diff --git a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch-mode-selection.test.ts b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch-mode-selection.test.ts
index 182278e6ddf..f0f40a75ff1 100644
--- a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch-mode-selection.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch-mode-selection.test.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ function cdiHostDeps(): DockerGpuPatchDeps {
     dockerCapture: vi.fn(() => JSON.stringify(["/etc/cdi"])),
     readDir: (dir: string) => (dir === "/etc/cdi" ? ["nvidia.yaml"] : null),
     readFile: (file: string) =>
-      file === "/etc/cdi/nvidia.yaml"
+      file.replace(/\\/g, "/") === "/etc/cdi/nvidia.yaml"
         ? "cdiVersion: 0.6.0\nkind: nvidia.com/gpu\ndevices:\n  - name: all\n"
         : null,
     dockerRm: vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0 })),
@@ -145,3 +145,59 @@ describe("docker-gpu-patch CDI-first mode selection (#4948)", () => {
     expect(detachedArgs).not.toContain("--gpus");
   });
 });
+
+describe("docker-gpu-patch Docker Desktop WSL mode selection (#5512)", () => {
+  it("prefers --gpus and skips CDI on Docker Desktop WSL even when CDI specs are visible", () => {
+    const dockerRun = vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0, stdout: "probe-id" }));
+    const selected = selectDockerGpuPatchMode(
+      { image: "openshell/sandbox:abc", dockerDesktopWsl: true },
+      { ...cdiHostDeps(), dockerRun },
+    );
+
+    expect(selected.mode?.kind).toBe("gpus");
+    expect(selected.attempts.map((attempt) => attempt.mode.kind)).toEqual(["gpus"]);
+    expect(dockerRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.arrayContaining(["create", "--gpus", "all"]),
+      expect.objectContaining({ ignoreError: true }),
+    );
+    expect(
+      dockerRun.mock.calls.some(([args]) => (args as readonly string[]).includes("--device")),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("passes --gpus to docker run when recreating on Docker Desktop WSL", () => {
+    const dockerCapture = vi.fn((args: readonly string[]) => {
+      if (args[0] === "ps") return "old-container-id\n";
+      if (args[0] === "inspect") return JSON.stringify([inspectFixture()]);
+      if (args[0] === "info") return JSON.stringify(["/etc/cdi"]);
+      return "";
+    });
+    const dockerRunDetached = vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0, stdout: "new-container-id\n" }));
+    const host = cdiHostDeps();
+
+    const result = recreateOpenShellDockerSandboxWithGpu(
+      { sandboxName: "alpha", timeoutSecs: 1, dockerDesktopWsl: true },
+      {
+        dockerCapture,
+        readDir: host.readDir,
+        readFile: host.readFile,
+        dockerRun: vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0, stdout: "probe-id\n" })),
+        dockerRunDetached,
+        dockerRename: vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0 })),
+        dockerStop: vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0 })),
+        dockerRm: vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0 })),
+        runOpenshell: vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0 })),
+        sleep: vi.fn(),
+        now: () => new Date("2026-05-12T00:00:00Z"),
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(result.mode.kind).toBe("gpus");
+    expect(dockerRunDetached).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.arrayContaining(["--name", "openshell-alpha", "--gpus", "all"]),
+      expect.objectContaining({ ignoreError: true }),
+    );
+    const detachedArgs = (dockerRunDetached.mock.calls[0] as unknown[])[0] as string[];
+    expect(detachedArgs).not.toContain("--device");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.test.ts b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.test.ts
index 5e7146e31e1..e95cb1c4f78 100644
--- a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.test.ts
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ describe("docker-gpu-patch", () => {
     // candidate list prefers `cdi` ahead of `--gpus all` on CDI hosts (#4948).
     const readDir = vi.fn((dirPath: string) => (dirPath === "/etc/cdi" ? ["nvidia.yaml"] : null));
     const readFile = vi.fn((filePath: string) =>
-      filePath === "/etc/cdi/nvidia.yaml"
+      filePath.replace(/\\/g, "/") === "/etc/cdi/nvidia.yaml"
         ? "cdiVersion: 0.6.0\nkind: nvidia.com/gpu\ndevices:\n  - name: all\n"
         : null,
     );
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ describe("docker-gpu-patch", () => {
       dirPath === "/var/run/cdi" ? ["nvidia.json"] : null,
     );
     const readFile = vi.fn((filePath: string) =>
-      filePath === "/var/run/cdi/nvidia.json"
+      filePath.replace(/\\/g, "/") === "/var/run/cdi/nvidia.json"
         ? JSON.stringify({ cdiVersion: "0.6.0", kind: "nvidia.com/gpu" })
         : null,
     );
diff --git a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.ts b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.ts
index e48bff8c98c..5473f310989 100644
--- a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.ts
+++ b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-patch.ts
@@ -948,11 +948,23 @@ function probeDockerGpuMode(
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Choose the first Docker GPU injection mode accepted by the runtime for the
+ * sandbox image.
