Importing a WSL2 distro with `wsl --import --vhd` doesn't set default user

[garysassano]

When transferring a WSL2 Ubuntu distribution between systems, I used the following commands:

First, on the source system to export the distribution:

wsl --export --vhd Ubuntu-24.04 ubuntu-24.04.vhdx

Then, on the destination system to import it:

wsl --import --vhd Ubuntu-24.04 \ubuntu-24.04.vhdx

After importing the distribution, I noticed two configuration issues that need to be addressed to match the default setup that comes with a Microsoft Store installation.

First, the imported distribution defaults to using the root user instead of a default user account. When installing Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store, it automatically sets up and uses a default user account for all operations.

Second, the shell environment isn't initializing properly. The login shell doesn't start automatically, which means .profile and .bashrc files aren't being loaded at startup. Currently, this requires manually running bash --login to get the proper shell environment. In contrast, a Microsoft Store installation handles all of this automatically, providing a properly configured bash login shell that loads all user profile files on startup.

The goal is to replicate the Microsoft Store's automatic configuration to achieve the same seamless experience with our imported distribution.

[github-actions]

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View similar issues

Please view the issues below to see if they solve your problem, and if the issue describes your problem please consider closing this one and thumbs upping the other issue to help us prioritize it!

Open similar issues:

• "wsl --import" should include regular user setup, and not default to root user. (#4999), similarity score: 0.77

Closed similar issues:

• Imported distro doesn't run with a default user and interim write permission issues in /mnt/c/Users/$me/ folders (#4268), similarity score: 0.77
• After distro has been imported from backup it opens with root user (#7884), similarity score: 0.73
• WSL2 as the Factory-Default when importing a WSL2 exported Distro (#10158), similarity score: 0.71
• Exported and imported wsl instances boot to root. (#9684), similarity score: 0.70

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[github-actions]

Diagnostic information

Found '/feature', adding tag 'feature'

[Jibun-no-Kage]

Feature? This is a bad bug... you cannot even now as of this post export and import an existing WSL instance in any clean manner so in effect the export and import functions are broken, bugged. Come on, this was reported 7 odd months ago, no action?

[github-actions]

Logs are required for review from WSL team

If this a feature request, please reply with '/feature'. If this is a question, reply with '/question'.
Otherwise please attach logs by following the instructions below, your issue will not be reviewed unless they are added. These logs will help us understand what is going on in your machine.

How to collect WSL logs

Download and execute collect-wsl-logs.ps1 in an administrative powershell prompt:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/WSL/master/diagnostics/collect-wsl-logs.ps1" -OutFile collect-wsl-logs.ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
.\collect-wsl-logs.ps1

The script will output the path of the log file once done.

If this is a networking issue, please use collect-networking-logs.ps1, following the instructions here

Once completed please upload the output files to this Github issue.

Click here for more info on logging
If you choose to email these logs instead of attaching to the bug, please send them to wsl-gh-logs@microsoft.com with the number of the github issue in the subject, and in the message a link to your comment in the github issue and reply with '/emailed-logs'.

[Jibun-no-Kage]

Well for my part I can generate logs... You will have some tomorrow morning. But I am not sure how the logs are going to help illustrate the issue... I don't see this as either a feature or a question... the issue is that the export and import do not set the default user correctly, the discussion above suggests this is design failure. If you cannot not export and import, and get an exact duplicate or return the instance to its original state that is an incomplete design or as I noted a bug that should not have passed any QA or even QC effort, IMHO. I suggest, it is completely reasonable and expected, that an export and import recreates a complete clone or established the original distribution instance identical in state at the point of export. This logically and rationally should include the default user state. When I did the export and import a day or so ago, for the first time, for example, the /etc/passwd file on my original distribution had user X included. Default user being X. But when I did the import, user X was not in the /etc/passwd file of the resulting imported distribution instance, nor in the wsl.conf file as is documented elsewhere as a possible work-around did not include user X. In fact in my environment I had no wsl.conf file at all. More over, the imported distribution instance defaulted to root consistently after several attempts to export and import, trying to avoid the OP initial question/comment.

[garysassano]

I reopened the issue: #13243