Discourse on WSL attempting to use /var/lib/docker instead of connecting to Docker Desktop on host

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raadtotheraad reports an issue where their Discourse instance, running on WSL and connecting to Docker Desktop on a Windows host, suddenly stopped working. The ./launcher rebuild app command fails with an error indicating that /var/lib/docker does not exist. The launcher incorrectly interprets this as having less than 5 GB of space and attempts to free space, which also fails. Falco responds by noting that WSL is intended for development purposes and suggests following the Install Discourse on Ubuntu or Debian for Development guide instead of the official installation tutorial.

1

Okay, so my instance has been working really well after using the tutorial where you can actually finally run Discourse on a residential network.

Im using WSL to get the Linux stuff sorted, and the instance is mostly for experiments. I connect it to my Docker Desktop app on my Windows host so I don’t have to deal with the hassle of putting docker into WSL.

It worked well at first, yet suddenly stopped working.

Trying to run ./launcher rebuild app fails and hits with an error stating that /var/lib/docker doesn’t exist.

The launcher considers that as having less than 5 GB, and attempts to free space which subsequently fails.

Any help?

2

WSL is for development, so you aren’t expected to run the official install, but the Install Discourse on Ubuntu or Debian for Development.