microsoft / microsoft/WSL

Auto write wslhost ip into /etc/hosts file

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#10,022 4 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature needs-attention
Dominant language
C++
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Description

I am using wsl2 latest on windows 11.

the current wsl2 won't write right host ip address into /etc/hosts

# This file was automatically generated by WSL. To stop automatic generation of this file, add the following entry to /etc/wsl.conf:
# [network]
# generateHosts = false

The right solution is add scripts into ~/.bashrc to make sure write wslhost into /etc/hosts


if grep -q "wslhost" /etc/hosts; then
#  echo " wsl host already set"
   true
else
  export PROXY_HOST=$(cat /etc/resolv.conf | grep nameserver | cut -d ' ' -f 2)
  echo "$PROXY_HOST wslhost" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
fi

Once user login into wsl2 linux, it will load and exec the script to check if wslhost is set


172.23.32.1 wslhost

It is exactly what it was
/etc/resolv.conf

# This file was automatically generated by WSL. To stop automatic generation of this file, add the following entry to /etc/wsl.conf:
# [network]
# generateResolvConf = false
nameserver 172.23.32.1

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the WSL2 behavior described around /etc/hosts and the generated /etc/resolv.conf, then review the /etc/wsl.conf settings for generateHosts and generateResolvConf. Reproduce the issue by logging into WSL2 and checking whether the nameserver address is available as wslhost in /etc/hosts. Done means the host entry is written automatically with the current address without requiring a ~/.bashrc script.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux, shell
Domain
networking, operating-systems
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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