worker) =>
@@ -342,11 +343,14 @@ export async function load({
         return existingWorker;
       }
     }
-    const workerProcess = fork(workerFilePath, {
+    const workerProcess = execaNode(workerFilePath, {
       // Note: this is required for PostCSS.
       cwd: rootDir,
-      stdio: "inherit",
+      env: {
+        PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID: process.pid.toString(10),
+      },
     });
+    let workerPromise: ResolvablePromise<ServerWorker> | null = null;
     const killWorker = async () => {
       if (workerPromise?.resolved) {
         workerPromise.resolved.exiting = true;
@@ -457,7 +461,7 @@ export async function load({
       });
       return promise;
     };
-    const workerPromise = (serverWorkers[rootDir] = resolvablePromise(
+    workerPromise = serverWorkers[rootDir] = resolvablePromise(
       workerReadyPromise.then(
         ({ port }): ServerWorker => ({
           port,
@@ -467,7 +471,7 @@ export async function load({
           onStop: onStopListeners,
         })
       )
-    ));
+    );
     return workerPromise;
   }
 }
diff --git a/loader/src/worker.ts b/loader/src/worker.ts
index 4a04a1a4248..578e4401c8c 100644
--- a/loader/src/worker.ts
+++ b/loader/src/worker.ts
@@ -141,3 +141,17 @@ const waitForInit = (message: ToWorkerMessage) => {
   }
 };
 process.on("message", waitForInit);
+
+const parentProcessId = parseInt(process.env["PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID"] || "0");
+if (!parentProcessId) {
+  throw new Error("Missing environment variable: PREVIEWJS_PARENT_PROCESS_PID")
+}
+// Kill the worker if the parent process dies.
+setInterval(() => {
+  try {
+    process.kill(parentProcessId, 0);
+    // Parent process is still alive, see https://stackoverflow.com/a/21296291.
+  } catch(e) {
+    process.exit(0);
+  }
+}, 1000)
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 64011566054..94ac72f38cc 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -416,12 +416,6 @@ importers:
       exclusive-promises:
         specifier: ^1.0.3
         version: 1.0.3
-      exit-hook:
-        specifier: ^3.2.0
-        version: 3.2.0
-      is-wsl:
-        specifier: ^3.1.0
-        version: 3.1.0
       rimraf:
         specifier: ^5.0.5
         version: 5.0.5
@@ -3085,6 +3079,9 @@ importers:
       execa:
         specifier: ^8.0.1
         version: 8.0.1
+      get-port:
+        specifier: ^7.0.0
+        version: 7.0.0
       ovsx:
         specifier: ^0.8.3
         version: 0.8.3
@@ -3865,6 +3862,60 @@ packages:
       '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
       semver: 6.3.1
 
+  /@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.4):
+    resolution: {integrity: sha512-xkb58MyOYIslxu3gKmVXmjTtUPvBU4odYzbiIQbWwLKIHCsx6UGZGX6F1IznMFVnDdirseUZopzN+ZRt8Xb33Q==}
+    engines: {node: '>=6.9.0'}
+    peerDependencies:
+      '@babel/core': ^7.0.0
+    dependencies:
+      '@babel/core': 7.21.4
+      '@babel/helper-annotate-as-pure': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-environment-visitor': 7.22.20
+      '@babel/helper-function-name': 7.23.0
+      '@babel/helper-member-expression-to-functions': 7.23.0
+      '@babel/helper-optimise-call-expression': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.9(@babel/core@7.21.4)
+      '@babel/helper-skip-transparent-expression-wrappers': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
+      semver: 6.3.1
+    dev: true
+
+  /@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.8):
+    resolution: {integrity: sha512-xkb58MyOYIslxu3gKmVXmjTtUPvBU4odYzbiIQbWwLKIHCsx6UGZGX6F1IznMFVnDdirseUZopzN+ZRt8Xb33Q==}
+    engines: {node: '>=6.9.0'}
+    peerDependencies:
+      '@babel/core': ^7.0.0
+    dependencies:
+      '@babel/core': 7.21.8
+      '@babel/helper-annotate-as-pure': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-environment-visitor': 7.22.20
+      '@babel/helper-function-name': 7.23.0
+      '@babel/helper-member-expression-to-functions': 7.23.0
+      '@babel/helper-optimise-call-expression': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.9(@babel/core@7.21.8)
+      '@babel/helper-skip-transparent-expression-wrappers': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
+      semver: 6.3.1
+    dev: false
+
+  /@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.22.20):
+    resolution: {integrity: sha512-xkb58MyOYIslxu3gKmVXmjTtUPvBU4odYzbiIQbWwLKIHCsx6UGZGX6F1IznMFVnDdirseUZopzN+ZRt8Xb33Q==}
+    engines: {node: '>=6.9.0'}
+    peerDependencies:
+      '@babel/core': ^7.0.0
+    dependencies:
+      '@babel/core': 7.22.20
+      '@babel/helper-annotate-as-pure': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-environment-visitor': 7.22.20
+      '@babel/helper-function-name': 7.23.0
+      '@babel/helper-member-expression-to-functions': 7.23.0
+      '@babel/helper-optimise-call-expression': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.9(@babel/core@7.22.20)
+      '@babel/helper-skip-transparent-expression-wrappers': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
+      semver: 6.3.1
+    dev: true
+
   /@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.23.3):
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-xkb58MyOYIslxu3gKmVXmjTtUPvBU4odYzbiIQbWwLKIHCsx6UGZGX6F1IznMFVnDdirseUZopzN+ZRt8Xb33Q==}
     engines: {node: '>=6.9.0'}
@@ -4666,11 +4717,13 @@ packages:
       '@babel/core': ^7.0.0-0
     dependencies:
       '@babel/core': 7.21.4
-      '@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin': 7.22.15(@babel/core@7.21.4)
+      '@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin': 7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.4)
       '@babel/helper-plugin-utils': 7.22.5
-      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.9(@babel/core@7.21.4)
-      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
+      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.5
       '@babel/plugin-syntax-decorators': 7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.4)
+    transitivePeerDependencies:
+      - supports-color
     dev: true
 
