Guide to download files from WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to your Windows machine using Visual Studio Code

Step 1: Open Visual Studio Code and Connect to WSL

1. Launch Visual Studio Code: Open VS Code on your Windows machine.
2. Connect to WSL: If you haven’t done so, install the “Remote – WSL” extension from the VS Code marketplace. This allows you to open folders and files directly from your WSL environment.

• Click on the green icon in the bottom-left corner of VS Code.
• Select “WSL: New Window” from the menu.
• VS Code will open a new window connected to your WSL instance.

1. Open a Folder in WSL: Once connected to WSL, you can open a folder directly from the WSL filesystem by using File > Open Folder and navigating to your WSL filesystem (e.g., /home/yourusername/).

Step 2: Locate the File in WSL

1. Use the VS Code Explorer: In the left-hand sidebar, you can navigate through your WSL filesystem. This will let you browse the directories and files as you would on a regular system.
2. Use the WSL Terminal in VS Code: You can also use the built-in terminal in VS Code to navigate your WSL filesystem. Open the terminal by selecting View > Terminal or by pressing `Ctrl + “. You’ll be presented with a terminal connected to your WSL environment. Example command to navigate to a directory:

   cd /home/yourusername/projects/myproject

Step 3: Copy the File to Windows

1. Identify the Target Path in Windows: WSL mounts your Windows drives under the /mnt/ directory. For example:

• The C: drive in Windows is available at /mnt/c/.
• The D: drive in Windows is available at /mnt/d/. So, if you want to copy a file to your Windows desktop, you would target the path /mnt/c/Users/YourWindowsUsername/Desktop/.

1. Copy the File: Use the cp command to copy the file from your WSL filesystem to your Windows filesystem. Here’s an example command to copy a file:

   cp /home/yourusername/example.txt /mnt/c/Users/YourWindowsUsername/Desktop/

This command copies the example.txt file from your WSL home directory to your Windows Desktop.

3. Copy an Entire Directory: If you want to copy an entire directory, you can use the -r option (recursive) with the cp command:

   cp -r /home/yourusername/mydirectory /mnt/c/Users/YourWindowsUsername/Desktop/

This will copy the entire mydirectory folder and its contents to your Windows Desktop.

Step 4: Drag and Drop (Optional)

• Drag and Drop from VS Code: You can also use the drag-and-drop feature in VS Code. Simply:

1. Open the Explorer view in VS Code.
2. Locate the file you want to transfer in the WSL directory.
3. Drag the file from the Explorer view and drop it into a folder on your Windows system (such as your Desktop).

Step 5: Verify the File Transfer

1. Check the File on Windows: After copying, navigate to the destination folder on your Windows system (e.g., your Desktop) to confirm that the file or directory has been successfully copied.

Additional Tips

• Accessing Windows Files from WSL: If you need to frequently access files between WSL and Windows, consider creating symbolic links or directly working within the /mnt/c directory to minimize the need for copying files.
• Editing Files: You can directly edit files located in your WSL environment using VS Code, and changes will be reflected in real-time.
• Permissions: Ensure you have appropriate read/write permissions on the WSL and Windows paths to avoid any issues during the file transfer.

By following these steps, you can easily transfer files from your WSL environment to your Windows system using Visual Studio Code.