Permission issue with VSCode and WSL (code: command not found)

Question

I am new to WSL and have installed VS code natively on Windows 10 with the installer. Currently, when I try to run VS Code command code from WSL, I receive the following message:

bash: /mnt/c/Users/user/AppData/Local/Programs/Microsoft VS Code/bin/code: Permission denied

Also, when I try to run VS Code Server for WSL, I am getting a similar message.

[2020-06-29 17:41:41.640] Launching C:\windows\System32\wsl.exe -d Ubuntu sh -c '"$VSCODE_WSL_EXT_LOCATION/scripts/wslServer.sh" cd9ea6488829f560dc949a8b2fb789f3cdc05f5d stable .vscode-server 0  ' in c:\Users\user\.vscode\extensions\ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl-0.44.4}
[2020-06-29 17:41:41.779] sh: 1: /mnt/c/Users/user/.vscode/extensions/ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl-0.44.4/scripts/wslServer.sh: Permission denied
[2020-06-29 17:41:41.780] VS Code Server for WSL closed unexpectedly.

I have tried configuring the permissions for wsl @ wsl.conf:

[automount]
enabled = true
options = "uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=022,fmask=11,metadata"

Not sure if this is relevant, but I am able to run code from Windows Powershell.

I am currently using Microsoft Windows 1909 (OS Build 18363.836) with WSL v1.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance!

user_14633563 · Answer

Run wsl.exe or PowerShell as an Administrator Runs as Admin Windows

user_1147688 · Answer

None of the previous answers worked for me. Instead after a lot of trial and error, I discovered that the code.exe was set in a way that it was being run as Administrator. This is what prevented it from running in the WSL. Find the VC Code executable, and ensure it doesn't have the admin Shield on it's icon.

user_7659676 · Answer

It has to do with your /etc/wsl.conf. Change the contents of the file to:

[automount]
enabled=true
root = /
options="metadata,uid=1000,gid=1000,umask=002,dmask=002,fmask=002"

umask,dmask, and fmask all have to do with permissions. A pretty good explanation of them can be found here : https://askubuntu.com/questions/429848/dmask-and-fmask-mount-options#:~:text=fmask%20and%20dmask%20are%20mount,files%20and%20dmask%20to%20directories

user_17699807 · Answer

Maybe for someone will helpfull... For example i have mistake like this:

$ code . /c/Users/admin/AppData/Local/Programs/Microsoft VS Code/bin/code: line 61: /c/Users/admin/AppData/Local/Programs/Microsoft VS Code/Code.exe: Permission denied

My error resolving was by click right button mouse on icon VS Code and chosen settings then "compatibility" tab and finaly disabled "run the program as an administrator"

Permission issue with VSCode and WSL (code: command not found)

4 Answers