How to Grant WSL More RAM or Processors by Editing .wslconfig¶
If you're running resource-heavy tasks in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and want to improve performance by granting it more RAM or processors, follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Locate Your Home Directory¶
- Open File Explorer on your Windows computer.
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In the address bar, type:
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Press Enter to go to your home directory.
Step 2: Create or Edit the .wslconfig File¶
- Check if you already have a file named
.wslconfigin your home directory.- If it exists, open it with a text editor like Notepad.
- If it doesn’t exist:
- Right-click and select New > Text Document.
- Name the file
.wslconfig(make sure it doesn’t have.txtat the end).
Step 3: Add Resource Settings¶
Add the following lines to configure WSL resources:
[wsl2]
memory=4GB # Limits WSL to 4GB of RAM (adjust as needed)
processors=4 # Grants WSL 4 CPU cores (adjust as needed)
memory=4GB: Replace4GBwith the amount of RAM you want to allocate (e.g.,8GB,64GB).processors=4: Replace4with the number of CPU cores you want to allocate (e.g.,2,6).
Step 4: Save the File¶
- Save your changes and close the editor.
Step 5: Restart WSL¶
- Open Command Prompt or PowerShell.
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Restart WSL with the following command:
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Start your WSL distribution again by opening it or running:
Step 6: Verify the Changes¶
- Open your WSL terminal.
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Run the following command to verify the allocated resources:or
You should see the updated memory and CPU limits applied to your WSL environment.
That's it! You’ve successfully updated WSL to use more RAM or processors, boosting its performance for resource-intensive tasks. 🎉