diff --git a/src/bin/vip-dev-env.js b/src/bin/vip-dev-env.js
index e5b957968..bf2374ae4 100755
--- a/src/bin/vip-dev-env.js
+++ b/src/bin/vip-dev-env.js
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 
 import command from '../lib/cli/command';
 
+if ( process.getuid?.() === 0 ) {
+	console.error( 'This script should not be run as root. Exiting.' );
+	process.exit( 1 );
+}
+
 command( {
 	requiredArgs: 0,
 } )