microsoft / microsoft/WSL

New Architecture - Make start menu shortcut open in the right Windows Terminal's profile

Open
#13,414 4 comments 6 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
feature
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Currently, launching a newly installed or imported WSL distro via its Start Menu shortcut and its associated Windows Terminal profile can lead to inconsistencies. While both typically use `wsl.exe --distribution-id {xxxx}`, discrepancies in the executable paths can prevent the Start Menu shortcut from correctly opening the corresponding Windows Terminal profile.

This request proposes ensuring consistent executable paths in both the Start Menu shortcut and the Windows Terminal profile for every WSL distro. This would guarantee a seamless transition between launching the distro directly from the Start Menu and launching it through its pre-configured Windows Terminal profile. The ideal behavior would be that clicking the Start Menu shortcut always directly opens the correct Windows Terminal profile without needing additional configuration.

The command path in the fragment is:

```json
{
"commandline": "C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\wsl.exe --distribution-id {5b2b44f9-13eb-45d1-a388-d029b78111da} --cd ~",

....
}
```

But in the start menu shortcut is:

```batch
"C:\Program Files\WSL\wsl.exe" --distribution-id {5b2b44f9-13eb-45d1-a388-d029b78111da} --cd ~
```

I suggest changing the start menu shortcut path to `C:\WINDOWS\system32\wsl.exe` so we also avoid the double quotes.

With this little change when you click the start menu icon, the right terminal profile will open.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start with the Start Menu shortcut and Windows Terminal profile command lines shown in the issue, then trace where each command is generated for newly installed or imported WSL distributions. Compare their executable paths and verify the shortcut consistently opens the matching Windows Terminal profile using the intended system32 wsl.exe path.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
cli, operating-systems
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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