Windows Desktop passes WSL UNC paths to a Linux server, causing HTTP 500 errors and persistent startup crashes #52205

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1. github-actions

   assigned

   Hona

   on Sep 30, 2026
2. github-actions commented on Sep 30, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Sep 30, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

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   This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

   • #19473: Desktop sends UNC paths to a WSL-hosted server, producing invalid Linux workdirs and failed tool calls.
   • #34255: A POSIX server resolves Windows/UNC directory hints against its working directory.
   • #33550: Desktop sends Windows-native project paths to a WSL server, causing session-list errors.
3. kenden commented on Oct 1, 2026

   

   kenden

   on Oct 1, 2026

   Last edited by kenden

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   I can reproduce, with OpenCode Windows Desktop v2.0.20 on Windows 11 and opencode cli v2.0.20 inside of WSL 3.0.1.0.

   How to reproduce

   • In WSL start an Opencode server with opencode serve --hostname 127.0.0.1 --port 4096
     -> note the server password
   • In the Windows desktop app, go to Settings > Server >+Add Server > Add Server > connect to http://localhost:4096 with the server password.
   • In the Windows desktop app, click the Add project icon.
     -> a native Windows folder picker opens.
     Expected: it should be a Linux folder picker.

   Workaround

   Connect with the IP address of the WSL machine instead.
   Note that then, starting the server on 127.0.0.1 is not going to work.

   • In WSL start an Opencode server with opencode serve --hostname 0.0.0.0 --port 4096
     -> note the server password
   • In WSL, find the IP address of the machine with: hostname -I | cut -f1 -d ' '
     -> example: 172.25.192.185
   • In the Windows desktop app, go to Settings > Server > + Add Server > Add Server > connect to http://172.25.192.185:4096 (use the IP of WSL) with the server password
   • In the Windows desktop app, click the Add project icon.
     -> a Linux folder picker opens, allowing to navigate a Linux file system, e.g.:
     /home/<username>/dev/<git_repo_name>
4. Embiggenerd commented on Oct 4, 2026

   

   Embiggenerd

   on Oct 4, 2026

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   I think this is expected behavior. Windows consumers of this app probably never running the server in WSL. So this is a development environment issue. A policy such as, run all the things in windows all the time for dev makes sense because that mimics a windows user experience.

   To go down the route of doing X in windows but Y in Linux opens up a large bug surface area that will take up dev time.
5. Embiggenerd commented on Oct 5, 2026

   

   Embiggenerd

   on Oct 5, 2026

   Last edited by Embiggenerd

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   I've dug deeper and it looks like this is a documented setup (packages/web/src/content/docs/windows-wsl.mdx). I think the use case for running a server via the CLI is to connect the desktop app remotely. If you do this locally, the app uses the native file picker, which returns windows paths in this case..

   I think the right solution is to use the in-app picker for every server except the one the app started itself. This will fix the 500 error this issue is targeting.

   I've got a working solution running locally and have tested it.

   PR #53628 is submitted.
6. opencodejr commented on Oct 28, 2026

   

   opencodejrBot

   on Oct 28, 2026

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   Thanks for the report, and thanks @kenden for the steps. I couldn't run the Windows desktop app here, but I confirmed the parts I could:

   • With opencode serve v2.0.20 on Linux, asking for project/git info with the path \\wsl.localhost\UbuntuD\home\tmbv\src\Admin.Net returns HTTP 500 with an empty body. A normal Linux path works fine.
   • On the latest dev (86ce19d), the same request returns a 404 "Location not found" error instead of a 500.
   • The cause in the desktop app is still on dev: any server at localhost/127.0.0.1 is treated as the app's own local server, so it uses the native Windows folder picker. With a WSL server, that picker returns UNC paths. I haven't checked whether the 404 on dev avoids the fatal error screen.

   The script below reproduces the server-side part. Until this is addressed, @kenden's workaround avoids it: run the server with --hostname 0.0.0.0 and connect to the WSL IP instead of localhost. You then get the in-app Linux folder picker.

   Related: #19473 (same root cause, closed), #33550 and #34255 (closed), and the open PR #53628, which changes the desktop check.

   Reproduction script (repro.sh)

   #!/usr/bin/env bash
   # Server-side half of #52205: a Linux `opencode serve` given the Windows UNC path
   # that the Desktop native folder picker returns for a WSL folder answers HTTP 500.
   # Usage: ./repro.sh                -> uses `opencode` from PATH
   #        OC_DEV=/path/to/repo ./repro.sh -> runs the CLI from a source checkout
   set -u
   PROJ=$(mktemp -d); cd "$PROJ"; git init -q
   PORT=4097; LOG=$(mktemp)
   if [ -n "${OC_DEV:-}" ]; then
     bun --conditions=browser --preload="$OC_DEV/packages/tui/node_modules/@opentui/solid/scripts/preload.js" \
       "$OC_DEV/packages/cli/src/index.ts" serve --hostname 127.0.0.1 --port $PORT >"$LOG" 2>&1 &
   else
     opencode serve --hostname 127.0.0.1 --port $PORT >"$LOG" 2>&1 &
   fi
   SRV=$!
   for i in $(seq 60); do grep -q "server password" "$LOG" && break; sleep 1; done
   PASS=$(sed -n 's/^server password //p' "$LOG")
   for d in "$PROJ" '\\wsl.localhost\UbuntuD\home\tmbv\src\Admin.Net'; do
     echo "== location[directory]=$d"
     curl -s -u "opencode:$PASS" -w '\nHTTP %{http_code}\n' -G \
       --data-urlencode "location[directory]=$d" "http://127.0.0.1:$PORT/api/vcs"
   done
   kill $SRV

   Run it: bash repro.sh
7. opencodejr

   added

   reproduced

   on Oct 28, 2026
8. Hona

   closed this as completedin #60460on Oct 30, 2026