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Part A: One-Time Global WSL Configuration

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1. Enable & initialize WSL 2

# In PowerShell (Admin):
wsl --install
wsl --set-default-version 2
Reboot if prompted. Launch your Linux distro (e.g. Ubuntu) and complete its first-run setup.

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2. Hide Windows ADS files globally

# In WSL, edit /etc/wsl.conf:
[automount]
options = "metadata,streams_interface=none"

# Back in PowerShell (Admin):
wsl --shutdown
Restart your distro—Windows alternate-data-streams (*:Zone.Identifier) will no longer appear.

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3. Configure your shell environment

# Append to ~/.bashrc (or ~/.profile):
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64
export CATALINA_HOME=/opt/tomcat9

# Reload:
source ~/.bashrc

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Part B: Install Tooling & Tomcat in WSL

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4. Install core tools

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y openjdk-8-jdk ant unzip curl

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5. Install Tomcat 9.0.85

# Download & extract
cd /tmp
wget https://archive.apache.org/dist/tomcat/tomcat-9/v9.0.85/bin/apache-tomcat-9.0.85.tar.gz
sudo mkdir -p /opt/tomcat9
sudo tar xzf apache-tomcat-9.0.85.tar.gz \
  -C /opt/tomcat9 --strip-components=1

# Create tomcat user & set permissions
sudo groupadd tomcat
sudo useradd -s /bin/false -g tomcat -d /opt/tomcat9 tomcat
sudo chown -R tomcat:tomcat /opt/tomcat9
sudo chmod -R o+rX /opt/tomcat9
sudo chmod +x /opt/tomcat9/bin/*.sh

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6. Verify Tomcat

sudo -u tomcat $CATALINA_HOME/bin/startup.sh
Open your Windows browser to http://localhost:8080 —you should see the Tomcat welcome page.

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Part C: VS Code & Project Workflow

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7. Install & configure VS Code Remote-WSL

  1. Install Visual Studio Code on Windows.
  2. In VS Code → Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X) → install Remote – WSL.
  3. Click the green >< icon (bottom-left) → Remote-WSL: New Window.
  4. In that WSL-connected window, install:
    • Extension Pack for Java (vscjava.vscode-java-pack)
    • Tomcat for Java (adashen.vscode-tomcat)

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8. Copy the PREDIUM project into WSL

  • From Windows Explorer: copy your PREDIUM folder into
    \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\santiago\projects\PREDIUM
  • Or in WSL: 
    mkdir -p ~/projects
cp -r /mnt/c/Path/To/PREDIUM ~/projects/

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9. Open the project in VS Code

cd ~/projects/PREDIUM
code .
:::note On first run, you’ll see “Installing VS Code Server for x64…” in your WSL shell. Please wait for it to complete before interacting with the editor—otherwise you may end up editing files on Windows by mistake. :::

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10. Register Tomcat in VS Code

  • In the WSL-connected VS Code window → Tomcat Servers view (elephant icon or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → Tomcat: Show Servers View).
  • Click ➕ Add Tomcat Server → select /opt/tomcat9.
  • You should now see Local Tomcat 9.0.85 listed.

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11. Build & package the WAR

cd ~/projects/PREDIUM
ant clean dist
On success: dist/PREDIUM.war is generated.

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12. Deploy & run in VS Code

  • In VS Code’s Explorer, right-click dist/PREDIUM.war → Run on Tomcat Server → Local Tomcat 9.0.85.
  • VS Code will deploy and start your application.

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13. Verify & debug

  • Browse to http://localhost:8080/PREDIUM/ to see your live app.
  • To debug: in Tomcat Servers view → right-click the server → Debug → select the same WAR; set breakpoints in VS Code.
Here’s that same “Connect to PostgreSQL on Windows from WSL” doc—but boiled down to copy-and-paste commands only. No manual file-edits, no chasing IPs.

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14. Connect PostgreSQL on Windows from WSL (v16, copy & paste)

  1. Configure PostgreSQL on Windows & open the firewall 
    $winIp = (Get-NetIPConfiguration | Where-Object { $_.IPv4DefaultGateway -ne $null } | Select-Object -Expand IPv4Address).IPAddress
$pgRoot = 'C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16'
& "$pgRoot\bin\psql.exe" -U postgres -d postgres -c "ALTER SYSTEM SET listen_addresses='*';"
$hba = "$pgRoot\data\pg_hba.conf"
Add-Content $hba ("host all all " + $winIp + "/32 md5")
Restart-Service postgresql-x64-16
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Postgres (WSL)' -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 5432 -Action Allow -Profile Private
  2. Fetch the Windows-host IP inside WSL 
    export DB_HOST=$(
  powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command \
    "(Get-NetIPConfiguration | Where-Object { \$_.IPv4DefaultGateway -ne \$null }).IPv4Address.IPAddress"
)
DB_HOST=${DB_HOST//$'\r'/}
echo "DB_HOST → $DB_HOST"
  3. Install the client & verify the connection 
    sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y postgresql-client
psql -h "$DB_HOST" -U postgres -d predium_vup
  4. Configure your Spring/Hibernate application
    Replace <YOUR_WINDOWS_IP> with the value you obtained in step 2:     
    <property name="url" value="jdbc:postgresql://<YOUR_WINDOWS_IP>:5432/predium_vup"/>
Extra Tips
  • Change HTTP port: edit /opt/tomcat9/conf/server.xml.
  • View logs: VS Code → Output panel → select Tomcat Server.
  • Restart: right-click the server → Restart.