[Feature Request] Claude Desktop: Option to execute commands in WSL instead of Windows

[phoenixf]

Summary

When using Claude Desktop on Windows with the embedded Claude Code feature, allow configuring it to execute shell commands inside WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) instead of Windows CMD/PowerShell.

Environment

• Claude Desktop Version: 1.0.1307 (1ed883) 2025-11-25
• OS: Windows 11 with WSL2 (Ubuntu)
• Claude Code: Embedded in Claude Desktop

Use Case

My entire development environment is set up in WSL:

• Python virtualenvs
• Node.js / npm
• MySQL server
• Local dev servers (PHP, Python HTTP server, etc.)
• Git configuration
• All projects stored in WSL filesystem

I want to use Claude Desktop's improved UI and longer context window, but when it executes commands, they run in Windows where none of my tools are configured.

Current Behavior

Claude Desktop with embedded Claude Code executes all bash/shell commands in Windows environment, which doesn't have access to:

• WSL-installed packages
• Linux-only tools
• My development servers running in WSL
• Proper file permissions

Expected Behavior

Option to configure Claude Desktop to:

1. Execute shell commands inside a specified WSL distro (e.g., Ubuntu)
2. Use WSL paths natively (e.g., /home/user/project instead of \\wsl$\...)
3. Access WSL environment variables and tools

Similar Implementation

VS Code solves this elegantly with "Remote - WSL" extension - the UI runs on Windows but all terminal commands, extensions, and file operations happen inside WSL.

Workaround (Current)

Running Claude Code CLI directly inside WSL terminal works perfectly, but loses the benefits of Claude Desktop's UI and extended context.

Additional Context

Many developers on Windows use WSL as their primary development environment while preferring native Windows apps for UI. This integration would make Claude Desktop viable for this common workflow.

[github-actions]

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

[zonagilreath]

This is still a highly desirable feature request.

[sespinosa]

Same situation here — my entire dev environment lives in WSL, but I want Claude Desktop's UI for viewing images, reading documents, and voice input.

An alternative approach: instead of making Claude Desktop execute in WSL directly, what if Claude Code could open its sessions in Desktop?

Something like:

# In WSL terminal
claude --desktop

This would open Claude Desktop with the session selector, showing your existing Claude Code sessions. Pick one, and Desktop becomes the UI for that session — you can keep using it just like Claude Code, running commands, editing files, approving permissions, everything. The execution happens in WSL, Desktop is just the interface.

The biggest win: approving permissions from anywhere. Start a long task in WSL, then approve permissions from Desktop or even your phone without being glued to the terminal.

This might be simpler to implement than deep WSL integration, and it would benefit users beyond just Windows/WSL — anyone who wants to switch between terminal and Desktop mid-session.

Related: #15881

[antonyevans]

One more request for this feature please!

[dequeirozrodriguez]

Hi Folks! I have done a workaround for now, it is not perfect but it might work as a temporary fix until Anthropic gives us the option to execute in WSL. I have asked Claude to create a good simple/didactic tutorial for it, and there it is:

(If someone has a better way to do it, I am all ears) Tks folks

Running Claude Desktop with WSL2

Claude Desktop on Windows uses Git Bash for command execution. That means no access to your Linux toolchain — no native Python, no apt, no GPU compute. This guide fixes that with a two-line bash profile hack that transparently forwards all commands to WSL2.

After setup, you keep the Claude Desktop GUI on Windows and everything runs in Linux.

What you need

Windows 10/11 with WSL2 and a distro (Ubuntu, etc), Claude Desktop, and Git for Windows. You probably have all of these already.

1. Enable systemd

Edit /etc/wsl.conf inside WSL:

[boot]
systemd=true

[user]
default=yourusername

Restart WSL from PowerShell with wsl --shutdown.

2. Keep WSL alive

Claude Desktop doesn't hold a persistent wsl.exe process — it fires one per command. Between commands, Windows sees no active WSL process and terminates the entire VM. Next command? Cold boot. This makes everything painfully slow and can drop state.

