David Quispe mcdaqc

Shrink WSL2 and Docker Virtual Disks to Reclaim Disk Space

Over time, WSL2 distributions and Docker images can consume significant disk space. Even after deleting files, the allocated virtual disk (VHDX) does not automatically shrink. This guide explains how to manually reclaim disk space by optimizing the virtual disk.

Shrinking WSL2 Virtual Disks

Locate the VHDX File

On Windows 11, WSL2 distributions store their virtual disks in the following location:

How to Shrink a WSL2 Virtual Disk

Before you begin

Before shrinking a WSL2 virtual disk, you need to ensure that WSL2 is not running.

You can check if it’s running with the command wsl.exe --list --verbose in PowerShell:

PS C:\Users\valorin> wsl.exe --list --verbose
 NAME STATE VERSION

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