diff --git a/src/main/skills/skill-package-tar.ts b/src/main/skills/skill-package-tar.ts
index 4a67f7ca553..99fad1417cb 100644
--- a/src/main/skills/skill-package-tar.ts
+++ b/src/main/skills/skill-package-tar.ts
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ import { pipeline } from 'node:stream/promises'
 import { createGunzip } from 'node:zlib'
 import { SKILL_PACKAGE_MAX_COMPRESSED_BYTES } from '../../shared/skill-package-manifest'
 import { createDeterministicGzipStore } from './skill-package-deterministic-gzip'
+import { buildUstarEntryHeader, USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES, ustarPaddingBytes } from '../ustar-entry-header'
 
-const TAR_BLOCK_BYTES = 512
+const TAR_BLOCK_BYTES = USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES
 const TAR_EXPANDED_LIMIT = 40 * 1024 * 1024
 
 export type SkillTarWriteEntry = {
@@ -25,54 +26,11 @@ export type SkillTarReadEntry = {
   executable: boolean
 }
 
-function writeField(header: Buffer, offset: number, length: number, value: string): void {
-  const bytes = Buffer.from(value, 'utf8')
-  if (bytes.length > length) {
-    throw new Error('skill-package-tar-path-limit')
-  }
-  bytes.copy(header, offset)
-}
-
-function writeOctal(header: Buffer, offset: number, length: number, value: number): void {
-  const encoded = value.toString(8).padStart(length - 1, '0')
-  if (encoded.length > length - 1) {
-    throw new Error('skill-package-tar-number-limit')
-  }
-  writeField(header, offset, length, `${encoded}\0`)
-}
-
-function splitTarPath(path: string): { name: string; prefix: string } {
-  if (Buffer.byteLength(path, 'utf8') <= 100) {
-    return { name: path, prefix: '' }
-  }
-  for (let index = path.lastIndexOf('/'); index > 0; index = path.lastIndexOf('/', index - 1)) {
-    const prefix = path.slice(0, index)
-    const name = path.slice(index + 1)
-    if (Buffer.byteLength(prefix, 'utf8') <= 155 && Buffer.byteLength(name, 'utf8') <= 100) {
-      return { name, prefix }
-    }
-  }
-  throw new Error('skill-package-tar-path-limit')
-}
-
 function tarHeader(entry: SkillTarWriteEntry): Buffer {
-  const header = Buffer.alloc(TAR_BLOCK_BYTES)
-  const { name, prefix } = splitTarPath(entry.path)
-  writeField(header, 0, 100, name)
-  writeOctal(header, 100, 8, entry.executable ? 0o755 : 0o644)
-  writeOctal(header, 108, 8, 0)
-  writeOctal(header, 116, 8, 0)
-  writeOctal(header, 124, 12, entry.size)
-  writeOctal(header, 136, 12, 0)
-  header.fill(0x20, 148, 156)
-  header[156] = '0'.charCodeAt(0)
-  writeField(header, 257, 6, 'ustar')
-  writeField(header, 263, 2, '00')
-  writeField(header, 345, 155, prefix)
-  const checksum = header.reduce((sum, byte) => sum + byte, 0)
-  const checksumText = checksum.toString(8).padStart(6, '0')
-  writeField(header, 148, 8, `${checksumText}\0 `)
-  return header
+  return buildUstarEntryHeader(
+    { path: entry.path, size: entry.size, mode: entry.executable ? 0o755 : 0o644, type: 'file' },
+    'skill-package'
+  )
 }
 
 async function writeWithBackpressure(stream: Writable, bytes: Buffer): Promise<void> {
@@ -127,7 +85,7 @@ export async function writeSkillTarGzip(
       } else {
         throw new Error('skill-package-source-required')
       }
-      const padding = (TAR_BLOCK_BYTES - (entry.size % TAR_BLOCK_BYTES)) % TAR_BLOCK_BYTES
+      const padding = ustarPaddingBytes(entry.size)
       if (padding > 0) {
         await writeWithBackpressure(gzip, Buffer.alloc(padding))
       }
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/orcad-host-transport.ts b/src/main/ssh/orcad-host-transport.ts
index d0248558514..d508addc801 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/orcad-host-transport.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/orcad-host-transport.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
 import type { SshTarget } from '../../shared/ssh-types'
+import type { WslOrcadHostTarget } from '../wsl/wsl-orcad-host-target'
 import type { RemoteInstallTransport } from './remote-install-transport'
 
+/** The host an orcad transport reaches; only `id` and `label` mean the same for every kind. */
+export type OrcadHostTarget = SshTarget | WslOrcadHostTarget
+
+export function isWslOrcadHostTarget(target: OrcadHostTarget): target is WslOrcadHostTarget {
+  return 'kind' in target && target.kind === 'wsl'
+}
+
 /** The host connection orcad deploy, activation, serving and lifecycle code runs over. */
 export type OrcadHostTransport = RemoteInstallTransport & {
   /** Keys per-host state (remote context, wake dedupe) to the target it reaches. */
-  getTarget(): SshTarget
+  getTarget(): OrcadHostTarget
 }
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/orcad-stdio-bridge.ts b/src/main/ssh/orcad-stdio-bridge.ts
index 7be1463ffac..d4ede1cc5a2 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/orcad-stdio-bridge.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/orcad-stdio-bridge.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   type OrcadStdioBridgeMode
 } from './orcad-stdio-bridge-script'
 import { OrcadStdioBridgeDecoder, type OrcadStdioBridgeSignal } from './orcad-stdio-bridge-stream'
-import type { OrcadHostTransport } from './orcad-host-transport'
+import { isWslOrcadHostTarget, type OrcadHostTransport } from './orcad-host-transport'
 import type { RemoteCommandChannel } from './remote-install-transport'
 import { isWindowsRemoteHost } from './ssh-remote-platform'
 import { detectRemoteHostPlatform } from './ssh-remote-platform-detection'
@@ -37,8 +37,13 @@ export async function resolveOrcadStdioBridge(
   if (!isWindowsRemoteHost(host)) {
     return { command: orcadPosixStdioBridgeCommand(port), mode: 'raw', wrapCommand: true }
   }
+  const target = conn.getTarget()
+  // A WSL distro is a Linux host, so a Windows answer from it is not one this path can serve.
