WSL Filesystem Access: Bidirectional Integration Guide

Dec 8, 2025 | | 1 min |  #wsl #windows #linux

Windows → WSL: The \\wsl$\ Network Share

Access WSL distributions via UNC path \\wsl$\<distro-name>:

# List distributions
wsl --list -v

# Access files
ls \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\alg
explorer.exe \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\alg
notepad \\wsl$\Ubuntu\etc\hosts

# Map as network drive
net use Z: \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\alg

# Alternative path (newer Windows)
ls \\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\alg

Note: Accessing a stopped distribution auto-starts it.

WSL → Windows: The /mnt/ Mount Points

Windows drives auto-mount under /mnt/:

cd /mnt/c/Users/YourName/Documents
ls /mnt/  # List all Windows drives
notepad.exe myfile.txt  # Run Windows executables

Mount details:

  • Type: drvfs (special filesystem driver)
  • Default: /mnt/<drive-letter>
  • Permissions: Configurable via /etc/wsl.conf

Quick Wins

# VS Code integration
code \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\alg\myproject

# Find WSL IP for database access
wsl ip addr show eth0

# Extract archives in Linux
wsl tar xzf ~/archive.tar.gz