WSLg not working specifically for WSL2 Debian 13 distro. #1406
Description
Windows Version
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.7462]
WSL Version
WSL version: 2.6.1.0
Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?
- WSL 2
- WSL 1
Kernel Version
Linux version 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 (root@9102161f2681) (gcc (GCC) 11.2.0, GNU ld (GNU Binutils) 2.37) microsoft/WSL#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Jun 5 18:31:42 UTC 2025
Distro Version
Debian 13.2
Other Software
x11-apps/stable,now 7.7+11+b2 arm64 [installed]
x11-common/stable,now 1:7.7+24+deb13u1 all [installed,automatic]
Repro Steps
- wsl.exe --install --distribution Debian
- Launch Debian distribution: wsl.exe --distribution Debian
- sudo apt update --yes && sudo apt install x11-apps --yes
- xclock
Error: Can't open display: :0
If you replace Debian with Ubuntu, xclock successfully launches and displays an X11 window.
Expected Behavior
Debian 13 distro should display X11 windows.
Actual Behavior
Launching X11 app in Debian 13 results in:
Error: Can't open display: :0
Same machine, all else equal, Ubuntu distro successfully launches X11 app windows.
Diagnostic Logs
Logs using collect-wsl-logs.ps1 when launching Debian 13 distro and running xlock until it fails.
WslLogs-2025-12-28_10-56-01.zip
~$ echo $DISPLAY
:0
wsl.exe -d Debian -e apt list --installed > apt-list-installed.txt