+  if (isWslOrcadHostTarget(target)) {
+    throw new OrcadHostUnsupportedError('This WSL distro reported a Windows host platform.')
+  }
   // Stages this client's pinned node.exe and host script, which an app update may have changed.
-  const context = await resolveOrcadRemoteContext(conn.getTarget(), conn, undefined, host)
+  const context = await resolveOrcadRemoteContext(target, conn, undefined, host)
   return {
     command: orcadWindowsHomeOpCommand(host, context.remoteHome, 'stdio-bridge', [String(port)]),
     mode: 'base64',
diff --git a/src/main/ustar-entry-header.ts b/src/main/ustar-entry-header.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8f2b474987c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/ustar-entry-header.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+export const USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES = 512
+
+export type UstarEntry = {
+  path: string
+  size: number
+  mode: number
+  type: 'file' | 'directory'
+}
+
+/** `errorPrefix` keeps each caller's failure codes (`<prefix>-tar-path-limit`). */
+function writeField(
+  header: Buffer,
+  offset: number,
+  length: number,
+  value: string,
+  errorPrefix: string
+): void {
+  const bytes = Buffer.from(value, 'utf8')
+  if (bytes.length > length) {
+    throw new Error(`${errorPrefix}-tar-path-limit`)
+  }
+  bytes.copy(header, offset)
+}
+
+function writeOctal(
+  header: Buffer,
+  offset: number,
+  length: number,
+  value: number,
+  errorPrefix: string
+): void {
+  const encoded = value.toString(8).padStart(length - 1, '0')
+  if (encoded.length > length - 1) {
+    throw new Error(`${errorPrefix}-tar-number-limit`)
+  }
+  writeField(header, offset, length, `${encoded}\0`, errorPrefix)
+}
+
+function splitTarPath(path: string, errorPrefix: string): { name: string; prefix: string } {
+  if (Buffer.byteLength(path, 'utf8') <= 100) {
+    return { name: path, prefix: '' }
+  }
+  for (let index = path.lastIndexOf('/'); index > 0; index = path.lastIndexOf('/', index - 1)) {
+    const prefix = path.slice(0, index)
+    const name = path.slice(index + 1)
+    if (Buffer.byteLength(prefix, 'utf8') <= 155 && Buffer.byteLength(name, 'utf8') <= 100) {
+      return { name, prefix }
+    }
+  }
+  throw new Error(`${errorPrefix}-tar-path-limit`)
+}
+
+/** A ustar header with root ownership and a zero mtime, so equal inputs archive identically. */
+export function buildUstarEntryHeader(entry: UstarEntry, errorPrefix: string): Buffer {
+  const header = Buffer.alloc(USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES)
+  const { name, prefix } = splitTarPath(entry.path, errorPrefix)
+  writeField(header, 0, 100, name, errorPrefix)
+  writeOctal(header, 100, 8, entry.mode & 0o7777, errorPrefix)
+  writeOctal(header, 108, 8, 0, errorPrefix)
+  writeOctal(header, 116, 8, 0, errorPrefix)
+  writeOctal(header, 124, 12, entry.type === 'directory' ? 0 : entry.size, errorPrefix)
+  writeOctal(header, 136, 12, 0, errorPrefix)
+  header.fill(0x20, 148, 156)
+  header[156] = (entry.type === 'directory' ? '5' : '0').charCodeAt(0)
+  writeField(header, 257, 6, 'ustar', errorPrefix)
+  writeField(header, 263, 2, '00', errorPrefix)
+  writeField(header, 345, 155, prefix, errorPrefix)
+  const checksum = header.reduce((sum, byte) => sum + byte, 0)
+  const checksumText = checksum.toString(8).padStart(6, '0')
+  writeField(header, 148, 8, `${checksumText}\0 `, errorPrefix)
+  return header
+}
+
+/** Zero bytes that round `size` up to a whole block. */
+export function ustarPaddingBytes(size: number): number {
+  return (USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES - (size % USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES)) % USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES
+}
diff --git a/src/main/wsl/wsl-command-channel.ts b/src/main/wsl/wsl-command-channel.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..051f2c09559
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/wsl/wsl-command-channel.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import { Duplex } from 'node:stream'
+import type { PipedChildProcess } from '@orca/process-host/process-spec'
+import type { RemoteCommandChannel } from '../ssh/remote-install-transport'
+
+/**
+ * A `wsl.exe` child shaped like an SSH exec channel: reads are its stdout, writes its stdin.
