Cannot get /dev/dri to appear in WSL 2 for Intel Iris Xe (12th Gen i5)

[Himanth_Reddy]

Hello,

I've been trying to get Intel QSV hardware acceleration working for a Jellyfin container in Docker Desktop (on WSL 2) to stop high CPU usage and video lag.

The root problem is that the /dev/dri device is not being created inside any of my WSL 2 distributions, so Docker can't pass the GPU to the container.

When I run wsl ls -l /dev/dri in any distro (including a brand new Ubuntu Server install and Debian), I get: ls: /dev/dri: No such file or directory

This causes my Jellyfin container to fail, and without hardware acceleration, my VmmemWSL process hits >50% CPU usage and videos lag.

Then I tried to dive deeper into the problem using chatgpt, It asked me to see the Driver Version and Driver Model using Get-CimInstance Win32_VideoController | Select-Object Name, DriverVersion, DriverModel Then it returned with 

Name                                      DriverVersion     DriverModel
----                                           ----------------    -----------
Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics 32.0.101.6790

It did not give me any Driver Model

My Configuration

• OS: Windows 11 25H2

• CPU: 12th Gen Intel i5 'U' series

• GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics

• WSL Version: WSL 2 (running the Docker Desktop backend and a fresh Ubuntu Server)

• Driver Version: Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics 32.0.101.6790

This seems to be a driver-loading issue between Windows and WSL 2. Has anyone seen this with a 12th-gen Iris Xe chip and found a fix?

Thanks!

[JedG_Intel]

Hello Himanth_Reddy,

Thank you for posting on Intel Community Forum.

I've reviewed your inquiry and would like to point out that WSL2 implements GPU passthrough differently from standard Linux, you should be looking for /dev/dxg rather than /dev/dri. This is likely the core issue preventing your Intel QSV hardware acceleration from working properly.

With this in mind, I would like to clarify the following: 

1. Just double checking, Have you enabled GPU passthrough in your .wslconfig file with [wsl2] and nestedVirtualization=true?

2. Can you run wsl --update and wsl --version to ensure you have the most recent WSL2 kernel that supports GPU passthrough?

3. Can you run ls -l /dev/dxg instead of /dev/dri? In WSL2, GPUs are typically listed under /dev/dxg rather than the standard Linux /dev/dri path

4. Can you run lspci | grep VGA to see if WSL2 recognizes your Intel Iris Xe graphics

5. Are you using --device /dev/dxg instead of --device /dev/dri in your Docker run command or docker-compose file?

6. Since /dev/dxg is the correct path for WSL2, have you updated your Jellyfin container configuration to use this device path instead?

I look forward to your response.

Best regards

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hello Himanth_Reddy,

I wanted to check if you had the chance to review the questions I posted. Please let me know at your earliest convenience so that we can determine the best course of action to resolve this matter.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician