dungsaga/reduce-size-of-a-WSL-virtual-disk.md

## reduce-size-of-a-WSL-virtual-disk.md

      
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              reduce-size-of-a-WSL-virtual-disk.md
            
          
    Reduce size with diskpart

You should run PowerShell as Administrator (otherwise diskpart won't be able to received the piped commands)
$vhdx_path = '%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited.UbuntuonWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc\LocalState\ext4.vhdx'

@"
select vdisk file=$vhdx_path
compact vdisk
"@ | diskpart
source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/64772243/can-diskpart-take-command-line-parameters-or-can-i-fake-them-with-powershell
That's all, folks!
If diskpart shows access error, you should run wsl --shutdown and detach the VHD in Disk Management.
PS: Registered WSL instances are recorded under registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss. For example, UbuntuonWindows is under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss\{17e7343c-a823-4a5c-a44d-a795a7546d62}. You can change the BasePath to move it to another disk, or change DefaultEnvironment or KernelCommandLine to modify how it boot up.
Reduce size more with wsl

Compacted VHD can be further reduced in size:
# export it to a tar file
wsl --terminate UbuntuonWindows
wsl --export UbuntuonWindows d:\wsl-backup\UbuntuonWindows.tar

# unregister it if you want to import to the same Linux installation
wsl --unregister UbuntuonWindows

# import from tar file
wsl --import UbuntuonWindows d:\path-to\linux-installation-folder d:\wsl-backup\UbuntuonWindows.tar