+ * Emits `exit` with the code, then `close` once its stdio is gone — never `close` first.
+ */
+export function wrapWslCommandProcess(child: PipedChildProcess): RemoteCommandChannel {
+  // Why emitClose off: like ssh2, `close` comes once, after the exit status, from the child.
+  const duplex = new Duplex({
+    emitClose: false,
+    read() {
+      child.stdout.resume()
+    },
+    write(chunk: Buffer, _encoding, done) {
+      child.stdin.write(chunk, done)
+    },
+    final(done) {
+      // EOF must reach the guest reader, not just this facade.
+      child.stdin.end(done)
+    }
+  })
+  let exitCode: number | null = null
+  const onStdoutData = (chunk: Buffer): void => {
+    // Backpressure: pause wsl.exe instead of buffering a slow consumer's lag in main.
+    if (!duplex.push(chunk)) {
+      child.stdout.pause()
+    }
+  }
+  const onExit = (code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null): void => {
+    exitCode = code
+    duplex.emit('exit', code, signal)
+  }
+  const onClose = (code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null): void => {
+    cleanup()
+    duplex.emit('close', exitCode ?? code, signal)
+  }
+  const onError = (error: Error): void => {
+    duplex.destroy(error)
+  }
+  // A guest that exits before draining stdin is reported by its exit code, not EPIPE.
+  const ignoreStreamError = (): void => {}
+  const cleanup = (): void => {
+    child.stdout.off('data', onStdoutData)
+    child.off('exit', onExit)
+    child.off('close', onClose)
+    child.off('error', onError)
+    child.stdout.off('error', onError)
+  }
+  child.stdout.on('data', onStdoutData)
+  child.stdout.on('end', () => duplex.push(null))
+  child.stdout.on('error', onError)
+  child.stdin.on('error', ignoreStreamError)
+  // Consumers add their own; this only keeps an unread stderr's error from crashing main.
+  child.stderr.on('error', ignoreStreamError)
+  child.on('exit', onExit)
+  child.on('close', onClose)
+  child.on('error', onError)
+  Object.assign(duplex, {
+    stdin: child.stdin,
+    stderr: child.stderr,
+    close: () => {
+      if (child.exitCode === null && child.signalCode === null) {
+        child.kill()
+      }
+    }
+  })
+  // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: `stdin`, `stderr` and `close` were assigned above and `exit`/`close` are emitted by the listeners.
+  return duplex as unknown as RemoteCommandChannel
+}
diff --git a/src/main/wsl/wsl-directory-upload.test.ts b/src/main/wsl/wsl-directory-upload.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a7240ac3823
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/wsl/wsl-directory-upload.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process'
+import {
+  chmodSync,
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readdirSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  rmSync,
+  statSync,
+  writeFileSync
+} from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { spawnProcess } from '@orca/process-host'
+import { uploadDirectoryIntoWsl, wslGuestSourcePath } from './wsl-directory-upload'
+import { createWslOrcadHostTransport } from './wsl-orcad-host-transport'
+
+function hasSha256sum(): boolean {
+  try {
+    execFileSync('sh', ['-c', 'command -v sha256sum'], { stdio: 'ignore' })
+    return true
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
+describe('wslGuestSourcePath', () => {
+  const originalPlatform = process.platform
+  afterEach(() => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', { configurable: true, value: originalPlatform })
+  })
+
+  it('maps a drive-letter directory onto its /mnt automount', () => {
+    expect(wslGuestSourcePath('C:\\Users\\me\\orcad', 'Ubuntu')).toBe('/mnt/c/Users/me/orcad')
+  })
+
+  it('leaves a source with no drive letter to the tar stream', () => {
+    expect(wslGuestSourcePath('/opt/orcad', 'Ubuntu')).toBeNull()
+    expect(wslGuestSourcePath('\\\\server\\share\\orcad', 'Ubuntu')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('reads the same distro directly but not another distro', () => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', { configurable: true, value: 'win32' })
+    expect(wslGuestSourcePath('\\\\wsl.localhost\\ubuntu\\home\\me\\o', 'Ubuntu')).toBe(
+      '/home/me/o'
+    )
+    expect(wslGuestSourcePath('\\\\wsl.localhost\\Debian\\home\\me\\o', 'Ubuntu')).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
+
+// Runs the generated scripts through a real POSIX shell standing in for the distro.
