Using wsl2 in Production on Windows Server 2025

[greengumby]

Hi,

I currently have a docker stack that can happily run for weeks at a time as long as I leave a powershell window open. Unfortunately when the machine reboots unexpectedly the wsl2 environment does not startup.

I have tried using Task Scheduler to start it on boot however I cannot get this to function correctly.

action "C:\Windows\System32\wsl.exe" with return code 4294967295.

Has anyone managed to get wsl2 to run without any user interaction on boot? Ideally the user would not even need to be logged in.

Thanks

[pratikrath126]

Hey! For auto-starting WSL2 on boot without user login, here are a couple of approaches:

1. Use WSL's built-in auto-start (Windows 22H2+):

2. then set the distro to auto-start via:  
   

3. and in your distro's , set:  
   

4. Actually the key is the flag when launching:

5.  You can create a scheduled task that runs this at startup with highest privileges, and it should work.
   

6. Run WSL as a Windows service: Use NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager) to wrap as a service. Create a service that runs:

7.  Then set it to Auto start. This avoids Task Scheduler quirks.
   

8. Registry method: Add a Run key:

9. with value  and arguments .
   

For the Docker networking issue after reboot: WSL2's virtual network adapter sometimes resets. Try adding a startup script inside WSL that restarts Docker after the network is ready:
or . You can also enable systemd in WSL via :

This helps services start correctly on boot.

Hope that gets your stack running reliably!

[greengumby]

Use WSL's built-in auto-start (Windows 22H2+):

Thanks @pratikrath126, I am unaware that a feature like this exists. Could you point me to some documentation?

[pratikrath126]

Hey @greengumby! Yes, the auto-start feature was introduced in WSL with Windows 22H2. You can find the official documentation here:

• Microsoft WSL docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/wsl-config
• Look for the [boot] section in the .wslconfig file, specifically the systemd=true and command= options.

The key setting in /etc/wsl.conf inside your distro is:

[boot]
systemd=true
command=service docker start

And in C:\Users\<user>\.wslconfig:

[wsl2]
autostart=true

Hope that helps get you pointed in the right direction!

[greengumby]

Thanks for your help. The wsl.conf definitely helps when the wsl environment has started however there does not seem to be any documentation surrounding.

[wsl2]
autostart=true