Wsl start service on boot. Sep 21, 2022 · [boot] systemd=true And close out of the nano editor using CTRL+O to save and CTRL+X to exit. Describe the solution you Mar 14, 2025 · How to Start WSL2 on Windows 11 In recent years, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has gained immense popularity among developers and sysadmins who want to harness the power of Linux while running Windows. This background session will keep the WSL instance active without much of a drawback. To understand them (and how WSL behaves) a bit better, let's start out with the (at least) four different ways you can start a background task or service (a. May 9, 2025 · A step by step tutorial on how to automatically start ssh server on boot on the Windows Subsystem for Linux - WSL-ssh-server. conf: [boot] command="service docker start" Note that under the latest Preview releases, there appears to be an issue that causes anything started via this boot. Set the task to run on computer startup. d/screen-cleanup start" at system startup. Oct 18, 2020 · To fix the error follow the above directions to run "sudo /etc/init. This script recognizes wsl 1 or 2 version and will run commands for wsl 1 or wsl 2 Support for starting the Linux services in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows startup - troytse/wsl-autostart The command is used to start a session of dbus-launch in WSL without actually launching any graphical application. Others suggest running the wsl command-line to execute a single command in the Linux VM. Apr 28, 2024 · Learn how to start the Docker daemon automatically with WSL2. However, by default, WSL is not enabled to start automatically when you boot your computer. daemon) on Ubuntu on WSL: Jun 13, 2020 · So every time I fire up my PC it seems WSL automatically starts running in the background (and I have to run wsl --terminate Ubuntu) Is there like any setting for having it not start as I turn on m Dec 16, 2022 · Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. Script called at startup by the Windows task scheduler (without user login) which starts the service of your Linux wsl. Aug 6, 2025 · A guide to the wsl. Our Docker Support team is here to help you with your questions and concerns. The script verifies that wsl starts successfully with `wsl --list --verbose` and logs everything. ) when launched manually. md Mar 21, 2020 · Option 1: Set up a Windows "Scheduled Task" to run on login (not boot): The task can be a "Basic Task" to "Start a Program" The the "Program" is wsl. exe --shutdown from PowerShell to restart your WSL instances. Short answer to " what is a workaround here to automatically start docker when opening Ubuntu on WSL2? Option 1: On Windows 11, add the necessary commands to the [boot] section in /etc/wsl. Contribute to peppy0510/wsl-service development by creating an account on GitHub. 04 on Windows 10? Then, here is the way. Jan 28, 2022 · How can I enable a service such as OpenSSH server to start when WSL2 is started ? Currently I have to restart it every time WSL2 is started with sudo service ssh start. In the Windows search bar type Aug 10, 2016 · 22 Create a file named wsl_setup. (What is systemd?). If you need these services to start at Windows login, simply create a scheduled task at login for wsl true. See WSL architecture for details about what each process does. a. Most suggest using the wsl command-line to start SSH which is not needed as current default installs Linux in a VM with systemd launching the SSH server. May 16, 2024 · Learn how to quickly start, restart, or shut down WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2) on Windows 11 with this guide. With the new WSL2 support on Windows Server 2022, I would like to start WSL2 at system boot to start docker. It’s a bit of a hacky solution, but it’ll make starting the Docker daemon a bit easier. lnk" because Chrome automatically renames the files to prevent "abuse". Jul 8, 2019 · Then, set it executable. Linux distributions Helps WSL startup on your Windows boot. The WSL2 boot process This page describes the steps in the WSL2 process, from the user invoking wsl. Since its introduction, WSL has undergone significant improvements, with WSL2 offering a more powerful and efficient environment. Upon launch you should have systemd running. command to terminate when no services that Jan 30, 2023 · It is clear that it is quite tricky to get WSL to start at boot time, and that there are a variety of methods that have been used to achieve this goal. You can check this with the command systemctl list-unit-files -- type=service which should show your services . The init system default has recently changed from SystemV, with systemd now the default for the current version of Ubuntu that will be installed using the wsl --install command default. d Jun 29, 2020 · With the changes in effect, you should be able to run: docker run hello-world And see the hello-world from Docker. wsl start to run sshd, but it still cannot startup automatically. Aug 3, 2021 · I need to run sudo service postgresql start every time when I start Ubuntu on WSL2. You may have to change the file extension after downloading to ". Ensure it works (firewall set up properly, etc. Sep 9, 2020 · Do you want to start various services such as Nginx, Apache2, and MySQL automatically on WSL- Windows Subsystem for Linux running with Ubuntu 20. Summary This was a short post, explaining how to setup your WSL system to automatically start Docker when you open your terminal. exe to the user's Linux shell (bash in this example), in the WSL2 distribution. Task Scheduler It is really simple to schedule this command to run with Task Scheduler. Is there an easy way to have bash start automatically when Windows starts and pass a command to it to start the SSH server? So that the SSH server Mar 17, 2025 · Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) now supports systemd, an init system and service manager used by many popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, and more. conf and . k. Jan 23, 2023 · If you want to run a command whenever you boot or log into a computer then consider using Task Scheduler. Specify a user account to run the task as, and specify that the task run whether or not the user is logged in. Overview The below diagram shows the sequence of events to start bash within a WSL2 distribution. It definitely starts, but apparently gets stopped immediately after the script finishes. Of course, this can be modified to run any service that has an init. bat file to windows startup folder windows-10-change-startup-apps Restart and log in your windows account (yes, you need to log in) I'm trying to get WSL (2) started on boot before login, so i can ssh into it from remote just after a reboot, but i cant get it to work. bat and add content as follow wsl -u root -e sudo service ssh start wsl -u root -e sudo service nginx start Add wsl_setup. Nov 26, 2022 · You can’t run WSL as a service, all you can do is automate WSL instance being started (scheduled task), and configure Postgres within WSL to automatically be started. wsl Now we can try /etc/init. In general, if you want to start a service on boot then change the service startup type to Automatic (or delayed). A (Dec 24 2022) answer to a recent post here Launching WSL2 on Boot Here is where the other suggestions fall flat. How can I make the service start automatically when I start Ubuntu? WSL doesn't use systemd, so sudo systemctl en How to Make WSL Start on Boot in Windows 11 Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a powerful tool that allows you to run Linux distributions on Windows 11. Oct 17, 2022 · In other words, WSL is designed to terminate Ubuntu in certain situations, but the linked post isn't very clear about exactly what those scenarios are. $ chmod a+x /etc/init. Jan 28, 2022 · Set up sshd on distro of choice. I tried different approaches using the task scheduler with and without elevated permissions, different commands / small scripts but most seem to be outdated or dont work at all or wsl stops right after Right now I'm using the workaround with the Windows Jun 4, 2021 · How to make WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) automatically start your ubuntu services on windows 10 startup. This command is how WSL will be automatically started and kept running. Final steps With the above steps done, close your WSL distro Windows and run wsl. Jul 26, 2018 · If you need multiple commands to run at boot, separate them with a semicolon as above. Sep 28, 2019 · I have a question about the WSL version of Ubuntu. 04/18. This will start your WSL instance, triggering the boot commands above. In Windows 11, the script runs successfully on boot, as I can verify with logging. Create a VBS and let it run after Windows startup. wslconfig files used for configuring settings when running multiple Linux distributions on Windows Subsystem for Linux. exe And the "Arguments" should be -u root service cron start That will run WSL at login as the root user (needed to start services) and run the service cron start command. usjd l6 ydg p9h t4j si3v 7mkze7gc 606n yg70k iya