+describe.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32' || !hasSha256sum())('uploadDirectoryIntoWsl', () => {
+  let root: string
+  let source: string
+  let dest: string
+  let commands: string[]
+
+  const transport = createWslOrcadHostTransport({
+    target: { kind: 'wsl', id: 'env-test', distro: 'test', label: 'test' },
+    spawn: (spec) => {
+      const args = spec.args ?? []
+      const command = args[args.indexOf('--exec') + 3] ?? ''
+      commands.push(command)
+      return spawnProcess({ program: 'sh', args: ['-c', command], stdio: 'pipe' })
+    }
+  })
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'wsl-upload-'))
+    source = join(root, 'source')
+    dest = join(root, 'dest')
+    commands = []
+    mkdirSync(join(source, 'bin'), { recursive: true })
+    mkdirSync(join(source, 'empty'), { recursive: true })
+    writeFileSync(join(source, 'bin', 'tool'), '#!/bin/sh\necho ran\n')
+    chmodSync(join(source, 'bin', 'tool'), 0o755)
+    writeFileSync(join(source, "it's here.txt"), 'quoted')
+    writeFileSync(join(source, 'large.bin'), Buffer.alloc(3 * 1024 * 1024 + 7, 9))
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  })
+
+  const expectUploaded = (): void => {
+    expect(readFileSync(join(dest, 'bin', 'tool'), 'utf8')).toBe('#!/bin/sh\necho ran\n')
+    expect(statSync(join(dest, 'bin', 'tool')).mode & 0o111).not.toBe(0)
+    expect(readFileSync(join(dest, "it's here.txt"), 'utf8')).toBe('quoted')
+    expect(statSync(join(dest, 'large.bin')).size).toBe(3 * 1024 * 1024 + 7)
+    expect(existsSync(join(dest, 'empty'))).toBe(true)
+    expect(readdirSync(dest).filter((name) => name.startsWith('.orca-upload-'))).toEqual([])
+  }
+
+  it('streams a tar when the guest cannot see the source', async () => {
+    await uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(transport, source, null, dest)
+    expectUploaded()
+    expect(commands.some((command) => command.includes('tar -x'))).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('copies from the guest-visible path without a tar stream', async () => {
+    await uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(transport, source, source, dest)
+    expectUploaded()
+    expect(commands.some((command) => command.includes('tar -x'))).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to the tar stream when the mount is missing', async () => {
+    await uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(transport, source, join(root, 'not-mounted'), dest)
+    expectUploaded()
+    expect(commands.some((command) => command.includes('tar -x'))).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('merges into an existing destination, replacing changed files', async () => {
+    mkdirSync(dest, { recursive: true })
+    writeFileSync(join(dest, 'keep.txt'), 'kept')
+    writeFileSync(join(dest, 'large.bin'), 'stale')
+    await uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(transport, source, null, dest)
+    expectUploaded()
+    expect(readFileSync(join(dest, 'keep.txt'), 'utf8')).toBe('kept')
+  })
+
+  it('refuses a staged copy whose bytes differ from the Windows-side digests', async () => {
+    const other = join(root, 'other')
+    execFileSync('cp', ['-R', source, other])
+    writeFileSync(join(other, 'large.bin'), 'tampered')
+    await expect(uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(transport, source, other, dest)).rejects.toThrow(
+      /digest check/
+    )
+    expect(existsSync(join(dest, 'large.bin'))).toBe(false)
+    expect(readdirSync(dest).filter((name) => name.startsWith('.orca-upload-'))).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('writes a file atomically through stdin', async () => {
+    await transport.writeFile(join(dest, 'nested', 'record.json'), '{"ok":true}')
+    expect(readFileSync(join(dest, 'nested', 'record.json'), 'utf8')).toBe('{"ok":true}')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/wsl/wsl-directory-upload.ts b/src/main/wsl/wsl-directory-upload.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b53189c9179
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/wsl/wsl-directory-upload.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
+/**
+ * Upload a Windows directory into a WSL distro (design D1). The guest copies it straight off its
+ * `/mnt/<drive>` mount when it can see the source, and otherwise reads a tar from stdin. Either way
+ * the tree is staged inside the destination, checked against digests taken on the Windows side,
+ * then renamed into place file by file under `flock`, so no reader sees a partially written file.
