Have you read the Contributing Guidelines on issues?

• I have read the Contributing Guidelines on issues.

Prerequisites

• I'm using the latest version of Docusaurus.
• I have tried the npm run clear or yarn clear command.
• I have tried rm -rf node_modules yarn.lock package-lock.json and re-installing packages.
• I have tried creating a repro with https://new.docusaurus.io.
• I have read the console error message carefully (if applicable).

Description

I've just upgraded my site to Docusaurus 3.8. I get this error when running npm start:

[ERROR] Error: Command failed: ps cax -o command | grep -E "^(Google Chrome Canary|Google Chrome Dev|Google Chrome Beta|Google Chrome|Microsoft Edge|Brave Browser|Vivaldi|Chromium)$"

    at genericNodeError (node:internal/errors:983:15)
    at wrappedFn (node:internal/errors:537:14)
    at ChildProcess.exithandler (node:child_process:415:12)
    at ChildProcess.emit (node:events:507:28)
    at maybeClose (node:internal/child_process:1101:16)
    at Socket.<anonymous> (node:internal/child_process:457:11)
    at Socket.emit (node:events:507:28)
    at Pipe.<anonymous> (node:net:351:12) {
  code: 1,
  killed: false,
  signal: null,
  cmd: 'ps cax -o command | grep -E "^(Google Chrome Canary|Google Chrome Dev|Google Chrome Beta|Google Chrome|Microsoft Edge|Brave Browser|Vivaldi|Chromium)$"',
  stdout: '',
  stderr: ''
}

The same error happens on a new Docusaurus site created with npx create-docusaurus@latest my-website classic.

I have to open Chrome to fix the error.

Note that on my site I have BROWSER=none docusaurus start at npm start (link). Using BROWSER=none worked till 3.8.

Reproducible demo

No response

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a new project with npx create-docusaurus@latest my-website classic. You can also clone my project available at https://github.com/AlbertVilaCalvo/Wiki
2. Close any Chrome-based browser
3. Run npm start

The error happens.

Expected behavior

No error should happen.

Also, the BROWSER=none option should be honored and do not attempt to open any browser.

Actual behavior

An error happens (see above).

Your environment

• Public source code: you can create a new project or use https://github.com/AlbertVilaCalvo/Wiki/
• Public site URL: https://albert.wiki
• Docusaurus version used: 3.8
• Environment name and version (e.g. Chrome 89, Node.js 16.4): Node v24.1.0
• Operating system and version (e.g. Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS): macOS 15.5 Sequoia

Self-service

• I'd be willing to fix this bug myself.