A useful reminder from setting up a container workflow on Windows:

A tool being authenticated in PowerShell does not mean it will be authenticated inside WSL.

Windows and WSL have different home directories and can have different:

  • environment variables
  • .netrc files
  • Docker configuration
  • package-manager configuration
  • SSH keys
  • certificates
  • CLI configuration

For example, a credential file might exist on Windows under:

$env:USERPROFILE

while the Linux tool looks under:

$HOME

Those are different environments.

This becomes particularly noticeable when a workflow crosses:

PowerShell
    ↓
WSL2
    ↓
Docker

If authentication succeeds on Windows but fails inside WSL, I now check the Linux-side configuration before assuming the credentials themselves are wrong.

Treat WSL as a separate Linux workstation unless you have deliberately configured something to be shared.