+ */
+import { createHash, randomBytes } from 'node:crypto'
+import { constants } from 'node:fs'
+import { open } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { Readable } from 'node:stream'
+import { parseWslUncPath, toLinuxPath } from '../../shared/wsl-paths'
+import type { RemoteInstallTransport } from '../ssh/remote-install-transport'
+import { shellEscape } from '../ssh/ssh-connection-utils'
+import { execCommand } from '../ssh/ssh-relay-exec-command'
+import { RELAY_DEPLOY_TIMEOUT_MS } from '../ssh/ssh-relay-deploy-timing'
+import { getRemoteHostPlatform } from '../ssh/ssh-remote-platform'
+import { collectLocalUploadPlan, type LocalUploadPlan } from '../ssh/system-ssh-file-transfer'
+import { buildUstarEntryHeader, USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES, ustarPaddingBytes } from '../ustar-entry-header'
+
+export const WSL_GUEST_SOURCE_UNAVAILABLE = 'ORCA_WSL_GUEST_SOURCE_UNAVAILABLE'
+export const WSL_UPLOAD_PROMOTED = 'ORCA_WSL_UPLOAD_PROMOTED'
+
+type UploadOptions = { signal?: AbortSignal }
+
+/** Where the guest sees `localDir`, or null when only a stream can carry it there. */
+export function wslGuestSourcePath(localDir: string, distro: string): string | null {
+  const unc = process.platform === 'win32' ? parseWslUncPath(localDir) : null
+  if (unc) {
+    // Another distro's files are not mounted in this one.
+    return unc.distro.toLowerCase() === distro.toLowerCase() ? unc.linuxPath : null
+  }
+  // Drive letters only: a UNC share or mapped network drive has no /mnt automount.
+  return /^[A-Za-z]:[\\/]/.test(localDir) ? toLinuxPath(localDir) : null
+}
+
+// Success paths never `exit`: execCommand's stdout fence must still print its end marker.
+function stageFromGuestPathCommand(source: string, stage: string): string {
+  return [
+    `source=${shellEscape(source)}; stage=${shellEscape(stage)}`,
+    'if [ -d "$source" ]; then',
+    '  { mkdir -p "$stage" && cp -R "$source/." "$stage/"; } || { rm -rf "$stage"; false; }',
+    'else',
+    `  echo ${WSL_GUEST_SOURCE_UNAVAILABLE}`,
+    'fi'
+  ].join('\n')
+}
+
+function stageFromTarCommand(stage: string): string {
+  return [
+    `stage=${shellEscape(stage)}`,
+    // `-o`: files belong to whoever extracts them, not to the archive's uid 0.
+    '{ mkdir -p "$stage" && tar -x -o -f - -C "$stage"; } || { rm -rf "$stage"; false; }'
+  ].join('\n')
+}
+
+/** Reads the digest manifest from stdin; the stage is removed whatever the outcome. */
+function verifyAndPromoteCommand(stage: string, dest: string, hasFiles: boolean): string {
+  return [
+    `stage=${shellEscape(stage)}; dest=${shellEscape(dest)}`,
+    `trap 'rm -rf "$stage"' EXIT`,
+    // GNU sha256sum rejects an empty manifest.
+    ...(hasFiles
+      ? [
+          '(cd "$stage" && sha256sum -c - >/dev/null) ||',
+          "  { echo 'staged upload failed its digest check' >&2; exit 1; }"
+        ]
+      : []),
+    // Serialises concurrent uploads into one destination; each rename is atomic regardless.
+    'if command -v flock >/dev/null 2>&1; then exec 9<"$dest" && flock 9 || exit 1; fi',
+    '(cd "$stage" && find . -mindepth 1 -type d) | while IFS= read -r p; do',
+    '  mkdir -p "$dest/$p" || exit 1',
+    'done || exit 1',
+    '(cd "$stage" && find . ! -type d) | while IFS= read -r p; do',
+    '  mv -f "$stage/$p" "$dest/$p" || exit 1',
+    'done || exit 1',
+    `echo ${WSL_UPLOAD_PROMOTED}`
+  ].join('\n')
+}
+
+function assertManifestSafePath(path: string): void {
+  // sha256sum escapes these, and the line-based promote loop would split on a newline.
+  if (/[\n\r\\]/.test(path)) {
+    throw new Error(`Unsupported upload path: ${JSON.stringify(path)}`)
+  }
+}
+
+async function openPlannedFile(localPath: string): ReturnType<typeof open> {
+  const handle = await open(localPath, constants.O_RDONLY | (constants.O_NOFOLLOW ?? 0))
+  const stat = await handle.stat()
+  if (!stat.isFile()) {
+    await handle.close()
+    throw new Error(`Unsupported upload source: ${localPath}`)
+  }
+  return handle
+}
+
+async function digestManifest(plan: LocalUploadPlan, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<string> {
+  const lines: string[] = []
+  for (const file of plan.files) {
+    signal?.throwIfAborted()
+    assertManifestSafePath(file.remotePath)
+    const handle = await openPlannedFile(file.localPath)
+    try {
+      const hash = createHash('sha256')
+      for await (const chunk of handle.createReadStream({ autoClose: false })) {
+        hash.update(chunk)
+      }
+      lines.push(`${hash.digest('hex')}  ${file.remotePath}\n`)
+    } finally {
+      await handle.close()
+    }
+  }
+  return lines.join('')
+}
+
+const TAR_ERROR_PREFIX = 'wsl-upload'
+
+async function* tarStream(plan: LocalUploadPlan, signal?: AbortSignal): AsyncGenerator<Buffer> {
+  for (const directory of plan.directories) {
+    if (directory !== '.') {
+      yield buildUstarEntryHeader(
+        { path: directory, size: 0, mode: 0o755, type: 'directory' },
+        TAR_ERROR_PREFIX
+      )
+    }
+  }
+  for (const file of plan.files) {
+    signal?.throwIfAborted()
+    const handle = await openPlannedFile(file.localPath)
+    try {
+      const stat = await handle.stat()
+      // Windows has no executable bit; 0755 matches what a /mnt copy of the same file gets.
