[WSLC] Add --workdir / -w option to 'wslc exec' by ptrivedi · Pull Request #40041 · microsoft/WSL

ptrivedi · 2026-03-30T19:37:17Z

Summary

Adds --workdir / -w option to wslc exec to set the working directory inside the container
Passes the value through SetContainerOptionsFromArgs into ContainerOptions.WorkingDirectory
Forwards the working directory to the container service via ContainerService::Exec

Changes

ArgumentDefinitions.h: register WorkDir argument with long form --workdir and short alias -w
ContainerExecCommand.cpp: include WorkDir in the exec command's argument list
ContainerModel.h: add WorkingDirectory field to ContainerOptions
ContainerTasks.cpp: read WorkDir arg and populate options.WorkingDirectory
ContainerService.cpp: pass WorkingDirectory when calling exec on the container

Tests

CommandLineTestCases.h: parsing cases for --workdir and -w (valid and invalid)
WSLCCLIExecutionUnitTests.cpp: 4 unit tests covering:
- SetContainerOptionsFromArgs sets WorkingDirectory when --workdir is provided
- SetContainerOptionsFromArgs leaves WorkingDirectory empty when not provided
- End-to-end parse of --workdir long option sets WorkingDirectory
- End-to-end parse of -w short alias sets WorkingDirectory

Test plan

Build and run unit tests: bin\<platform>\<target>\test.bat /name:*WSLCCLIExecutionUnitTests*
Verify wslc exec --workdir /app <container> pwd prints /app
Verify wslc exec -w /tmp <container> pwd prints /tmp
Verify wslc exec <container> pwd uses the container's default working directory

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Adds a --workdir (-w) argument to the exec command that sets the working directory inside the container for the executed process. Wires the value through ContainerOptions into WSLAProcessLauncher::SetWorkingDirectory. Co-authored-by: Pooja Trivedi <trivedipooja@microsoft.com> Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds support for specifying a working directory for wslc exec, wiring a new --workdir/-w CLI argument through argument parsing into ContainerOptions and down to the container exec launcher.

Changes:

Add ArgType::WorkDir (--workdir / -w) and include it in ContainerExecCommand’s supported arguments.
Populate ContainerOptions.WorkingDirectory from parsed args and forward it into WSLCProcessLauncher for container exec.
Add/extend unit tests and command-line parsing test cases for the new option.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIExecutionUnitTests.cpp	Adds unit tests validating `WorkingDirectory` is set/empty appropriately and parsed via `ContainerExecCommand`.
test/windows/wslc/CommandLineTestCases.h	Adds command-line parsing cases covering `--workdir` / `-w` usage and a missing-value case.
src/windows/wslc/tasks/ContainerTasks.cpp	Reads `WorkDir` and sets `ContainerOptions.WorkingDirectory`.
src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerService.cpp	Applies `WorkingDirectory` to the `WSLCProcessLauncher` before launching container exec.
src/windows/wslc/services/ContainerModel.h	Adds `WorkingDirectory` field to `ContainerOptions`.
src/windows/wslc/commands/ContainerExecCommand.cpp	Registers `WorkDir` as an accepted argument for `container exec`.
src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentDefinitions.h	Defines the new `WorkDir` argument (`--workdir` / `-w`).

test/windows/wslc/CommandLineTestCases.h

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

test/windows/wslc/CommandLineTestCases.h

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

AmelBawa-msft

LGTM! I suspect E2E tests will fail because we need to update the expected E2E test help messages. We should consider adding E2E tests as well but possibly in a separate PR since we still have a lot more E2E tests to write 😊

AmelBawa-msft · 2026-03-30T23:07:53Z

src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentDefinitions.h

 _(User,           "user",                L"u",              Kind::Value,       L"User ID for the process (name|uid|uid:gid)") \
 _(Verbose,        "verbose",             L"v",              Kind::Flag,        L"Output verbose details") \
 _(Version,        "version",             L"v",              Kind::Flag,        L"Show version information for this tool") \
+_(WorkDir,        "workdir",             L"w",              Kind::Value,       L"Working directory inside the container") \


Nit: Consider appending WorkDir at the end to preserve the sorted characteristics of the X-macro list

+1 would prefer to keep this list sorted

dkbennett

Looks good, like the setting unit tests. An E2E with working directory would be nice but this looks like we are correctly setting the value in the CLI and passing it into the container runtime. Assuming that has tests this should be good, though it doesn't hurt to have a CLI E2E or two for this.

nit: sort order of _WorkDir as Amir mentioned.

dkbennett · 2026-03-31T11:27:40Z

test/windows/wslc/WSLCCLIExecutionUnitTests.cpp

    }

+    // Test: SetContainerOptionsFromArgs sets WorkingDirectory when --workdir is provided
+    TEST_METHOD(SetContainerOptionsFromArgs_WithWorkDir_SetsWorkingDirectory)


Clever unit tests here to verify the settings, we should add more like these later.

dkbennett · 2026-03-31T11:28:12Z

src/windows/wslc/arguments/ArgumentDefinitions.h

 _(User,           "user",                L"u",              Kind::Value,       L"User ID for the process (name|uid|uid:gid)") \
 _(Verbose,        "verbose",             L"v",              Kind::Flag,        L"Output verbose details") \
 _(Version,        "version",             L"v",              Kind::Flag,        L"Show version information for this tool") \
+_(WorkDir,        "workdir",             L"w",              Kind::Value,       L"Working directory inside the container") \


+1 would prefer to keep this list sorted

Pooja Trivedi added 2 commits March 30, 2026 13:41

Merge branch 'feature/wsl-for-apps' into user/ptrivedi/exec-workingdir

4a2218d

ptrivedi requested a review from a team as a code owner March 30, 2026 19:37

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 30, 2026 19:37

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Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 30, 2026 19:48

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Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 30, 2026 20:56

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dkbennett approved these changes Mar 31, 2026

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Merge branch 'feature/wsl-for-apps' into user/ptrivedi/exec-workingdir

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[WSLC] Add --workdir / -w option to 'wslc exec'#40041

[WSLC] Add --workdir / -w option to 'wslc exec'#40041
ptrivedi wants to merge 5 commits intofeature/wsl-for-appsfrom
user/ptrivedi/exec-workingdir

ptrivedi commented Mar 30, 2026 •

edited

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ptrivedi commented Mar 30, 2026 •

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