How to reset WSL password

If you are using Windows Subsystem for Linux and you forgot your password, here is a small howto to reset it.

This howto is based on Ubuntu 18.04 but it seems it can be used for any other version.

  • Launch Ubuntu 18.04 and run the following command to get your username : whoami
your_username@computer:~$ whoami
your_username
  • Launch a command or PowerShell console and run the following command. It will set the default user to root
ubuntu1804 config --default-user root
  • Launch Ubuntu 18.04 again and you should be logged with the root account
root@computer:~#
  • Reset you password by running the following command : passwd your_username
root@computer:~# passwd your_username
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully
  • In the command or PowerShell console run the following command to set the default account to your username instead of the root account
ubuntu1804 config --default-user your_username
  • Enjoy using WSL

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