Two things fix this. First, edit %USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig:

[wsl2]
vmIdleTimeout=-1

Second, create a startup script that holds a background process inside WSL. This is what actually keeps the VM warm. Open PowerShell:

[System.IO.File]::WriteAllText("$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\wsl-startup.vbs", @'
Set objShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
objShell.Run "wsl -d Ubuntu --exec sleep infinity", 0, False
WScript.Sleep 15000
objShell.Run "subst W: \\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\yourusername", 0, False
'@)

The script does two things on login: runs a hidden sleep infinity in WSL (zero CPU, just keeps the VM from being killed), then maps a W: drive to your WSL home so Claude Desktop's file picker can browse it. The 15-second wait gives WSL time to fully boot before the drive mapping happens.

Replace yourusername with your WSL username.

3. The bash profile

This is the entire trick. When Claude Desktop runs a command, it calls Git Bash with bash -lc "command". Git Bash sets a variable called $BASH_EXECUTION_STRING with that command. We intercept it and re-run it inside WSL.

[System.IO.File]::WriteAllText("$env:USERPROFILE\.bash_profile", @'
if [ -n "$BASH_EXECUTION_STRING" ]; then
    WSL_CWD=$(pwd | sed 's|^/w/|/home/yourusername/|; s|^/W/|/home/yourusername/|')
    CMD=$(echo "$BASH_EXECUTION_STRING" | sed -e 's|W:\\\\|/home/yourusername/|g' -e 's|W:/|/home/yourusername/|g' -e 's|/w/|/home/yourusername/|g' -e 's|/W/|/home/yourusername/|g')
    exec wsl.exe -d Ubuntu --cd ~ -- bash -lc "cd '$WSL_CWD' 2>/dev/null; $CMD"
fi
'@, [System.Text.UTF8Encoding]::new($false))

Replace yourusername in all three places. The UTF8Encoding($false) matters — without it, PowerShell adds a BOM that Bash interprets as a broken command.

The sed lines translate Windows-style drive paths (W:\, /w/, /W/) back to real WSL paths. Claude Desktop sees the project through the W: drive, so it sometimes generates these in commands. The translation catches them before WSL chokes on them.

Interactive Git Bash sessions are unaffected — they don't set $BASH_EXECUTION_STRING, so the if block never fires.

4. Reboot

Restart your PC. The startup script boots WSL, keeps it alive, and maps W:. If Explorer shows W: as "disconnected network drive", it works fine (although I would like to not see this, but yeah, it works for now, we will not give so much attention for something that might be useless in a couple months).

5. Open a project

Open Claude Desktop, start a local session, and navigate to W:\ in the directory picker. Select your project folder. All bash commands now run in WSL2.

6. Tell Claude about the environment

Drop a CLAUDE.md in your project root:

# Environment
- WSL2 Ubuntu, use Linux paths and commands
- Never use Windows paths (W:\, C:\) in bash
- W:\ maps to /home/yourusername/ for file tools only, not bash

This nudges Claude to generate Linux-native commands from the start, so the path translation rarely needs to kick in.

Verify

Ask Claude Desktop to run uname -a. If you see Linux ... microsoft-standard-WSL2, it worked. If you see MINGW64, something went wrong with the bash profile — check that the file exists at C:\Users\<you>\.bash_profile and has no BOM.

[XedinUnknown]

I can't believe this isn't done. My Claude for Windows just shows "Failed to load session" for any prompt - likely because Git Bash is missing. But who uses Git Bash when you have WSL2? My whole setup is in WSL, naturally this is where I run Docker from, and this is where all the work lives. Of course, it has Git installed too.

Has anyone tried the workaround by @dequeirozrodriguez? It seems complex and not very streamlined, so I'd like to know that it works (and supports my usecases) before I try something like that.

[antonyevans]

The latest version of claude code on windows allows ssh into remote. I'm able to remote into my wsl and access folders. There's a bug that means I can't submit prompts for some reason but I'm hoping that's trivial and they fix it soon and that this will enable it all to work smoothly. I'm going to wait for that rather than use the workaround. You can add comments to that bug report if you think it will help you: #27325 (comment)

[andrii-marushchak]

waiting for a solution from Anthropic

[villhei]

WSL support would bring a ton of usefulness to to the Claude Desktop on windows! 👍 for claude --desktop

[Nexum]

#wsltoo i REALLY want to use claude desktop for claude code, love the better UX but sadly when developing in WSL currently its just impossible ...