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Running graphical Linux desktop applications from WSL 2 – "Error E233: cannot open display"

AS
ASE
1 month ago
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Problem Description
How can I run graphical Linux desktop applications from the command line of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)? First, I installed WSL 2 following [these steps on how to install Linux on Windows with WSL][1] : 1. I installed Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview Build 19619. 1. I installed the Ubuntu Linux distribution. 1. I changed the distribution version from WSL 1 to WSL 2. Second, to enable graphical Linux desktop applications from the Bash shell of WSL, I followed [these steps on how to run graphical Linux desktop applications from Windows 10’s Bash shell][2] : 4. I installed an X Server that is Xming. 4. As a test I installed the graphical GTK-based editor Vim : `sudo apt-get install vim-gtk` 6. I set my display environment variable : `export DISPLAY=:0` 7. I tried to launch the application : `gvim` However, this did not launch the application. I got the following errors : ``` E233: cannot open display Press ENTER or type command to continue E852: The child process failed to start the GUI Press ENTER or type command to continue ``` Any idea why this error is occurring? [1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10?redirectedfrom=MSDN [2]: https://www.howtogeek.com/261575/how-to-run-graphical-linux-desktop-applications-from-windows-10s-bash-shell/

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