Setting wslview.desktop as the Default File Manager on WSL

Process of setting wslview.desktop as the default file manager on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). wslview.desktop is a part of the WSL Utilities (wslu) package, which is a collection of utilities for Windows 10 Linux Subsystem, such as converting WSL path to Windows path or creating your favorite Linux GUI application shortcuts on Windows 10 Desktop.

Step 1: Check the Current Default File Manager

Before we make any changes, it's always a good idea to check the current settings. You can check the current default file manager using the following command:

gio mime inode/directory

This command will return the current default file manager.

Step 2: Set wslview.desktop as the Default File Manager

To set wslview.desktop as the default file manager, which will open explorer.exe, use the following command:

nano ~/.config/mimeapps.list

to add or modify this line in the [Default Applications] section:

inode/directory=wslview.desktop

This command sets wslview.desktop as the default application for handling directories.

Step 3: Verify the Changes

After setting wslview.desktop as the default, you should verify that the changes were applied correctly. You can do this by running the same command as in Step 1:

gio mime inode/directory

If the changes were successful, this command should now return wslview.desktop.

And that's it! You have successfully set wslview.desktop as your default file manager on WSL. Now, whenever you open a directory, it will be opened with explorer.exe.