diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/backend/DesktopBackendConfiguration.ts b/apps/desktop/src/backend/DesktopBackendConfiguration.ts
index 2559b69e6751b4c4007a3502026ec67ec0afa4a6..7ae3ad6c912973184821c8f8fd397bc5fa2bb1fe 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/backend/DesktopBackendConfiguration.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/backend/DesktopBackendConfiguration.ts
@@ -607,6 +607,7 @@ export const make = Effect.gen(function* () {
     const backendExposure = yield* serverExposure.backendConfig;
     const persistedSettings = yield* settings.get;
     const shared = yield* sharedInputs;
+    yield* wslEnvironment.preWarm(persistedSettings.wslDistro);
     return yield* resolveWslStartConfig({
       ...shared,
       port: backendExposure.port,