microsoft / microsoft/WSL

wsl --install -d not installing distro

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#14,044 6 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub
install
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Description

### Windows Version

windows 11 25h2

### WSL Version

2.6.3.0

### Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

- [x] WSL 2
- [ ] WSL 1

### Kernel Version

6.6.87.2-1

### Distro Version

Debian 13

### Other Software

_No response_

### Repro Steps

1. there is NOT installed anything related to wsl
2. execute command wsl --install -d Debian
3. the debian or any other distro is not installed

### Expected Behavior

The Debian distro is installed

### Actual Behavior

debian distro is not installed, it is needed after restart to again execute the command to install debian distro

### Diagnostic Logs

[WslLogs-2026-01-09_18-25-56.zip](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/24532424/WslLogs-2026-01-09_18-25-56.zip)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reproducing the reported flow on Windows 11 25H2 with WSL 2.6.3.0: run `wsl --install -d Debian`, restart when prompted, and inspect the attached WslLogs-2026-01-09_18-25-56.zip. Done means the command installs Debian as expected without requiring a second manual invocation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

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

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