+      const mode = process.platform === 'win32' ? 0o755 : stat.mode & 0o777
+      yield buildUstarEntryHeader(
+        { path: file.remotePath, size: stat.size, mode, type: 'file' },
+        TAR_ERROR_PREFIX
+      )
+      let written = 0
+      if (stat.size > 0) {
+        for await (const chunk of handle.createReadStream({
+          autoClose: false,
+          start: 0,
+          end: stat.size - 1
+        })) {
+          written += chunk.length
+          yield chunk
+        }
+      }
+      // A file that shrank mid-read would shift every later header.
+      if (written !== stat.size) {
+        throw new Error(`File changed during upload: ${file.localPath}`)
+      }
+      const padding = ustarPaddingBytes(stat.size)
+      if (padding > 0) {
+        yield Buffer.alloc(padding)
+      }
+    } finally {
+      await handle.close()
+    }
+  }
+  yield Buffer.alloc(USTAR_BLOCK_BYTES * 2)
+}
+
+/** `guestSource` is `wslGuestSourcePath(localDir, distro)`: where the guest may read it directly. */
+export async function uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(
+  conn: RemoteInstallTransport,
+  localDir: string,
+  guestSource: string | null,
+  remoteDir: string,
+  options?: UploadOptions
+): Promise<void> {
+  const signal = options?.signal
+  const plan = await collectLocalUploadPlan(
+    localDir,
+    '.',
+    getRemoteHostPlatform('linux-x64'),
+    signal
+  )
+  const manifest = await digestManifest(plan, signal)
+  const stage = `${remoteDir.replace(/\/+$/, '')}/.orca-upload-${randomBytes(8).toString('hex')}`
+  // Why the deploy bound: a runtime tree over a cold distro outlasts the 30 s probe default.
+  const execOptions = { signal, timeoutMs: RELAY_DEPLOY_TIMEOUT_MS }
+  const stagedFromGuest =
+    guestSource !== null &&
+    (await execCommand(conn, stageFromGuestPathCommand(guestSource, stage), execOptions)).trim() !==
+      WSL_GUEST_SOURCE_UNAVAILABLE
+  if (!stagedFromGuest) {
+    await execCommand(conn, stageFromTarCommand(stage), {
+      ...execOptions,
+      stdin: Readable.from(tarStream(plan, signal))
+    })
+  }
+  const promoted = await execCommand(
+    conn,
+    verifyAndPromoteCommand(stage, remoteDir, plan.files.length > 0),
+    {
+      ...execOptions,
+      stdin: Readable.from([Buffer.from(manifest)])
+    }
+  )
+  if (promoted.trim().split('\n').at(-1) !== WSL_UPLOAD_PROMOTED) {
+    throw new Error(`The distro did not confirm the upload into ${remoteDir}`)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-target.ts b/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-target.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..edfde1e20b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-target.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+/**
+ * The identity a WSL distro's orcad transport reports; `kind` is absent from `SshTarget`, which is
+ * what tells the two apart. `id` and `distro` are the WSL deployment record's `environmentId` and
+ * `distro`; `label` is the environment's name.
