Unable to launch bash prompt using custom wsl.conf root mount path

[nickjj]

Versions

ConEmu build: 180429 x32
OS version: Windows 10 Pro 1803 Build 17134.1
Used shell version: WSL (Ubuntu 16.04)

Problem description

The Spring 2018 stable edition of Windows now supports adding in a wsl.conf file where you can customize the root mount location. It defaults to /mnt, but I wanted to change it to / so I can avoid having to bind mound /c in my bashrc, mainly because Docker for Windows expects things to exist at /c instead of /mnt/c when it comes to mounting volumes.

Steps to reproduce

1. Configure /etc/wsl.conf inside of WSL like this:

[automount]
enabled = true
root = /

2. Open Bash::bash terminal in ConEmu

Actual results

ConEmu will fail to load bash because it says wslbridge.exe is not found, and the failing path includes /mnt/e/path/to/where/conemu/is/installed. I am using the portable installer and it happens to be on my e drive.

I went into the ConEmu task settings and went to edit this Bash::bash task:

set "PATH=%ConEmuBaseDirShort%\wsl;%PATH%" & %ConEmuBaseDirShort%\conemu-cyg-64.exe --wsl -cur_console:pm:/cur_console:pm:/mnt

to be:

set "PATH=%ConEmuBaseDirShort%\wsl;%PATH%" & %ConEmuBaseDirShort%\conemu-cyg-64.exe --wsl -cur_console:pm:/cur_console:pm:/

and still received the same results (I changed the /mnt path at the end).

Is there something else I would need to edit for it to use a different wslbridge path? I was just poking around and changing things in hopes it would work.

Expected results

A bash terminal prompt to open as it does without a custom wsl.conf file.

[Maximus5]

Both -cur_console:pm:/cur_console:pm:/mnt and -cur_console:pm:/cur_console:pm:/ are illegal.
You pass p and m switches twice.

And both help page -new_console and About/-new_console show you proper syntax: m:""
https://conemu.github.io/en/NewConsole.html#syntax

m:/ is illegal too, don't you want to get //c/path instead of /c/path?

[nickjj]

I just wanted ConEmu to launch a bash prompt and correctly find the wslbridge using the /e mount path instead of /mnt/e. What would the correct syntax be for that?

[nickjj]

Also I do think this is a ConEmu issue.

Because if I change my wsl.conf file to use the root = / path I can run ubuntu from Windows and use their terminal. Then my c and e drives are mounted at / successfully.

But with ConEmu I see:

wslbridge error: failed to start backend process
note: backend error output: /bin/bash: /mnt/e/apps/ConEmu/App/ConEmu/ConEmu/wsl/wslbridge-backend: No such file or directory


ConEmuC: Root process was alive less than 10 sec, ExitCode=0.
Press Enter or Esc to close console...

This is with using /cur_console:pm:"" or /cur_console:pm:/mnt.

It's like that bridge path is hard coded to always look in /mnt.

[Maximus5]

I see now.
You talked about m switch, but it is intended only for conversion of paths on paste.
But your issue is about wslbridge in fact, nit ConEmu.
Actually, it's a question to @rprichard - how to run wslbridge properly in your case.

[nickjj]

It looks like some work has been done to address this at rprichard/wslbridge#22.

I don't know if it's in a release or how to use it tho.

By the way, other terminals such as wsltty work with custom WSL mount points using the latest wslbridge (from master).

[Maximus5]

Try these binaries

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i8z8gm80wfrcr91/wslbridge-wslpath.7z?dl=0

[nickjj]

Nice work!

It works great now while using /cur_console:pm:/mnt. But should I still switch that to ""?

I also logged out of Windows completely to make sure my mounts were clear.

Here's /etc/wsl.conf:

[automount]
root = /
options = "metadata,umask=0022"

And the output of running mount -l:

C: on /c type drvfs (rw,noatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=22,metadata)
D: on /d type drvfs (rw,noatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=22,metadata)
E: on /e type drvfs (rw,noatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=22,metadata)

Accessing /e produces my mounted drive's file system as expected.

Accessing /mnt/e is an empty folder. Not sure if this is expected. I would have expected /mnt to be completely empty instead of listing each drive's folder with empty content.

Edit: It's also worth pointing out that my .bashrc has no manual bind mounts happening, so this is definitely working well. Docker for Windows volume mounts also work out of the box.

[Maximus5]

It works great now while using /cur_console:pm:/mnt. But should I still switch that to ""?

As I said, this options is used for pasting paths only. Your choice.

Accessing /mnt/e is an empty folder. Not sure if this is expected.

Ask this in Microsoft/WSL tracker. May be that is a WSL bug.

[nickjj]

Ok, thanks.

So for 100% clarity, I should do something like this if I wanted to goto my e drive by default:

set "PATH=%ConEmuBaseDirShort%\wsl;%PATH%" & %ConEmuBaseDirShort%\conemu-cyg-64.exe --wsl -new_console:d:E:\ 

That -new_console flag comes out when I choose the startup dir from your dialog box. But I completely removed the current console flag since it didn't seem to do anything with new console set?

[Maximus5]

You may use any option

• -dir E:\ in the Task parameters
• -new_console:d:"E:\" in Task commands
• or special wslbridge switch -C/e/

[nickjj]

@Biswa96 Certain apps don't respect symlinks.

Before this patch I just ran sudo mount --bind /mnt/c /c in my ~/.bashrc, but with the patched wslbridge and wsl.conf, it's a much cleaner solution.

[mundey]

Try these binaries

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i8z8gm80wfrcr91/wslbridge-wslpath.7z?dl=0

at my side, since default mount option umask was 644, wslbridge-* was not executable and giving issues. All i had to do is open wsl from default terminal and add executable permissions and then conemu was working