   /@babel/plugin-proposal-decorators@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.8):
@@ -4680,11 +4733,13 @@ packages:
       '@babel/core': ^7.0.0-0
     dependencies:
       '@babel/core': 7.21.8
-      '@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin': 7.22.15(@babel/core@7.21.8)
+      '@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin': 7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.8)
       '@babel/helper-plugin-utils': 7.22.5
-      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.9(@babel/core@7.21.8)
-      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
+      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.5
       '@babel/plugin-syntax-decorators': 7.22.5(@babel/core@7.21.8)
+    transitivePeerDependencies:
+      - supports-color
     dev: false
 
   /@babel/plugin-proposal-decorators@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.22.20):
@@ -4694,11 +4749,13 @@ packages:
       '@babel/core': ^7.0.0-0
     dependencies:
       '@babel/core': 7.22.20
-      '@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin': 7.22.15(@babel/core@7.22.20)
+      '@babel/helper-create-class-features-plugin': 7.22.5(@babel/core@7.22.20)
       '@babel/helper-plugin-utils': 7.22.5
-      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.9(@babel/core@7.22.20)
-      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.6
+      '@babel/helper-replace-supers': 7.22.5
+      '@babel/helper-split-export-declaration': 7.22.5
       '@babel/plugin-syntax-decorators': 7.22.5(@babel/core@7.22.20)
+    transitivePeerDependencies:
+      - supports-color
     dev: true
 
   /@babel/plugin-proposal-decorators@7.22.5(@babel/core@7.23.3):
@@ -27636,11 +27693,6 @@ packages:
       strip-final-newline: 3.0.0
     dev: true
 
-  /exit-hook@3.2.0:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-aIQN7Q04HGAV/I5BszisuHTZHXNoC23WtLkxdCLuYZMdWviRD0TMIt2bnUBi9MrHaF/hH8b3gwG9iaAUHKnJGA==}
-    engines: {node: ^12.20.0 || ^14.13.1 || >=16.0.0}
-    dev: true
-
   /exit@0.1.2:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-Zk/eNKV2zbjpKzrsQ+n1G6poVbErQxJ0LBOJXaKZ1EViLzH+hrLu9cdXI4zw9dBQJslwBEpbQ2P1oS7nDxs6jQ==}
     engines: {node: '>= 0.8.0'}
@@ -28952,7 +29004,6 @@ packages:
   /get-port@7.0.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-mDHFgApoQd+azgMdwylJrv2DX47ywGq1i5VFJE7fZ0dttNq3iQMfsU4IvEgBHojA3KqEudyu7Vq+oN8kNaNkWw==}
     engines: {node: '>=16'}
-    dev: false
 
   /get-stdin@4.0.1:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-F5aQMywwJ2n85s4hJPTT9RPxGmubonuB10MNYo17/xph174n2MIR33HRguhzVag10O/npM7SPk73LMZNP+FaWw==}
@@ -30879,13 +30930,6 @@ packages:
     dependencies:
       is-docker: 2.2.1
 
-  /is-wsl@3.1.0:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-UcVfVfaK4Sc4m7X3dUSoHoozQGBEFeDC+zVo06t98xe8CzHSZZBekNXH+tu0NalHolcJ/QAGqS46Hef7QXBIMw==}
-    engines: {node: '>=16'}
-    dependencies:
-      is-inside-container: 1.0.0
-    dev: true
-
   /is-yarn-global@0.3.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-VjSeb/lHmkoyd8ryPVIKvOCn4D1koMqY+vqyjjUfc3xyKtP4dYOxM44sZrnqQSzSds3xyOrUTLTC9LVCVgLngw==}
     dev: true