+ */
+export type WslOrcadHostTarget = {
+  kind: 'wsl'
+  id: string
+  distro: string
+  label: string
+}
diff --git a/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-transport.test.ts b/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-transport.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2a3ff6eef89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-transport.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+import { EventEmitter } from 'node:events'
+import { PassThrough, Readable } from 'node:stream'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import type { PipedChildProcess, PipedProcessSpec } from '@orca/process-host/process-spec'
+import { execCommand } from '../ssh/ssh-relay-exec-command'
+import { isWslOrcadHostTarget } from '../ssh/orcad-host-transport'
+import { createWslOrcadHostTransport } from './wsl-orcad-host-transport'
+
+type FakeChild = EventEmitter & {
+  stdin: PassThrough
+  stdout: PassThrough
+  stderr: PassThrough
+  exitCode: number | null
+  signalCode: NodeJS.Signals | null
+  kill: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>
+  received: () => Buffer
+  finish: (code: number | null, signal?: NodeJS.Signals | null) => void
+}
+
+function fakeChild(options: { spawnError?: Error } = {}): FakeChild {
+  const emitter = new EventEmitter()
+  const stdin = new PassThrough()
+  const received: Buffer[] = []
+  stdin.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => received.push(chunk))
+  const child: FakeChild = Object.assign(emitter, {
+    stdin,
+    stdout: new PassThrough(),
+    stderr: new PassThrough(),
+    exitCode: null,
+    signalCode: null,
+    kill: vi.fn(() => {
+      child.finish(null, 'SIGTERM')
+      return true
+    }),
+    received: () => Buffer.concat(received),
+    finish: (code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null = null) => {
+      child.exitCode = code
+      child.signalCode = signal
+      child.emit('exit', code, signal)
+      child.stdout.end()
+      child.stderr.end()
+      setImmediate(() => child.emit('close', code, signal))
+    }
+  })
+  process.nextTick(() =>
+    options.spawnError ? child.emit('error', options.spawnError) : child.emit('spawn')
+  )
+  return child
+}
+
+function transportWith(children: FakeChild[]) {
+  const specs: PipedProcessSpec[] = []
+  const transport = createWslOrcadHostTransport({
+    target: { kind: 'wsl', id: 'env-1', distro: 'Ubuntu-24.04', label: 'My Ubuntu' },
+    spawn: (spec) => {
+      specs.push(spec)
+      const next = children.shift()
+      if (!next) {
+        throw new Error('no fake child left')
+      }
+      // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: the channel reads only the streams, exit state, kill and events the fake provides.
+      return next as unknown as PipedChildProcess
+    }
+  })
+  return { transport, specs }
+}
+
+describe('createWslOrcadHostTransport', () => {
+  it('runs the command through wsl.exe --exec sh -c in the chosen distro', async () => {
+    const child = fakeChild()
+    const { transport, specs } = transportWith([child])
+    const channel = await transport.exec('echo $HOME')
+    expect(specs[0]?.program).toMatch(/wsl(\.exe)?$/i)
+    expect(specs[0]?.args).toEqual(['-d', 'Ubuntu-24.04', '--exec', 'sh', '-c', 'echo $HOME'])
+    expect(specs[0]?.env?.WSL_UTF8).toBe('1')
+    channel.close()
+  })
+
+  it('emits exit before close and reports the exit code on both', async () => {
+    const child = fakeChild()
+    const { transport } = transportWith([child])
+    const channel = await transport.exec('true')
+    const events: string[] = []
+    channel.on('exit', (code: number) => events.push(`exit:${code}`))
+    const closed = new Promise<void>((resolve) =>
+      channel.on('close', (code: number) => {
+        events.push(`close:${code}`)
+        resolve()
+      })
+    )
+    channel.resume()
+    child.finish(0)
+    await closed
+    expect(events).toEqual(['exit:0', 'close:0'])
+  })
+
+  it('pipes stdin to the child and ends it', async () => {
+    const child = fakeChild()
+    const { transport } = transportWith([child])
+    const ended = new Promise<void>((resolve) => child.stdin.on('end', resolve))
+    const pending = execCommand(transport, 'cat >/dev/null', {
+      stdin: Readable.from([Buffer.from('payload-'), Buffer.from('bytes')])
+    })
+    await ended
+    child.finish(0)
+    await pending
+    expect(child.received().toString()).toBe('payload-bytes')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a nonzero exit with its stderr', async () => {
+    const child = fakeChild()
+    const { transport } = transportWith([child])
+    const pending = execCommand(transport, 'false')
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve))
+    child.stderr.write('boom\n')
+    child.finish(3)
+    await expect(pending).rejects.toThrow(/exit 3[\s\S]*boom/)
+  })
+
+  it('refuses an already-aborted exec without spawning', async () => {
+    const { transport, specs } = transportWith([])
+    const controller = new AbortController()
+    controller.abort()
+    await expect(transport.exec('true', { signal: controller.signal })).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      name: 'AbortError'
+    })
+    expect(specs).toHaveLength(0)
+  })
+
+  it('kills the child when an exec is aborted', async () => {
+    const child = fakeChild()
+    const { transport } = transportWith([child])
+    const controller = new AbortController()
+    const pending = execCommand(transport, 'sleep 300', { signal: controller.signal })
