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feat(desktop): Add option to run OpenCode backend via WSL on Windows #5635

Closed as not planned
Closed as not planned
feat(desktop): Add option to run OpenCode backend via WSL on Windows#5635
Assignees
adamdotdevinBrendonovich

Description

@jms830
jms830
opened on Dec 16, 2025

Summary

Windows users who prefer WSL for their development environment currently cannot use the Desktop app effectively. The Desktop app only spawns a native Windows sidecar binary, but many developers have their projects and tooling inside WSL.

Current Behavior

The Tauri desktop app spawns OpenCode as a native Windows binary via the sidecar mechanism:

  • packages/tauri/src-tauri/src/lib.rs:64-91 - spawn_sidecar() always uses native binary
  • packages/tauri/scripts/utils.ts:3-24 - Only defines native platform targets

Proposed Solutions

Option A: Settings Toggle (Recommended)

Add a settings UI that allows users to choose their backend:

  1. Native (default) - Use bundled sidecar binary
  2. WSL - Run wsl -e opencode serve --port=PORT
  3. Custom command - Power users specify their own command

The setting would persist in app config and be read at startup.

Implementation:

  • Enable the currently disabled Settings button in layout.tsx:536-546
  • Add settings modal with backend configuration
  • Modify spawn_sidecar() to check config and use appropriate spawn method
  • For WSL: use Command::new("wsl").args(["-e", "opencode", "serve", ...]) instead of sidecar

Option B: Auto-Detection

Detect if the opened project folder is inside WSL (path starts with \\wsl$\ or /mnt/) and automatically use WSL backend for those projects.

Pros: Zero configuration
Cons: May not match user intent, harder to implement reliably

Option C: Environment Variable Override

Support OPENCODE_BACKEND=wsl environment variable that changes spawn behavior.

Pros: Simple implementation
Cons: Not user-friendly, requires launching from terminal

Additional Context

Related WSL issues (different problems):

This issue is specifically about the Desktop app being able to launch the OpenCode server via WSL rather than native Windows.

Use Case

  1. User has projects inside WSL filesystem
  2. User installs OpenCode Desktop on Windows
  3. User wants Desktop UI but with OpenCode running inside WSL (for proper file access, tooling, etc.)

Activity

  1. github-actions
    assigned
    adamdotdevin
    on Dec 16, 2025
  2. github-actions
    added
    webRelates to opencode on web / desktop
    on Dec 16, 2025

  3. github-actions commented on Dec 16, 2025

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Dec 16, 2025 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

    This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

    Feel free to ignore if your specific WSL use case differs from these requests.

  4. Brendonovich commented on Dec 17, 2025

    @Brendonovich
    Brendonovich
    on Dec 17, 2025
    Member

    Desktop's windows build currently bundles opencode-windows-x64 to run the server. Would doing this WSL integration properly require running the opencode-linux-x64 build, or would just running the Windows binary within the WSL shell work?

  5. AaronFeledy commented on Feb 4, 2026

    @AaronFeledy
    AaronFeledy
    on Feb 4, 2026

    It would need to run the linux binary in WSL. VSCode handles this by downloading its linux binary into WSL when you enable WSL integration in the windows app.

  6. Brendonovich commented on Feb 4, 2026

    @Brendonovich
    Brendonovich
    on Feb 4, 2026
    Member

    Good to know, so we'll likely need to download opencode-linux-x64 and then launch that inside WSL

  7. Brendonovich
    self-assigned this
    on Feb 9, 2026

  8. Brendonovich commented on Feb 11, 2026

    @Brendonovich
    Brendonovich
    on Feb 11, 2026
    Member

    #12914 provides a toggle that will download + launch the OC server in WSL once the app is restarted, will be out in the next release.

  9. jairbj commented on Mar 1, 2026

    @jairbj
    jairbj
    on Mar 1, 2026

    #12914 provides a toggle that will download + launch the OC server in WSL once the app is restarted, will be out in the next release.

    It looks like it was disabled in 1.2.7.

  10. wbdb commented on Mar 20, 2026

    @wbdb
    wbdb
    on Mar 20, 2026

    That would be a great function, especially since it is also known from the Codex Windows app.

    • Step 1: Check whether opencode is already available in WSL PATH. If needed, also verify the installation directory.

      • If it is not installed, run the following command in WSL: 
        curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash

    • Step 2: If the environment variable is not already set, start opencode with a random password:

      OPENCODE_SERVER_PASSWORD='my random pw' opencode serve --hostname 0.0.0.0

    • Step 3: Connect to the OpenCode instance running in WSL from the Windows desktop app - the documentation doesn't say much about how to do this exactly (Password) - https://opencode.ai/docs/de/windows-wsl/

    I'm currently using the detour via a .bat file:

    @echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions DisableDelayedExpansion

set "OC_PASSWORD=something"
set "OC_PORT=4096"

where wt.exe >nul 2>nul
if errorlevel 1 (
    echo Error: Windows Terminal wt.exe not found.
    exit /b 1
)

start "" wt.exe -w new new-tab --title "OpenCode server :%OC_PORT%" --suppressApplicationTitle -- wsl.exe -- bash -lic "OPENCODE_SERVER_PASSWORD='%OC_PASSWORD%' opencode serve --hostname 0.0.0.0 --port %OC_PORT%"

timeout /t 2 /nobreak >nul

start "" "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\OpenCode\OpenCode.exe"
exit /b 0

  11. Ausoj commented on Apr 4, 2026

    @Ausoj
    Ausoj
    on Apr 4, 2026

    The workaround @wbdb provided does not seem to work for me.

    Trying to do it like that always resulted in opencode getting back mangled directory paths and not being able to properly map sessions between wsl and windows paths.

    Still hoping for a fix for this issue as right now opencode desktop for windows is unusable when wanting to work in wsl

  12. tackleberrybey commented on Apr 10, 2026

    @tackleberrybey
    tackleberrybey
    on Apr 10, 2026

    any update on this?
    this should have been the default behaviour of the desktop app since a lot of devs on windows use wsl2 nowadays

  13. thdxr
    removed
    webRelates to opencode on web / desktop
    on May 3, 2026

  14. github-actions commented on Jul 3, 2026

    @github-actions
    github-actionsBot
    on Jul 3, 2026 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

    To stay organized issues are automatically closed after 60 days of no activity. If the issue is still relevant please open a new one.

  15. github-actions
    closed this as not plannedon Jul 3, 2026

  16. PureKrome commented on Jul 3, 2026

    @PureKrome
    PureKrome
    on Jul 3, 2026

    reopen

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