My app crashes at the start

I am not sure if this pointer to the Phoenix 1.4.0-RC thread (comment by Phoenix’s creator) is explicitly saying you only need Plug 1.7 for the latest version or not, but it might be a clue. Additionally, Plug’s GitHub installation section seems to require plug_cowboy to be specified as ~> 2.0.

Not 100% sure myself but maybe it can help you.