WSL

Backing up and Restoring WSL Distributions

1. Export a WSL distribution for backup/migration from PowerShell

   wsl --export <distribution_name> <filename>
   

2. To import a WSL distribution from PowerShell

   wsl --import <distribution_name> <install_location> <filename>
   

3. This new WSL distribution will start as the root user. To start as another user, add the following to /etc/wsl.conf from inside the distribution

   [user]
   default=<username>
   

4. wsl --shutdown from PowerShell and restart to see the change

More WSL Commands

Command	Description
wsl -l -v	List WSL distributions along with their state and version
wsl -t <distribution_name>	Terminate/shut down a WSL distribution
wsl --unregister <distribution_name>	Unregisters WSL distribution and deletes root filesystem

• wsl --help to see all WSL commands and their descriptions

Commands Inside WSL Distributions

• Sign in to Git using the Git Credential Manager in Windows

  git config --global credential.helper "/mnt/c/Program\ Files/Git/mingw64/libexec/git-core/git-credential-manager-core.exe"
  

• Open a WSL file/directory using the Windows default program

  • For example: File Explorer for directories, Excel for CSV files

  wslview <file_or_directory>
  

Resources

• Install WSL
• Export and import WSL distributions
• Change default user in WSL 2
• Get started using Git on WSL

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Last update: January 26, 2022