diff --git a/test/dev.ts b/test/dev.ts
index 550fa96ee..e682988d7 100644
--- a/test/dev.ts
+++ b/test/dev.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { loadEnv } from 'payload/node'
 
 import { getNextRootDir } from './helpers/getNextRootDir.js'
 import { runInit } from './runInit.js'
+import { safelyRunScriptFunction } from './safelyRunScript.js'
 import { createTestHooks } from './testHooks.js'
 
 const prod = process.argv.includes('--prod')
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ await beforeTest()
 
 const { rootDir, adminRoute } = getNextRootDir(testSuiteArg)
 
-await runInit(testSuiteArg, true)
+await safelyRunScriptFunction(runInit, 4000, testSuiteArg)
 
 // Open the admin if the -o flag is passed
 if (args.o) {
diff --git a/test/safelyRunScript.ts b/test/safelyRunScript.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..94c579fab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/safelyRunScript.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { spawn } from 'child_process'
+import path from 'path'
+
+/**
+ * Sometimes, running certain functions in certain scripts from the command line will cause the script to be terminated
+ * with a "Detected unsettled top-level await" error. This often happens if that function imports the payload config.
+ * It seems to be a bug in Node.js and I do not know how to properly fix it. As a workaround, this script automatically re-runs
+ * the script if said function is not resolved within a certain time frame, and prevents the "Detected unsettled top-level await" error.
+ */
+export async function safelyRunScriptFunction(
+  functionToRun: any,
+  timeout: number = 4000,
+  ...args: any[]
+): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+    const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
+      restartProcess(`runInit timed out after ${timeout / 1000} seconds`)
+    }, timeout)
+
+    functionToRun(...args)
+      .then(() => {
+        clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+        resolve()
+      })
+      .catch((error) => {
+        clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+        restartProcess(`runInit failed: ${error.message}`)
+      })
+  })
+}
+
+function restartProcess(reason: string): never {
+  console.warn(`Restarting process: ${reason}`)
+
+  // Get the path to the current script
+  const scriptPath = process.argv[1]
+  const absoluteScriptPath = path.resolve(scriptPath)
+
+  // Spawn a new process
+  const child = spawn('tsx', [absoluteScriptPath, ...process.argv.slice(2)], {
+    stdio: 'inherit',
+    detached: true,
+  })
+
+  // Unref the child process so the parent can exit
+  child.unref()
+
+  // Exit the current process
+  process.exit(0)
+}