Facing EIO/Input-output errors when building Grafana on WSL2 (Windows 11)

Grafana Installation
1

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to set up and run Grafana from source on my Windows 11 laptop using WSL2 (Ubuntu 22.04), but I keep running into EIO/Input-output errors during yarn install and yarn start, especially when Nx/Webpack tries to write cache or build output files. I’ve tried cleaning all caches, reinstalling Node.js and Yarn multiple times, and ensuring my $TMPDIR and $GOCACHE are inside /home/samudrala, but the errors persist.

Errors I’m seeing include:

  • EIO: i/o error, open '/home/samudrala/grafana/.nx/cache/terminalOutputs/...’

  • EIO: i/o error, unlink '/home/samudrala/tmp/xfs-.../attw'

  • bash: /home/samudrala/.nvm/versions/node/v22.16.0/bin/yarn: Input/output error

My system specs:

  • Windows PC: DESKTOP-91QP86G

  • CPU: 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U @ 1.30 GHz

  • RAM: 16 GB

  • System type: 64-bit x64

What I’ve tried:

  • Removing and recreating all caches (.nx, tmp, node_modules, Yarn cache)

  • Using $TMPDIR and $GOCACHE inside WSL2 home folder

  • Reinstalling Node.js (v22.16.0) and Yarn multiple times

It seems like the issue is related to WSL2 filesystem I/O, but I’m not sure if this is a known limitation or if there are workarounds.

Questions:

  1. Do Grafana contributors generally use native Linux/macOS for building, or is WSL2 a supported workflow?

  2. Is there a recommended directory structure or setup under WSL2 to avoid these EIO errors?

  3. Are there any Node/Yarn/WSL2 configuration tweaks that help Grafana builds succeed?

Any guidance or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks contributors or maintainers…