microsoft / microsoft/WSL

Support mounting .vhdx in the WSL Settings app (GUI)

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#12,367 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature
Dominant language
C++
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

**Problem**

WSL requires manual mounting for Linux file systems and VHD images due to the lack of automatic recognition. Hence, the wsl --mount come in handy for for these frequent chores, but the job is tedious, as usual.

It requires identifying the DeviceID and then invoking `wsl --mount` component:

```powershell
GET-CimInstance -query "SELECT * from Win32_DiskDrive"
wsl --mount --partition --type
```

or for VHD

```powershell
wsl --mount --vhd
```

**Solution**

A built-in GUI for mounting in the WSL Settings app would be a valuable addition. I would love to see a dialog box featuring clickable options for selecting Linux disks/partitions, a custom option to enter the path to a VHD image, along with a button to mount the chosen item.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

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 by reviewing the WSL Settings app and the current `wsl --mount` and `wsl --mount --vhd` workflows described in the issue. Done means the app provides a dialog to select Linux disks or partitions, enter a VHD path, and mount the selected item.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
desktop, operating-systems
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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