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avesome-tricks/wsl-tricks.md
theadam e646ba3701 WSL tips and tricks v1
2025-06-07 17:44:33 +02:00

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WSL

WSL is the Windows subsystem for Linux which allows to run Linux VM-like containers on modern Windows OSs.

As it is constantly developed it has annoying bugs and issues that documentation quality is varying, so I try to collect here the useful know-hows to make it usable.

Change the subnet for WSL NAT

WSL2 by default creates a NAT-ed interface to route the traffic of guest Linux VM over the host.

It is changeable if you would like other network options. However in corporate environments usualy a good idea to keep the official topology. However WSL at setup pick a random /20 subnet from 172.16.0.0/12 to address the virtual machines. If your desired LAN uses this address you will can not access it.

Solution is that change the WSL network subnet into APIPA subnet (169.254.0.0/16) and pick a random subnet.

I picked the 169.254.255.0/24. To apply this the suggested method is to save this in a "wsl-change-network.reg" file.

If you do it from notepad the double quotations are important to keep the .reg extension.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss]
"NatGatewayIpAddress"="169.254.255.1"
"NatNetwork"="169.254.255.0/24"

Apply it and enoy, install WSL!

If WSL already installed

If WSL already installed, do the following

  • shut down the WSL from terminal wsl --shutdown.
  • Run services.msc and shut down WSL, or simply open an elevated CMD (run, cmd, CTRL-SHIFT-enter) and type net stop WSLService.
  • Apply the Registry change.
  • Do a cold reboot (desktop, ALT+f4, reboot).