GitHub Copilot Chat dont work after I installed WSL

[yolandadeb]

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Extension is enabled on 'WSL: Ubuntu-24.04' it shows Uncaught Errors (2) fetch failed, fetch failed
Chat took too long to get ready. Please ensure you are signed in to GitHub and that the extension GitHub.copilot-chat is installed and enabled.

for the past 6 month havent had any issues. it started 2 days ago.
Error.
Chat took too long to get ready. Please ensure you are signed in to GitHub and that the extension GitHub.copilot-chat is installed and enabled.

if i create other project, without WSL extention, it works 100%

[Dagris]

Hi @yolandadeb! 👋

This "Fetch failed" error specifically inside WSL (while working fine on Windows) is almost always a networking or proxy issue where the WSL instance cannot reach GitHub's authentication servers appropriately.

Here are the steps to fix the connection between VS Code Remote (WSL) and Copilot:

1. Check DNS in WSL
Sometimes WSL doesn't inherit the Windows DNS correctly, causing fetch failures.
Open your Ubuntu terminal and run:

cat /etc/resolv.conf

If it's empty or failing, try forcing Google's DNS temporarily:

echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Then restart VS Code and try again.

2. Proxy / VPN / Zscaler
If you are on a corporate network using a VPN or Zscaler, the SSL certificates might not be present inside the Linux distro.

Try adding this to your VS Code settings.json (specifically the Remote [WSL: Ubuntu] tab):

{
    "http.proxySupport": "off",
    "github.copilot.advanced": {
        "debug.overrideProxyUrl": false
    }
}

3. Re-install the Server Component
Since the extension runs in two parts (UI on Windows, Server on WSL), the server part might be corrupted.

1. Close VS Code.
2. Open your Windows terminal.
3. Run wsl --shutdown to kill the backend.
4. Open VS Code again (this forces a fresh connection to the WSL remote server).

[thisistanishq]

Hi @yolandadeb 👋
You’re hitting a known WSL + Copilot Chat edge case where the Copilot server running inside WSL can’t reliably reach GitHub services, even though Windows itself can. Since it works outside WSL, this is not a Copilot outage — it’s a WSL environment issue.

[thisistanishq]

1) Reinstall Copilot Chat inside WSL

Copilot Chat has two parts: UI (Windows) and Server (WSL).

While connected to WSL in VS Code:

• Open Extensions
• Reinstall GitHub Copilot Chat
• Make sure it shows “Enabled in WSL”

If it’s only enabled locally, Chat will fail with fetch failed.

---

2) Re-authenticate GitHub from WSL

WSL has its own GitHub auth context.

In VS Code (connected to WSL):

• Ctrl+Shift+P → GitHub: Sign Out
• Restart VS Code
• Ctrl+Shift+P → GitHub: Sign In

This fixes many Chat took too long to get ready errors.

---

3) Fix WSL DNS correctly (recommended)

Temporary DNS hacks work, but this is the proper fix.

On Windows (PowerShell as Admin):

wsl --shutdown

Inside WSL:

sudo tee /etc/wsl.conf <<EOF
[network]
generateResolvConf = false
EOF

sudo rm /etc/resolv.conf
echo -e "nameserver 1.1.1.1\nnameserver 8.8.8.8" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Restart VS Code and reconnect to WSL.

---

4) Corporate proxy / VPN / Zscaler users

This is a very common cause of fetch failed.

In WSL VS Code settings:

{
  "http.proxySupport": "off",
  "github.copilot.advanced": {
    "debug.overrideProxyUrl": false
  }
}

Also verify outbound HTTPS works inside WSL:

curl https://api.github.com

If this fails, Copilot Chat cannot work.

---

5) Force a clean rebuild of the WSL server

wsl --shutdown

Reopen VS Code and reconnect to WSL. The remote server will reinstall automatically.

---

Why this happens

Copilot Chat = Windows UI + WSL server + GitHub auth + outbound HTTPS.
If any layer fails, you’ll see fetch failed or chat took too long to get ready.

---

TL;DR

• Reinstall Copilot Chat in WSL
• Re-auth GitHub from WSL
• Fix DNS properly
• Check proxy/VPN
• Restart WSL backend

This resolves the issue in most WSL setups.