How should I save or access files while using WSL?

There are two main locations for how to access and save files from WSL:

CAEN Home Directory

To access your CAEN home directory, you will need to log in with your UMICH password when prompted in the pop-up window:

Import and login

You will then be able to work with your personal Linux files and data after running the WSL Terminal as user (will not work for root):

WSL Terminal as user icon

To access the default location where Linux files are stored in your CAEN home directory, use the following command, where uniqname is replaced with your U-M uniqname:

cd /home/uniqname

If you wish to also access the Windows files stored in your CAEN home directory, you can change locations using:

cd /mnt/n/windat.v2

If you didn't type your password correctly or there is some other issue with your access to your home directory, you can click the "Reboot & Remount" shortcut and log in again:

Reboot and Remount icon

C: Drive

Note: Files stored locally on the computer's C: drive are completely temporary, and not saved to the network. If you wish to save or store files for future use, using your CAEN home directory (/home/uniqname for example) is recommended.

The computer’s C: drive is automatically mounted to the path /mnt/c, and temporary space is available to individuals in /mnt/c/Users/uniqname, where uniqname is your personal U-M uniqname.

To access your temporary space for working with files, use:

cd /mnt/c/Users/uniqname
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