Using Git in Windows Subsystem for Linux through IntelliJ

Question

I'm trying to set Git executable in IntelliJ to be the git installed in Windows Subsystem for Linux, I tried a few different ways, but always got some sort of error. Today I installed to Creators Update (Version 1703), reinstalled WSL and tried again, here's what I did:

I created a .bat script:

@echo off
C:\Windows\System32\bash.exe -c "git %*"

So when running it:

C:\Users\Limon\Desktop>bash.bat --version
git version 2.7.4

So then I tried to set this bat at the git executable in IntelliJ:

And it worked! But everything else fails, for example when I try to pull or branch in IntelliJ, I get:

Couldn't check the working tree for unmerged files because of an error.
'C:\Windows\System32\bash.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Any ideas on how fix this? I don't really know anything about batch scripting. It works perfectly off command line.

Answer 1

I was looking for a way to use git on WSL Windows Subsystem for Linux through Webstorm or an IntelliJ idea software.

I tried KatoPue's solution, but I got the following error:

fatal: could not read log file 'C:/Program Files/Git/mnt/c/Users/Elies/AppData/Local/Temp/git-commit-msg-.txt': No such file or directory

I solved it by replacing the path when sending the command to WSL's git

Settings > Version Control > Git > Path to Git executable : path_to_wslgit.bat

wslgit.bat :

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set command=%*
set find=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\git-commit-msg-.txt
set replace=/mnt/c/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Local/Temp/git-commit-msg-.txt
call set command=%%command:!find!=!replace!%%
echo | C:\Windows\Sysnative\bash.exe -c 'git %command%'

Answer 2

Since WebStorm 2020.2 EAP it is possible.

Just add \\wsl$\YOUR-WSL-VERSION\usr\bin\git to the Path to Git executable:

To get your WSL VERSION type in a console wsl -l

Answer 3

In PyCharm 2018.1 I got various errors, when trying to settled up Git. I've to combine different approaches to make it run. Next code works for me:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set command=%*
If %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE% == x86 (
    echo | C:\Windows\sysnative\bash.exe -c 'git %command%'
) Else (
    echo | bash.exe -c 'git %command%'
)

UPD:

Now is available integration with Git inside WSL through WSLGit wrapper. I've checket it out with PyCharm and it's work like a charm. Here is a link https://github.com/andy-5/wslgit

Answer 4

Change the double to single quotes.

You can log, what arguments are fed to your bat file

@echo off
@echo %*>> %~dp0log.txt
bash.exe -c 'git %*'

With that, i discovered i had some escaping problems.

FYI: With the Win10 creators update piping bash and spawning it from Windows programs works fine.

Answer 5

In PhpStorm (2017.2 EAP) I get error

Caused by: com.intellij.openapi.vcs.VcsException: 'bash.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

For solution i change last line to

If %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE% == x86 (
    C:\Windows\sysnative\bash.exe -c 'git %command%'
) Else (
    bash.exe -c 'git %command%'
)

Answer 6

For me this solution works:

File: git.bat

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set command=%*
If %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE% == x86 (
    C:\Windows\sysnative\bash.exe -c 'git %command%'
) Else (
    bash.exe -c 'git %command%'
)

Answer 7

As Gabrielizalo answered earlier, you need to use version 2020.2 and higher.

• Go to Settings | Version Control | Git

• Add \\wsl$\YOUR-WSL-VERSION\usr\bin\git to the Path to Git executable

• Press Test

Please note, if you are using the WLinux distribution, you need to use the name Pengwin. Even though the wsl -l command outputs the name as WLinux. Perhaps It will be fixed in future versions.

This is how it works for me \\wsl$\Pengwin\usr\bin\git.

If you are still having problems with Pengwin (WLinux). You need to reimport it as Pengwin. Follow this instruction:

• Restart your system.
• Open PowerShell as administrator.
• wsl --list. You will see a list of distributions, including WLinux (Default).
• Make a backup with command wsl --export distro_name file_name.tar.
  For example, wsl --export WLinux E:\backup.tar. It will take some time, as the distribution can reach several gigabytes.
• Make sure the backup is complete, then remove the distribution from WSL with the command wsl --unregister WLinux.
• Next, reimport the distribution with name Pengwin
  wsl --import distro_name install_location file_name.tar, e.g.,
  wsl --import Pengwin C:\Users\<USERNAME>\pengwin E:\backup.tar
• Set the distribution as default wsl --setdefault Pengwin
• To run default WSL distro as the specified user use wsl --user <Username>
• Add \\wsl$\Pengwin\usr\bin\git to the Path to Git executable to your IDE, and press Test

Note, now when using pengwin in cmd, or from the Start menu, a new Pengwin instance will be installed. You can check this with the wsl --list command. The new instance will show up as WLinux. If you accidentally create a new instance, you can delete it with the command wsl --unregister WLinux.

For the convenience of using your distro, I strongly recommend installing a custom terminal. You can follow this guide How to setup a nice looking terminal with WSL in Windows 10.

Answer 8

Worked till PHPSTORM 2018.3 (or maybe a Windows Update changed some behavior regarding bash.exe). I am using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. However, the path of my bash.exe changed - it is no longer in C:\Windows\Sysnative\bash.exe.

To get things working again I modified Elies Lou's wslgit.bat and set new path for bash.exe:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set command=%*
set find=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\git-commit-msg-.txt
set replace=/mnt/c/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Local/Temp/git-commit-msg-.txt
call set command=%%command:!find!=!replace!%%
echo | C:\Windows\System32\bash.exe -c 'git %command%'

Answer 9

I updated the soultion to work with WSL2 with a network drive and PhpStorm 2019.2.

wsl_git.bat:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set command=%*
set find=C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\git-commit-msg-.txt
set replace=/mnt/c/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Local/Temp/git-commit-msg-.txt
call set command=%%command:!find!=!replace!%%
echo | wsl CURDIR="%cd%"; STR2=${CURDIR//\\//}; STR3=${STR2/U:/}; cd $STR3; git %command%

1. It replaces the path in command for git-commit-msg-.txt to be able to commit as it was mentioned in other answers.

2. With WSL2 I use the network drive: \\wsl$\<distro_name> -> U:\. My project has path on Windows: U:\home\roman\projects\experiments, but on Linux it is /home/roman/projects/experiments. PhpStorm uses path from Windows to work with git, so it is needed to change path which can be reachable in the Linux subsystem. To achieve this I replace slashes \ -> / (STR2) and remove drive name U: -> `` (STR3) then change current dir to this modified path.

Answer 10

1. Install your project file in the wsl file system , any way you'll need this iff you go docker ;p
2. Open your project from \wsl$
3. (if needed) Go to Settings > Version Control > Git > and simply clear the Path to Git executable

and this work so fine !

Answer 11

Since updating to 2022.3.3 I get this for my \\wsl$\Ubuntu\usr\bin\git path. Which previously worked, and I've also seen it today even work sometimes but not other times.

Git is not installed
Cannot identify version of git executable: no response

It does take a while for my wsl to startup/respond when I open a new terminal for it for example, so maybe the timeout needs to be extended?