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[okibcn]

WSLCOMPACT

Compacts the size of the WSL images by removing unused empty space.

FEATURES

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) uses VHDX image files to store the ext4 filesystem, but it lacks an effective way to shrink the image when the files are removed. This utility compacts the vhdx virtual images of the WSL2 distros. It achieves the minimum possible size. The program provides the following info for each installed distro:

• Name
• image file location
• Current size of the image file
• Estimated compacted size

By default it will perform in compact mode. and if no distro is specified, it will compact all the installed images sequentially providing also the info about the resulting compacted size.

INSTALLATION

The easier way to install nano is by using Scoop package manager.

1. If it is not yet installed in your system, Install Scoop by opening a PowerShell terminal (version 5.1 or later) and running in powershell:

> Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser # Optional: Needed to run a remote script the first time
> irm get.scoop.sh | iex

2. Add the wslcompact utility directly from its bucket:

> scoop bucket add .oki https://github.com/okibcn/Bucket
> scoop install wslcompact

To remove the app just type:

> scoop uninstall wslcompact

USAGE

The usage is straightforward. Calling wslcompact without arguments compacts all the WSL images. Or you can compact a single one passing its name as an argument, for instance wslcompact Ubuntu. It ensures a minimal size and you end up with contiguous files for faster access in old HD-based systems. The list of names of the installed distros is accessible by typing wsl -l in any powershell terminal. with the -i info mode, it wont compact the images providing only the info.

Usage: wslcompact [OPTION] [DISTROS]

compacts the image file of the DISTROS. If no distro is provided it will compact all the images.

Options:
    -i   run in info mode, providing data without compacting.
    -h   prints this help

Examples: 
    wslcompact
    wslcompact -i
    wslcompact Ubuntu Kali

if your C: drive doesn't have enough temporal free space, the program won't compact that distro. Just change the TEMP folder before calling the function. So, instead of a simple wslcompact, just do:

$env:TEMP="Z:\your temp\folder"
wslcompact

The new TEMP folder will be active only for that PowerShell terminal session, so no problem at all for the rest of the system and it won't leave garbage.