Glitches in GUI applications

[azegas]

Windows build number:

10.0.22631.0

Your Distribution version:

22.04

Your WSL versions:

WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

Steps to reproduce:

1. activate wsl on windows
2. install ubuntu distro either from MS store or from terminal by wsl --install or wsl --install ubuntu
3. update ubuntu distro sudo apt update && upgrade
4. install emacs, vlc or nautilus
5. launch one of those, I get this behavior as described in the screenshots

WSL logs:

stderr.log
weston.log
pulseaudio.log

WSL dumps:

No response

Expected behavior:

WSL should run gui applications without the glitches.

Actual behavior:

I had wsl working just fine until yesterday! Everything I am about to eplain about was working fine yesterday.

Yesterday I have installed another ubuntu version on my wsl, alongside fully working wsl version(was testing out different emacs versions). So I had 2x ubuntu versions + the default docker wsl's.

This strange gui glitch started to happen when I launch emacs gui application. If I launch it in the terminal - all is good.
emacs gui with glitches:

emacs over terminal:

When I move the emacs gui screen - the glitch dissapears. When I stop moving it - it reappears.

I thought okay I can not work like this, I need to start fresh. I then unregistered both ubuntu distros and went to "add remove programs" to uninstall those ubuntu versions.

I installed ubuntu from terminal by wls --install ubuntu or wsl --install or from ms store, restarts...- same problem.

I then disabled WSL feature. Restarts... installed wsl again, did wsl --set-default-version 2 - same problem.

I then tried to install another GUI application - nautilus and VLC - same probelm with those:

I then thought thanks god its not related with emacs, its a gui bug in general with all linux applications over wsl. Nothing similar happens on my windows apps.

That helped me to narrow the problem down. Insead of googling "emacs gui glitches in wsl", I started to google for "wsl gui glitches".

I then found out about wslg and that it is responsible for launching gui applications over wsl.

I then installed mobaxterm since I guess it does not use wslg, but uses xserver. I then tried to launch emacs with it:

x server off - emacs launched in terminal mode:

x server on - emacs launched in gui mode:

Finally emacs has no glitches!!!

I dont really want to reset my windows to make wsl not glitch anymore, can you help me find a way what to update/remove/reinstall to make these glitches go away?

Thank you!

p.s. this is everything I have installed right now that I know regarding wsl, hope that helps:

[azegas]

Addition with some videos:

Sometimes it works:

all_good.mp4

Sometimes it does not work:

all_bad.mp4

[vielhuber]

I have exactly the same problem.

This is gedit:

[vielhuber]

Downgrading to 2.0.4 seems to be an option:

#1130

[azegas]

Downgrading to 2.0.4 seems to be an option:

#1130

Amazing @vielhuber, that sounds promsing. good detective work!

How would one go about with downgrading wsl? Did you succeed? Is the glitching gone for you?

[vielhuber]

I tried:

• Updated nvidia drivers (via "GeForce Experience")
• sudo apt update
• sudo apt upgrade
• wsl --shutdown via PowerShell (Admin)

Then it worked until a restart.

Identified that after boot I manually once always need to run wsl --shutdown, then reopen wsl and it works from then on until the next restart.

I can't downgrade at the moment and am waiting for an official fix (see #1130).

[azegas]

Will wait for an official fix then also.

Untl then I will run my wsl gui applications over https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/ . Give it a try, it's cool!

[salarmehr]

The exact issue here. @arvydasg could you try the downgrading suggestion?

[azegas]

Surprisingly the issue does not repeat anymore. Will try it if it happens again.

[nikosandreou]

Same issue here. Windows 11 with following WSL info

WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

I did an update in Intel Drivers update and Windows Update simultaneously so not sure what broke it. However, I tried the following:

-In .wslgconfig I added

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

-Restarted wsl. Worked.
-Restarted laptop, the fix still works.

Maybe other people try this and post their feedback.

[MarcosRguez]

¡Worked for me!

[bluejoyq]

Same issue here. Windows 11 with following WSL issue

WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

I did an update in Intel Drivers update and Windows Update simultaneously so not sure what broke it. However, I tried the following:

-In .wslgconfig I added

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

-Restarted wsl. Worked. -Restarted laptop, the fix still works.

Maybe other people try this and post their feedback.

Worked For Me! Thanks!

[joeyoropesa-dev]

Same issue unfortunatelly with latest installation in wsl 2 (Ubuntu)

And it's still not fixed..

[Benargee]

I had a similar problem. I installed Kali in WSL then I installed x11-apps just for a simple test.
When I launched xeyes and xcalc it was glitching out. All I had to do to fix it was restart Windows 11.

