Why does /etc/wsl.conf get overwritten in some WSL distributions?

Question

Why does /etc/wsl.conf get overwritten in some WSL distributions?

Mike 5

Yesterday after running a 'wsl --update' (due to this issue (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1194533/how-to-resolve-wsl-service-createinstance-0x800403) I started seeing some of my distros startup in a very odd ways. It seems like the /etc/wsl.conf file is getting overwritten with this:

PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl -d LMTECH-18754 cat /etc/wsl.conf

[boot]

command=/usr/bin/WSLGd

[user]

default=wslg

PS D:\wslsandbox>

Where could this be coming from? What I originally have is something like this:

[boot]

systemd=true

[user]

default=XXXXX

[interop]

appendWindowsPath=false

What is incredibly strange is this happened on a brand new distro just created as well as one that had been install and I've been using for well over a year and the old distro "fixed itself" after a some cycles of terminate and restarting.

Where could this /etc/wsl.conf be coming from? I have nothing that would put that in nor any reason/knowledge for this kind of setup.

Mike 5 Reputation points

2023-03-31T11:44:38.1333333+00:00

This morning I noticed that when I entered my distro with wsl -d <name> and saw the /etc/wsl.conf file was not what I created, I also noticed this wasn't even the distribution I installed? Like the name went to some phantom distribution on the instance.

After exiting the distro and issuing a 'wsl --shutdown' and reentering the same distribution with 'wsl -d <name>' again I found my original distro in tact and functional again.

What is going on?
Mike 5 Reputation points

2023-03-31T12:00:16.4566667+00:00

I also just noticed when this occurs all distributions act the same. No matter what <name> I use when issuing the 'wsl -d <name>' command, it starts this strange phantom distro with the wslgd boot command.

Mike 5

here is an example of what I am seeing:

PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl -l -v
  NAME                   STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu                 Running         2
  mikeenv                Stopped         2
  tam                    Stopped         2
  docker                 Stopped         2
  LMTECH-18754           Stopped         2
  docker-desktop         Stopped         2
  stdenv3                Stopped         2
  docker-desktop-data    Stopped         2
  java17                 Stopped         2
  docker2                Stopped         2
PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl -d Ubuntu
wslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ echo "$(IFS='\'; x=($(wslpath -w /)); echo "${x[${#x[@]}-1]}")"
Ubuntu
wslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ cat /etc/os-release 
NAME="Common Base Linux Mariner"
VERSION="2.0.20230107"
ID=mariner
VERSION_ID="2.0"
PRETTY_NAME="CBL-Mariner/Linux"
ANSI_COLOR="1;34"
HOME_URL="https://aka.ms/cbl-mariner"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://aka.ms/cbl-mariner"
SUPPORT_URL="https://aka.ms/cbl-mariner"
wslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ cat /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
command=/usr/bin/WSLGd
[user]
default=wslgwslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ exit
logout

Mike 5

continue:

PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl -d LMTECH-18754
wslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ echo "$(IFS='\'; x=($(wslpath -w /)); echo "${x[${#x[@]}-1]}")"
LMTECH-18754
wslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Common Base Linux Mariner"
VERSION="2.0.20230107"
ID=mariner
VERSION_ID="2.0"
PRETTY_NAME="CBL-Mariner/Linux"
ANSI_COLOR="1;34"
HOME_URL="https://aka.ms/cbl-mariner"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://aka.ms/cbl-mariner"
SUPPORT_URL="https://aka.ms/cbl-mariner"
wslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ cat /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
command=/usr/bin/WSLGd
[user]
default=wslgwslg [ /mnt/d/wslsandbox ]$ exit
logout
PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl --shutdown
PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl -d Ubuntu      
mdoyle@USSPNMDOYLE02:/mnt/d/wslsandbox$ cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 20.04 LTS"
VERSION_ID="20.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
VERSION_CODENAME=focal
UBUNTU_CODENAME=focal
mdoyle@USSPNMDOYLE02:/mnt/d/wslsandbox$ exit
logout

Mike 5

continue:

PS D:\wslsandbox> wsl -d LMTECH-18754
(lawson) landmark ->cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Amazon Linux"
VERSION="2"
ID="amzn"
ID_LIKE="centos rhel fedora"
VERSION_ID="2"
PRETTY_NAME="Amazon Linux 2"
ANSI_COLOR="0;33"
CPE_NAME="cpe:2.3:o:amazon:amazon_linux:2"
HOME_URL="https://amazonlinux.com/"
(lawson) landmark ->exit
logout
PS D:\wslsandbox>