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve))
+    controller.abort()
+    await expect(pending).rejects.toMatchObject({ name: 'AbortError' })
+    expect(child.kill).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it('rejects exec when wsl.exe cannot be started', async () => {
+    const { transport } = transportWith([fakeChild({ spawnError: new Error('spawn ENOENT') })])
+    await expect(transport.exec('true')).rejects.toThrow('spawn ENOENT')
+  })
+
+  it('streams large stdout intact under backpressure', async () => {
+    const child = fakeChild()
+    const { transport } = transportWith([child])
+    const channel = await transport.exec('cat big')
+    const chunk = Buffer.alloc(1024 * 1024, 7)
+    const received: Buffer[] = []
+    const closed = new Promise<void>((resolve) => channel.on('close', () => resolve()))
+    channel.on('data', (data: Buffer) => received.push(data))
+    for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
+      child.stdout.write(chunk)
+    }
+    child.finish(0)
+    await closed
+    expect(Buffer.concat(received).length).toBe(20 * 1024 * 1024)
+  })
+
+  it('reports a stable WSL identity and never claims the system SSH transport', () => {
+    const { transport } = transportWith([])
+    const target = transport.getTarget()
+    expect(target).toEqual({
+      kind: 'wsl',
+      id: 'env-1',
+      distro: 'Ubuntu-24.04',
+      label: 'My Ubuntu'
+    })
+    expect(isWslOrcadHostTarget(target)).toBe(true)
+    expect(transport.usesSystemSshTransport()).toBe(false)
+    expect(transport.getConnectGeneration()).toBe(transport.getConnectGeneration())
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-transport.ts b/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-transport.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7f8e59c6ede
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/wsl/wsl-orcad-host-transport.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import { once } from 'node:events'
+import { spawnProcess } from '@orca/process-host'
+import type { PipedProcessSpawner } from '@orca/process-host/process-spec'
+import { buildWslExecArgs } from '../../shared/wsl-login-shell-command'
+import { commandLineLength, MAX_COMMAND_LINE_CHARS } from '../../shared/windows-command-line-budget'
+import type { OrcadHostTransport } from '../ssh/orcad-host-transport'
+import type { RemoteCommandChannel } from '../ssh/remote-install-transport'
+import { createSshOperationAbortError, type SshExecOptions } from '../ssh/ssh-connection-utils'
+import { writeStringViaExecStdin } from '../ssh/ssh-exec-stdin-file-transfer'
+import { resolveWslInteropSpawnCwd } from '../wsl-interop-spawn-directory'
+import { wrapWslCommandProcess } from './wsl-command-channel'
+import { uploadDirectoryIntoWsl, wslGuestSourcePath } from './wsl-directory-upload'
+import { resolveWslExecutablePath } from './wsl-executable-path'
+import type { WslOrcadHostTarget } from './wsl-orcad-host-target'
+
+export type WslOrcadHostTransport = OrcadHostTransport & {
+  getTarget(): WslOrcadHostTarget
+}
+
+type WslOrcadHostTransportOptions = {
+  target: WslOrcadHostTarget
+  /** Test seam; production spawns through process-host. */
+  spawn?: PipedProcessSpawner
+}
+
+/**
+ * orcad's host connection to a WSL distro: every exec is its own `wsl.exe --exec sh -c` child.
+ * The distro is never a Windows host and has no SFTP, so every transfer runs over exec.
+ */
+export function createWslOrcadHostTransport(
+  options: WslOrcadHostTransportOptions
+): WslOrcadHostTransport {
+  const spawn = options.spawn ?? spawnProcess
+  const { target } = options
+  const transport: WslOrcadHostTransport = {
+    // `wrapCommand` is SSH-only: there is no login shell between wsl.exe and `sh -c`.
+    async exec(command: string, execOptions?: SshExecOptions): Promise<RemoteCommandChannel> {
+      if (execOptions?.signal?.aborted) {
+        throw createSshOperationAbortError()
+      }
+      const program = resolveWslExecutablePath()
+      const args = buildWslExecArgs(target.distro, ['sh', '-c', command])
+      if (commandLineLength([program, ...args]) > MAX_COMMAND_LINE_CHARS) {
+        throw new Error('WSL command exceeds the Windows command-line limit')
+      }
+      const child = spawn({
+        program,
+        args,
+        cwd: resolveWslInteropSpawnCwd(),
+        // Why WSL_UTF8: otherwise wsl.exe writes its own errors as UTF-16LE.
+        env: { ...process.env, WSL_UTF8: '1' }
+      })
+      const channel = wrapWslCommandProcess(child)
+      // Like an SSH channel open: a child that never started rejects here, not as a stream error.
+      const spawnError = (error: Error): void => {
+        channel.destroy(error)
+      }
+      channel.on('error', spawnError)
+      try {
+        await once(child, 'spawn')
+      } finally {
+        channel.off('error', spawnError)
+      }
+      return channel
+    },
+    usesSystemSshTransport: () => false,
+    // One transport, one wsl.exe lane: nothing underneath is ever replaced.
+    getConnectGeneration: () => 0,
+    getTarget: () => target,
+    writeFile: (remotePath, contents, fileOptions) =>
+      writeStringViaExecStdin(transport, remotePath, contents, { signal: fileOptions?.signal }),
+    uploadDirectory: (localDir, remoteDir, fileOptions) =>
+      uploadDirectoryIntoWsl(
+        transport,
+        localDir,
+        wslGuestSourcePath(localDir, target.distro),
+        remoteDir,
+        { signal: fileOptions?.signal }
+      )
+  }
+  return transport
+}