---
title: "Builds Getting Stuck at a Certain Point"
url: https://phatdev.net/en/docs/sl-migrations/how-to-resolve-builds-getting-stuck-at-a-certain-point
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-20
alternate:
  vi: https://phatdev.net/docs/sl-migrations/how-to-resolve-builds-getting-stuck-at-a-certain-point
markdown: https://phatdev.net/en/docs/sl-migrations/how-to-resolve-builds-getting-stuck-at-a-certain-point.md
---

# Builds Getting Stuck at a Certain Point

Part of the doc set: [SL Migrations](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/sl-migrations.md)

> Progress stops midway and does not advance.

## Symptoms

The progress bar stops at X% for a long time. The status is still `Building`. The page does not update.

## Debugging

### 1. Check the build log

In **SL Migrations → Packages**, click the package that is building → watch the live log. The last line tells you which phase the plugin is stuck in:
- **DATABASE** - dumping SQL
- **ARCHIVE** - compressing files
- **STORAGE** - uploading to the cloud

### 2. Check the database

A long-running MySQL query may be holding a lock. If you have access to the server, check the MySQL process list - if you see a query stuck for over 60s on the site's database → it may be the build dumping.

## Common causes

### ARCHIVE phase stuck

- **A file that is too large**: a single file > 1GB (an old database dump, heavy media) → slow to compress
- **Slow disk**: I/O bottleneck
- **Memory leak**: the PHP process eats RAM → the OS swaps → extremely slow

**Fix**:
- Exclude large files from the backup
- Switch to the **DupArchive** engine (chunked, does not load everything into RAM)
- Raise `memory_limit` to 1-2 GB

### DATABASE phase stuck

- **Table lock**: MySQL locks a table → the dump cannot get the data
- **Large transaction**: a running query holds a row lock

**Fix**:
- Wait for the other query to finish and build again
- Build during off-peak hours (3-5 AM)
- In **Settings → Package → Database**, change the dump mode if needed

### STORAGE phase stuck

- Upload to cloud storage is slow or times out
- Network drop

**Fix**:
- Test the connection to the storage on the **Tools** page
- Temporarily back up locally only and upload manually later
- Raise the cURL timeout in `php.ini`

## Force restart a build

If a build has been stuck for over 30 minutes with no progress:

1. **SL Migrations → Packages** → click **Cancel** on that package
2. Wait 1-2 minutes for the plugin to process the cancellation
3. If it still does not finish, you can delete the lock file `slm_pro_lock.bin` in the plugin folder (through FTP/SFTP)
4. Create a new backup

## See also

- [File I/O issues](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/sl-migrations/how-to-resolve-file-io-related-build-issues)
- [Database writes](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/sl-migrations/how-to-fix-database-write-issues)