# Automatic setup with cloud-init
*Authored by Carlos Nihelton ([carlos.santanadeoliveira@canonical.com](mailto:carlos.santanadeoliveira@canonical.com))*

Cloud-init is an industry-standard multi-distribution method for cross-platform cloud instance initialisation.
Ubuntu WSL users can now leverage it to perform an automatic setup to get a working instance with minimal touch.

> See more:  [cloud-init official documentation](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html).

The latest release of Ubuntu (Noble Numbat 24.04 LTS) comes with cloud-init already preinstalled, so you'll need that specific application to follow this tutorial. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS can be installed from [this link to the Microsoft Store](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nz3klhxdjp5?hl=en-us&gl=US). A previous version of this tutorial used Ubuntu (Preview), because that comes with the latest in-development features. You can still use it to follow the instructions below, if you prefer. This feature is now available in the default Ubuntu application as well as Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

## What you will learn

- How to write cloud-config user data to a specific WSL instance.
- How to automatically set up a WSL instance with cloud-init.
- How to verify that cloud-init succeeded with the configuration supplied.

## What you will need

- Windows 11 with WSL 2 already enabled
- The latest Ubuntu 24.04 LTS application from the Microsoft Store

## Write the cloud-config file

Locate your Windows user home directory. It typically is `C:\Users\<YOUR_USER_NAME>`.

> You can be sure about that path by running `echo $env:USERPROFILE` in PowerShell.

Inside your Windows user home directory, create a new folder named `.cloud-init` (notice the `.` à la Linux
configuration directories), and inside the new directory, create an empty file named `Ubuntu-24.04.user-data`. That file name must
match the name of the distro instance that will be created in the next step.

Open that file with your text editor of choice (`notepad.exe` is just fine) and paste in the following contents:

```{code-block} yaml
#cloud-config
locale: pt_BR
users:
- name: jdoe
  gecos: John Doe
  groups: [adm,dialout,cdrom,floppy,sudo,audio,dip,video,plugdev,netdev]
  sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
  shell: /bin/bash

write_files:
- path: /etc/wsl.conf
  append: true
  content: |
    [user]
    default=jdoe

packages: [ginac-tools, octave]

runcmd:
   - sudo git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git /opt/vcpkg
   - sudo apt-get install zip curl -y
   - /opt/vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh
```

Save it and close it.

> That example will create a user named `jdoe` and set it as default via `/etc/wsl.conf`, install the packages
> `ginac-tools` and `octave` and install `vcpkg` from the git repository, since there is no deb or snap of that
> application (hence the reason for being included in this tutorial - it requires an unusual setup).


> See more: [WSL data source reference](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/reference/datasources/wsl.html).

## Register a new Ubuntu-24.04 instance

In PowerShell, run:

```{code-block} text
> ubuntu2404.exe
```

This command will register a new Ubuntu-24.04 instance that will be configured automatically by cloud-init.
The process can take several minutes, depending on your computer and network speeds.

> If you want to be sure that there is now an Ubuntu-24.04 instance, run `wsl -l -v`.
> Notice that the application is named `Ubuntu24.04LTS` but the WSL instance created is named `Ubuntu-24.04`.
> See more about that naming convention in [our reference documentation](naming).

## Verify automatic configuration by cloud-init

When the setup is complete, the WSL instance's shell will be logged in as the user `jdoe`.
You should see the standard welcome text:

```{code-block} text
:class: no-copy
Installing, this may take a few minutes...
Installation successful!
To run a command as administrator (user "root"), use "sudo <command>".
See "man sudo_root" for details.

Welcome to Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (GNU/Linux 6.6.36.3-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64)

 * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com
 * Management:     https://landscape.canonical.com
 * Support:        https://ubuntu.com/pro

 System information as of ter 01 out 2024 14:32:47 -03

  System load:  1.64                Processes:             63
  Usage of /:   0.2% of 1006.85GB   Users logged in:       0
  Memory usage: 4%                  IPv4 address for eth0: 172.22.8.90
  Swap usage:   0%


This message is shown once a day. To disable it please create the
/home/jdoe/.hushlogin file.
jdoe@mib01:~$
```

Once logged into the new distro instance's shell, verify that:

1. The default user matches what was configured in the user data file (in our case `jdoe`).

```{code-block} text
jdoe@mib:~$ whoami
```

This should be verified with the output message:

```{code-block} text
:class: no-copy
jdoe
```

2. The supplied cloud-config user data was approved by cloud-init validation.

```{code-block} text
jdoe@mib:~$ sudo cloud-init schema --system
```

Verified with the output:

```{code-block} text
:class: no-copy
Valid schema user-data
```

3. The locale is set

```{code-block} text
jdoe@mib:~$ locale
```

Verified with:

```{code-block} text
:class: no-copy
LANG=pt_BR
LANGUAGE=
LC_CTYPE="pt_BR"
LC_NUMERIC="pt_BR"
LC_TIME="pt_BR"
LC_COLLATE="pt_BR"
LC_MONETARY="pt_BR"
LC_MESSAGES="pt_BR"
LC_PAPER="pt_BR"
LC_NAME="pt_BR"
LC_ADDRESS="pt_BR"
LC_TELEPHONE="pt_BR"
LC_MEASUREMENT="pt_BR"
LC_IDENTIFICATION="pt_BR"
LC_ALL=

```

4. The packages were installed and the commands they provide are available.

```{code-block} text
jdoe@mib:~$ apt list --installed | egrep 'ginac|octave'
```

Verified:

```{code-block} text
:class: no-copy

WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.

ginac-tools/noble,now 1.8.7-1 amd64 [installed]
libginac11/noble,now 1.8.7-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
octave-common/noble,now 8.4.0-1 all [installed,automatic]
octave-doc/noble,now 8.4.0-1 all [installed,automatic]
octave/noble,now 8.4.0-1 amd64 [installed]
```

5. Lastly, verify that the commands requested were also run. In this case we set up `vcpkg` from git, as recommended by its
   documentation (there is no deb or snap available for that program).

```{code-block} text
jdoe@mib:~$ /opt/vcpkg/vcpkg version
```

This should also be verified with:

```{code-block} text
:class: no-copy
vcpkg package management program version 2024-01-11-710a3116bbd615864eef5f9010af178034cb9b44

See LICENSE.txt for license information.
```

## Enjoy!

That’s all folks! In this tutorial, we’ve shown you how to use cloud-init to automatically set up Ubuntu on WSL 2 with minimal touch.

This workflow will guarantee a solid foundation for your next Ubuntu WSL project.

We hope you enjoy using Ubuntu inside WSL!