Write-Host "WSL distribution '$DistributionName' not found or is WSL1" -ForegroundColor Red return $null Get-WSLStorageLocation "Ubuntu" Bash Script to Find WSL Files #!/bin/bash Find WSL distribution storage from Linux side find_wsl_storage() tr -d '\r')
Default WSL 2 Storage Location C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited.UbuntuonWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc\LocalState\ext4.vhdx Distribution-Specific Paths | Distribution | Store Package Name | |--------------|-------------------| | Ubuntu | CanonicalGroupLimited.UbuntuonWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc | | Ubuntu 22.04 | CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu22.04LTS_79rhkp1fndgsc | | Ubuntu 20.04 | CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu20.04onWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc | | Debian | TheDebianProject.DebianGNULinux_76v4gfsz19hv4 | | Kali Linux | KaliLinux.54290C8133FEE_ey8k8hqnwqnmg | | openSUSE | 46932SUSE.openSUSELeap42.2_022rs5j4ny28 | Find Your WSL Files via Command Line PowerShell / CMD: where are wsl files stored in windows
for package_dir in base_path.iterdir(): if package_dir.is_dir(): distro_name = distribution.lower() if distro_name in package_dir.name.lower(): vhdx = package_dir / 'LocalState' / 'ext4.vhdx' if vhdx.exists(): return vhdx return None distros = get_wsl_distributions() for distro in distros: if distro['version'] == '2': vhdx = get_vhdx_path(distro['name']) if vhdx: print(f"distro['name']: vhdx") PowerShell Function function Get-WSLStorageLocation Select-Object -First 1 where are wsl files stored in windows
if ($packageDir) $vhdxPath = Join-Path $packageDir.FullName "LocalState\ext4.vhdx" if (Test-Path $vhdxPath) Write-Host "WSL2 VHDX Location: $vhdxPath" -ForegroundColor Green # Get file size $file = Get-Item $vhdxPath $sizeGB = [math]::Round($file.Length / 1GB, 2) Write-Host "Size: $sizeGB GB" return $vhdxPath where are wsl files stored in windows
if not base_path.exists(): return None
find_wsl_storage "Ubuntu" # Export distribution wsl --export Ubuntu D:\backups\ubuntu.tar Import to new location wsl --import Ubuntu D:\WSL\Ubuntu D:\backups\ubuntu.tar --version 2 Remove old distribution wsl --unregister Ubuntu Quick Reference Card | Action | Command/Path | |--------|--------------| | Access Linux files from Windows | \\wsl$\Ubuntu\ | | Find VHDX location (WSL2) | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\*\LocalState\ext4.vhdx | | Find rootfs location (WSL1) | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\*\LocalState\rootfs\ | | List distributions | wsl -l -v | | Open WSL home in Explorer | explorer.exe \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home |
Always use \\wsl$\ path or WSL commands to interact with Linux files. Direct Windows file manipulation can corrupt your WSL installation!