The trailing period . is critical—it tells Windows to open the Linux directory. You can also open specific files with Windows programs directly from the terminal (e.g., notepad.exe example.txt ). 4. Important: Performance and File Integrity
/mnt/c/Users/YourName/Desktop
While you can access Windows files from Linux, you should never modify Linux system files (located in \\wsl$\ in Windows Explorer) using Windows tools like Notepad or VS Code. This will likely corrupt your WSL installation. wsl how to access windows files
Type wsl and press .This will launch your default WSL distribution already set to that specific Windows directory. 3. Open Windows Explorer from WSL The trailing period
You can create a quick shortcut in your Linux home directory that points to your Windows user folder. Run this command once: Type wsl and press
If you are deep in a Linux directory and want to see it in a Windows folder window, run:
: Unlike Windows, WSL is case-sensitive . If your folder is named Documents , cd documents will fail.