Skip to content

WSL-QuickReference.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
138 lines (111 loc) · 3.25 KB

WSL-QuickReference.md

File metadata and controls

138 lines (111 loc) · 3.25 KB
Raw

WSL Development Environment - Quick Reference

🚀 Quick Start Commands

Command Description
wsls Start WSL (no warnings)
Restart-WSL Shutdown and restart WSL
Get-WSLStatus Check WSL and Sandbox drive status
Mount-WSLDev Run the Sandbox drive mount script
Get-WSLMounts Show all WSL mounted drives

📁 File Locations

Item Path
Module C:\Users\<you>\.revealui\powershell\Modules\RevealUI.RevStation\
PowerShell Profile (pwsh 7+) C:\Users\<you>\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
WSL Config /etc/wsl.conf (inside WSL)
Sandbox Drive Mount /mnt/sandbox (inside WSL)

🔧 Manual Operations

Start WSL

wsls                    # Clean start (no warnings)
Start-WSL -NoFilter     # See all output
wsl -d Ubuntu          # Direct start (may show warnings)

Restart WSL

Restart-WSL            # Helper function
# OR manually:
wsl --shutdown
Mount-WSLDev
wsls

Check Status

Get-WSLStatus          # Comprehensive status check
wsl --list --verbose   # WSL distributions
wsl --status           # WSL version info

Mount Operations

Mount-WSLDev                        # Run mount script
wsl --mount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1 --bare  # Manual mount
wsl --unmount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1       # Manual unmount

🐧 Inside WSL Commands

Check Sandbox Drive

df -h /mnt/sandbox                 # Check Sandbox drive space
ls -la /mnt/sandbox                # List Sandbox drive contents
mount | grep sandbox               # Verify mount

Check Systemd Status

systemctl is-system-running # Check if running
loginctl user-status $USER         # Detailed user session info
journalctl --user -xe              # User session logs

Navigate to Projects

cd ~/projects          # Your main projects directory
cd /mnt/sandbox       # Sandbox drive root

⚙️ Configuration Files

WSL Config (/etc/wsl.conf)

[boot]
  systemd=true
  systemdTimeout=30

[automount]
  enabled = true
  root = /mnt/
  options = "metadata,umask=22,fmask=11"
  mountFsTab = true

[user]
  default=<your-wsl-username>

🔍 Troubleshooting

WSL Won't Start

wsl --shutdown
wsl --unregister Ubuntu  # ⚠️ DESTRUCTIVE - backup first!

Sandbox Drive Not Mounted

wsl --unmount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1
Mount-WSLDev

Systemd Issues (inside WSL)

systemctl --user status
journalctl --user -b
loginctl user-status $USER

Reset Everything

wsl --shutdown
wsl --unmount \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE1
# Wait 5 seconds
Mount-WSLDev

💡 Tips

  • Scheduled Task: WSL-Mount-DevDrive runs Mount-WSLDev at logon, USB insertion, and every 30min
  • Profile Functions: Loaded automatically in every PowerShell session
  • Sandbox Drive: 916GB ext4 drive optimized for development
  • Systemd Warning: False positive - systemd starts successfully after ~3 seconds
  • PowerShell Profile: Reload with . $PROFILE after editing

🆘 Support

  • WSL Issues: wsl --help
  • PowerShell Profile: Get-Help about_Profiles
  • This Reference: wslhelp or Show-WSLHelp

Last Updated: 2026-02-27