WSL 2 stores its entire filesystem inside a single virtual disk file named ext4.vhdx . By default, this file is located in a hidden folder within your user profile:
WSL 2 runs Linux inside a lightweight Virtual Machine. This means your entire Linux file system is stored inside a file. This is a hidden system file; normally, you should not touch this unless you know what you are doing.
Inside this folder, you will see a directory for every Linux distribution you have installed (e.g., Ubuntu , Debian , kali-linux ). If you open one of these folders, you are looking directly at the root directory ( / ) of your Linux system.
The safest and easiest way to view your WSL files is through Windows File Explorer using these methods:
%LocalAppData%\Packages\ \LocalState\ext4.vhdx
If your C: drive is running out of space, you can move the .vhdx file to another drive (like D: ) using the Command Prompt.
If you are inside your Linux terminal and need to find your Windows "Documents" or "Downloads" folders, they are "mounted" under the /mnt/ directory.
Output will show something like:
Accessing files, moving data between Windows and Linux, and general file management.
LocalState\rootfs\