PS C:\Users\benargee>wsl -v
WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

[joeyoropesa-dev]

I had a similar problem. I installed Kali in WSL then I installed x11-apps just for a simple test.
When I launched xeyes and xcalc it was glitching out. All I had to do to fix it was restart Windows 11.

PS C:\Users\benargee>wsl -v
WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

Well that didn't helped me... Probably it's an bug in the code since I'm not the only person who have these issues so I hope that WSLg developers will look into this case and at least try to fix it from their side.

[vielhuber]

-In .wslgconfig I added
[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1
-Restarted wsl. Worked.
-Restarted laptop, the fix still works.

This does not work for me after pc restart.
Is the path in %USERPROFILE%/.wslgconfig (not %USERPROFILE%/.wslconfig)?

[nikosandreou]

-In .wslgconfig I added
[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1
-Restarted wsl. Worked.
-Restarted laptop, the fix still works.

This does not work for me after pc restart. Is the path in %USERPROFILE%/.wslgconfig (not %USERPROFILE%/.wslconfig)?

It is .wslgconfig

[clavnico]

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

Thanks it worked on windows 11 pro 22H2 with Ubuntu.
For the one wondering you can create the file .wslgconfig directly in you home folder on windows and copy bluejoyq solution (type %USERPROFILE% as a path in explorer if you dont know where it is).
Strangely the solution did not work for my OpenSUSE environment (15.5)

[palapapa]

FYI I had to put the .wslgconfig file in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\WSL. The WSL folder didn't exist so I had to create it manually.

[BiruBear]

So I was having this problem as well, nothing above worked so, identifying the problem in wslg, I disabled it by adding in C:\Users\youruser\ .wslconfig
[wsl2]
guiApplications=false
as suggested in #523 and restarted.

Then I used MobaXterm as X server, exported its display destination in the $DISPLAY variable and all solved.

[analytic-garden]

Same problem. It is intermittent. I have updated NVIDIA and Intel drivers, but that had no effect. The problem still arises, seemingly at random.

[olliollio]

Same problem. After windows launch stopping wsl and restarting it helps for the day

[llanc]

When I installed xfce4, I encountered this issue. There was no problem before this.

[HenriqueCA]

The same happened to me today. Used wsl --shutdown and it worked for now.

[ghost]

I just ran into this as well on a fresh install of WSL2. wsl --v output:

WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

Running on a Vega 56 GPU, and didn't experience it on the older version of WSL2 I had installed previously. Updating the AMD drivers didn't resolve it. Following the suggestion in the thread to add the LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 to .wslgconfig seems to fix it for me.

What are the implications of setting the LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE variable? Just want to make a note if it can (or should) be removed from the configuration if a fix is released.

[nikosandreou]

I just ran into this as well on a fresh install of WSL2. wsl --v output:

WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

Running on a Vega 56 GPU, and didn't experience it on the older version of WSL2 I had installed previously. Updating the AMD drivers didn't resolve it. Following the suggestion in the thread to add the LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 to .wslgconfig seems to fix it for me.

What are the implications of setting the LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE variable? Just want to make a note if it can (or should) be removed from the configuration if a fix is released.

Well, GPU acceleration in WSLg has been a bit questionable. You can read this:

#469

However, there are apps that may expect the GPU acceleration to be on so in case something crashes, you may have to turn it on. From my side, since I do mostly development in WSLg, having it on or off, doesn't bother me. I had it on for a couple of apps that were 'nice-to-use/have', but since this bug, I turned it off. I may turn it on if they fix the bug, but leaving it off won't hurt my daily programming life in WSLg.

[dtramer]

Unlike seemingly everyone else here ... I don't have this issue when wsl starts up. But if I shut wsl down and restart it only then do I start seeing the issue, until I reboot my computer. I figure I must be doing something wrong when I shut it down and restart it.

[Benja1972]

Have same issue

PS C:\Users\*****> wsl --version
WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22621.2715

[Cyterafle]

Same issue here with latest WSL

Version WSL : 2.0.14.0
Version du noyau : 5.15.133.1-1
Version WSLg : 1.0.59
Version MSRDC : 1.2.4677
Version direct3D : 1.611.1-81528511
Version de DXCore : 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Version de Windows : 10.0.19045.3758

[krych14m]

WSL version 2.0.9.0: glitches occur.
WSL version 2.0.9.0 with "LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1" option: glitches disappeared, but then appear suddenly, I see no pattern. WSL restart works.
WSL version 2.0.14.0: glitches dissapeared!!! :D

[snowgato]

WSL version 2.1.1.0 seems to work !
WSL version 2.1.0.14 didn't solve the issue for me

[biggestsonicfan]

Chiming in to say wsl --shutdown did not work for me but

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

in %USERPROFILE%/.wslgconfig did work!

