Vscode-remote-release: Unable to launch vscode in remote mode from WSL2

[sudhirtumati]

"Access is denied" error is thrown while launching vscode from WSL2. Below is the output in verbose mode

Access is denied.
cat: ./remote-wsl-loc.txt: No such file or directory
rm: cannot remove 'remote-wsl-loc.txt': No such file or directory
[main 2019-09-07T16:38:48.032Z] Sending some foreground love to the running instance: 12252
[main 2019-09-07T16:38:48.038Z] Sending env to running instance...
[main 2019-09-07T16:38:48.143Z] Sent env to running instance. Terminating...
[main 2019-09-07T16:38:48.143Z] Lifecycle#kill()

• VSCode Version: 1.38.0
• Local OS Version: Windows 10 - build 18975
• Remote OS Version: Ubuntu 18.04
• Remote Extension/Connection Type: WSL

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Launch WSL2
2. Navigate to any folder and type code .

Does this issue occur when you try this locally?: No
Does this issue occur when you try this locally and all extensions are disabled?: No

[sinapis]

Having the exact same issue when using Windows Terminal (Preview) app or Cmder.
However, if I start Powershell console and type wsl and then code .
it's working well

[zacharyrs]

Having the exact same issue when using Windows Terminal (Preview) app or Cmder.
However, if I start Powershell console and type wsl and then code .
it's working well

Odd, I face the issue regardless of how WSL is entered. Just to check, you're running on the same WSL VM right?

You don't have any difference in the output of uname -r across PowerShell and Windows Terminal do you?

[zacharyrs]

The Access Is Denied is due to the workaround for microsoft/WSL#4337. Basically trying to write to the VSCode install directory fails, which means the file isn't there for subsequent cat and rm.

cd /win/c/Program\ Files/VS\ Code/
cmd.exe /C ".\\bin\\code.cmd --locate-extension ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl > ./remote-wsl-loc.txt"
Access is denied.

This bug has been fixed now, so from WSL build 41959 we can likely skip the whole workaround.

[sinapis]

Yes, I have just one distro (Ubuntu). uname -r provides the same output: 4.19.59-microsoft-standard
Is there a way to update WSL to build 41959 right now, or we just need to wait for a new Windows build?

[zacharyrs]

Yes, I have just one distro (Ubuntu). uname -r provides the same output: 4.19.59-microsoft-standard
Is there a way to update WSL to build 41959 right now, or we just need to wait for a new Windows build?

You're on 41959 already - see the 4.19.59 bit from uname -r.
I find it very odd it works in Powershell for you however. Do you only have one VSCode install? What directory is it in?

---

On a sidenote, I fixed the issue by simply editing code under the VScode/bin directory. Simplest is to launch Notepad as administrator, open the code file, and change the if on line 29.

Change it to if [ $WSL_BUILD -ge 41955 ] && [ $WSL_BUILD -lt 41959 ]; then. This simply only runs the workaround on the affected builds (before 41959 but after or equal to 41955).

---

Looks like the fix is already included in microsoft/vscode, so it's just a matter of waiting now... Here I was looking to contribute!

[sinapis]

You're awesome! Your fix worked :-)
I have only one vscode installed. Path is C:Program FilesMicrosoft VS CodeCode.exe

[zacharyrs]

Glad I could help!

I suppose this can be closed then, seeing as we're just waiting for a new patch of VSCode.

[sinapis]

Very strange. It stopped working from Windows Terminal. If i try "code" I get:

Command 'code' not found, did you mean:

command 'ode' from deb plotutils
command 'tcode' from deb emboss
command 'cobe' from deb python-cobe
command 'cdde' from deb cdde
command 'node' from deb nodejs
command 'cde' from deb cde

Try: sudo apt install

But i guess this is a bug in Windows Terminal

[zacharyrs]

Code should be added from your Windows path, there's no need to install it there.

Can you do an ls -lash /mnt/c/Program\ Files/Microsoft\ VS\ Code/bin.

[sinapis]

Ok, I now understand the problem. On Powershell I was always running as Administrator (though there was no prompt). This is why I didn't get access denied. Also, for some reason code is accessible only as an administrator on my machine.

output for your command is:
ls: cannot access '/mnt/c/Program Files/Microsoft VS Code/bin': Input/output error

When running as admin powershell console (and then wsl) it does work

[zacharyrs]

Did you include the backslashes?

[sinapis]

Yup, copy pasted your command.

[zacharyrs]

Seems like your path is mucked up, you're not running as root right?

[sinapis]

Running as regular user in WSL in both cases.

[sudhirtumati]

Yes, I have just one distro (Ubuntu). uname -r provides the same output: 4.19.59-microsoft-standard
Is there a way to update WSL to build 41959 right now, or we just need to wait for a new Windows build?

You're on 41959 already - see the 4.19.59 bit from uname -r.
I find it very odd it works in Powershell for you however. Do you only have one VSCode install? What directory is it in?

On a sidenote, I fixed the issue by simply editing code under the VScode/bin directory. Simplest is to launch Notepad as administrator, open the code file, and change the if on line 29.

Change it to if [ $WSL_BUILD -ge 41955 ] && [ $WSL_BUILD -lt 41959 ]; then. This simply only runs the workaround on the affected builds (before 41959 but after or equal to 41955).

Looks like the fix is already included in microsoft/vscode, so it's just a matter of waiting now... Here I was looking to contribute!

This worked for me. I was able to launch vscode without any issue from Windows Terminal.

Thank you so much for your help.

[sinapis]

So my problem probably was that I was getting hit by this bug: http://github.com/microsoft/WSL/issues/4377

The workaround is to restart WSL like this:

wsl --shutdown
wsl