Coming back to say I am encountering this again. %USERPROFILE%/.wslgconfig no longer works and wsl --shutdown still does not work for me.

Specs:

WSL version: 2.0.14.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.19045.3996

EDIT: Updating to pre-release 2.1.1.0 has mitigated the issue for now.

[arti5an]

Sorry, I mean export a variable. Where you'd do that is somewhat distro/config dependent, but mostly if you put export LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE="1" in a new file /etc/profile.d/wsl-workaround.sh, restart WSL and try echo $LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE it should report 1. If it doesn't then try adding the line to /etc/profile (after what's already in it) instead.

If you only tried .wslconfig as you mention, it might be worth trying .wslgconfig instead. It could be MS renamed the config specifically for the WSLg component, although MS do tend to maintain backward compatibility where they can. 🤷

Following on from my earlier post, having seen several mentions of newer versions of WSL, I updated around a week ago to the prerelease using wsl --update --pre-release. I then removed my .wslgconfig file and my .wslconfig file (since it only had a setting to enable the GUI, and it's on by default nowadays), rebooted my laptop and tried a few GUI apps. I'm happy to report that the issue seems to have been resolved for me, and can confirm it is reporting version 2.1.1.0. Thankfully I don't seem to have encountered any additional issues despite the pre-release moniker. 😄

[cgagnon-crakmn]

This is interesting how you solved your issues with

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

My WSL version

WSL version: 2.0.14.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.19045.4046

I did it with

[wsl2]
gpuSupport=false

I found out about this option at microsoft/WSL#8931

I never had the glitch ever again.

[mateialexandru]

Solution that worked for me now (nothing else described above worked): wsl --update --pre-release version is now: wsl --version WSL version: 2.1.1.0 Kernel version: 5.15.146.1-2 WSLg version: 1.0.60 MSRDC version: 1.2.5105 Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511 DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp Windows version: 10.0.19045.3930

thank you, this worked!

[evgenybf]

Just a chip-in: Have everyone tried the wsl --shutdown trick? #1148 (comment)

I did, and it worked: Just shutdown, and then startup again, and suddenly no problems anymore.

Sometimes it also requires killing "wslservice.exe" from Task Manager.

[teleskier1]

Solution that worked for me now (nothing else described above worked): wsl --update --pre-release version is now: wsl --version WSL version: 2.1.1.0 Kernel version: 5.15.146.1-2 WSLg version: 1.0.60 MSRDC version: 1.2.5105 Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511 DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp Windows version: 10.0.19045.3930

thank you, this worked!

Thank you! This worked for me as well, when I updated to:
WSL version: 2.1.3.0
Kernel version: 5.15.146.1-2
WSLg version: 1.0.60
MSRDC version: 1.2.5105
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22621.3007

[TheNavyBear]

What worked for me: 'sudo apt install dbus-x11'

Not sure why it is not installed in WSL2 when an x11/GUI app is installed, but installing it fixed all my GUI apps, including ones that wouldn't open.

[biggestsonicfan]

What worked for me: 'sudo apt install dbus-x11'

@TheNavyBear, did that fix a specific GUI app or all GUI apps?

[kdavisee]

-In .wslgconfig I added

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

-Restarted wsl. Worked. -Restarted laptop, the fix still works.

Maybe other people try this and post their feedback.

I think this is the solution to my problem but I am too dumb to understand what I need to do : (

I don't know what it means to add things or how to open wslgconfig, any help on what I need to type?

[Sherry65-code]

I was developing my Game engine and decided to use WSL (Debian) to test my engine. It opened but when the window frame would not update it was cause the lining issues, many people see above. but doing a wsl --shutdown and then reopning wsl fixes the issue. Luckily! :)

[TheNavyBear]

What worked for me: 'sudo apt install dbus-x11'

@TheNavyBear, did that fix a specific GUI app or all GUI apps?

That fixed the glitch artifacts in my GUI apps, it fixed issues where preferences couldn't be set in GNOME apps, and it fixed two apps that wouldn't even open. This was the case on all 3 of my Debian WSL2 systems.

[nikosandreou]

-In .wslgconfig I added

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

-Restarted wsl. Worked. -Restarted laptop, the fix still works.
Maybe other people try this and post their feedback.

I think this is the solution to my problem but I am too dumb to understand what I need to do : (

I don't know what it means to add things or how to open wslgconfig, any help on what I need to type?

@kdavisee What you have to do is to go to your windows user folder and create the file.

1. Open windows file explorer and type %USERPROFILE% in the address bar
2. This will open the user profile folder in your PC/Laptop
3. There you must create a new file named .wslgconfig (yes, with the dot in the beginning)
4. Add the content that I typed before.
5. Restart WSL (in a powershell type wsl --shutdown and then open terminal again or better restart laptop/pc)

[0xilham]

I tried:

• Updated nvidia drivers (via "GeForce Experience")
• sudo apt update
• sudo apt upgrade
• wsl --shutdown via PowerShell (Admin)

Then it worked until a restart.

Identified that after boot I manually once always need to run wsl --shutdown, then reopen wsl and it works from then on until the next restart.

I can't downgrade at the moment and am waiting for an official fix (see #1130).

Thanks, this worked

[biggestsonicfan]

Can someone here explain the difference between restarting the computer, a full Windows reboot, and wsl --shutdown? Would a reboot not entail wsl closing and upon starting the terminal again on a fresh boot act as a new instance of wsl starting up?

[Potak0]

Same issue here. Windows 11 with following WSL info

WSL version: 2.0.9.0
Kernel version: 5.15.133.1-1
WSLg version: 1.0.59
MSRDC version: 1.2.4677
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.2715

I did an update in Intel Drivers update and Windows Update simultaneously so not sure what broke it. However, I tried the following:

-In .wslgconfig I added

[system-distro-env]
;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

-Restarted wsl. Worked. -Restarted laptop, the fix still works.

Maybe other people try this and post their feedback.

worked. a big thank for you.
note: if .wslgconfig is not found in system, applying the same solution to ubuntu /etc/wsl.conf works too.

[shusuke-ethic]

creating the .wslgconfig worked. looking forward to the next release with the fix.

[nikosandreou]

creating the .wslgconfig worked. looking forward to the next release with the fix.

You can update to latest wsl where the issue is fixed (2.1.5). Just run in powershell as admin

wsl --update

[pirafrank]

I guess this issue can be closed, as we now have a stable version fixing it (v2.1.5).

[shusuke-ethic]

I confirmed with the following version combination GUI apps work, without the .wslgconfig file. I'm ok you close this issue.

WSL version: 2.1.5.0
Kernel version: 5.15.146.1-2
WSLg version: 1.0.60
MSRDC version: 1.2.5105
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22621.3296

[bestis]

Nah. Still seeing glitches..

>wsl --version
WSL version: 2.1.5.0
Kernel version: 5.15.146.1-2
WSLg version: 1.0.60
MSRDC version: 1.2.5105
Direct3D version: 1.611.1-81528511
DXCore version: 10.0.25131.1002-220531-1700.rs-onecore-base2-hyp
Windows version: 10.0.22631.3593

I did add to .wslgconfig

;disable GPU in system-distro
LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1

But this seems just to make it work before the Chromium loads the tab, maybe just lucky and didn't notice before. Then I can see the tab, but when it has loaded, all broken. I need to launch the Chromium itself with --disable-gpu.

Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen13, so Intel integrated graphics. No NVIDIA to update. Intel would seem to have later drivers to download manually but nothing offers them automatically. So don't know what problems I would get there from not using OEM drivers. And the 31.0.101.5234 is the latest OEM driver from 11 Mar 2024.

[ensapra]

GitHubDesktop_9UkKKiXMhw.mp4

Is this the same issue?

[thendricks0]

I have these strange crossed out artifacts on some gui applications.

The search bar in the title of vscode for example shows this issue:

The vscode icon also looks like this in the title bar:

If I use some icon extensions like Material Icon Theme or vscode-icons all the icons show the same weird artifact which makes the icons hard to recognize:

The Jetbrains toolbox also displays this artifact so it is not VSCode related:

I've compared the icon file formats in the icon themes and the properly displayed icons are in png format while the icons with the cross artifact are in svg format. So is this a scaling issue with vector images? Is there a workaround for this maybe?

[nikosandreou]

I have these strange crossed out artifacts on some gui applications.

The search bar in the title of vscode for example shows this issue:

The vscode icon also looks like this in the title bar:

If I use some icon extensions like Material Icon Theme or vscode-icons all the icons show the same weird artifact which makes the icons hard to recognize:

The Jetbrains toolbox also displays this artifact so it is not VSCode related:

I've compared the icon file formats in the icon themes and the properly displayed icons are in png format while the icons with the cross artifact are in svg format. So is this a scaling issue with vector images? Is there a workaround for this maybe?

I think this may be related to the above. It was an instant alarm to the issue I have:

shiftkey/desktop#1009

Since github-desktop is an electon app (chromium based), this could be related.

[thendricks0]

@nikosandreou thanks for linking to your issue, your hint on downgrading the Intel Graphics drivers was very useful!

Since my laptop has an NVIDIA dGPU I simply used export MESA_D3D12_DEFAULT_ADAPTER_NAME=NVIDIA to force the usage of the NVIDIA GPU which does NOT have this weird rendering issue. So it seems this is an Intel driver related problem.