+ */
 export function selectDockerGpuPatchMode(
-  options: { image: string; device?: string | null; backend?: DockerGpuPatchBackend },
+  options: {
+    image: string;
+    device?: string | null;
+    backend?: DockerGpuPatchBackend;
+    dockerDesktopWsl?: boolean;
+  },
   deps: DockerGpuPatchDeps = {},
 ): { mode: DockerGpuPatchMode | null; attempts: DockerGpuPatchModeAttempt[] } {
-  const cdiAvailable = options.backend === "jetson" ? false : dockerReportsNvidiaCdiDevices(deps);
+  const cdiAvailable =
+    options.backend === "jetson" || options.dockerDesktopWsl === true
+      ? false
+      : dockerReportsNvidiaCdiDevices(deps);
   const attempts: DockerGpuPatchModeAttempt[] = [];
   for (const mode of buildDockerGpuModeCandidates(options.device, {
     cdiAvailable,
@@ -1006,6 +1018,10 @@ export function getDockerGpuPatchFailureContext(
   return null;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Recreate an existing OpenShell Docker sandbox with the selected NVIDIA GPU
+ * access mode applied.
+ */
 export function recreateOpenShellDockerSandboxWithGpu(
   options: {
     sandboxName: string;
@@ -1014,6 +1030,7 @@ export function recreateOpenShellDockerSandboxWithGpu(
     waitForSupervisor?: boolean;
     openshellSandboxCommand?: readonly string[] | null;
     backend?: DockerGpuPatchBackend;
+    dockerDesktopWsl?: boolean;
   },
   deps: DockerGpuPatchDeps = {},
 ): DockerGpuPatchResult {
@@ -1037,7 +1054,12 @@ export function recreateOpenShellDockerSandboxWithGpu(
     if (!image) throw new Error("OpenShell sandbox container inspect did not include an image.");
 
     const selection = selectDockerGpuPatchMode(
-      { image, device: options.gpuDevice, backend: options.backend },
+      {
+        image,
+        device: options.gpuDevice,
+        backend: options.backend,
+        dockerDesktopWsl: options.dockerDesktopWsl,
+      },
       deps,
     );
     context.modeAttempts = selection.attempts;
@@ -1046,7 +1068,9 @@ export function recreateOpenShellDockerSandboxWithGpu(
       const modeMessage =
         options.backend === "jetson"
           ? "Docker did not accept the Jetson NVIDIA runtime GPU mode."
-          : "Docker did not accept --gpus, NVIDIA runtime, or CDI GPU modes.";
+          : options.dockerDesktopWsl
+            ? "Docker did not accept Docker Desktop WSL --gpus or NVIDIA runtime GPU modes."
+            : "Docker did not accept --gpus, NVIDIA runtime, or CDI GPU modes.";
       throw new Error(modeMessage);
     }
 
@@ -1172,6 +1196,10 @@ function printDockerGpuPatchCleanup(sandboxName: string): void {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Apply the Docker GPU sandbox recreation path and print actionable recovery
+ * guidance before exiting on failure.
+ */
 export function applyDockerGpuPatchOrExit(
   options: {
     sandboxName: string;
@@ -1183,6 +1211,7 @@ export function applyDockerGpuPatchOrExit(
     // `ensureApplied` fallback path would recreate the container without
     // /dev/nvmap group access.
     backend?: DockerGpuPatchBackend;
+    dockerDesktopWsl?: boolean;
     openshellSandboxCommand?: readonly string[] | null;
   },
   deps: Pick<DockerGpuPatchDeps, "runOpenshell" | "runCaptureOpenshell" | "sleep">,
diff --git a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.test.ts b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.test.ts
index 59236572e4d..9c38a3f564d 100644
--- a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.test.ts
@@ -190,6 +190,35 @@ describe("createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch composed flow", () => {
     expect(onPatchFailureExit).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("passes Docker Desktop WSL mode into the deferred recreate path", () => {
+    const deps = makeDeps();
+    const result = deferredCreateResult();
+    const recreatePatch = vi.fn(() => result);
+    const findContainerIds = vi.fn(() => ["existing-container"]);
+
+    const patch = createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch({
+      enabled: true,
+      sandboxName: "alpha",
+      timeoutSecs: 60,
+      dockerDesktopWsl: true,
+      deps,
+      overrides: {
+        findContainerIds,
+        recreatePatch,
+        waitForSupervisor: vi.fn(() => true),
+        finalizeBackup: vi.fn(() => ({ backupRemoved: true, rolledBack: false })),
+        onPatchFailureExit: vi.fn(),
+      },
+    });
+
+    patch.maybeApplyDuringCreate();
+
+    expect(recreatePatch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ dockerDesktopWsl: true, waitForSupervisor: false }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ runCaptureOpenshell: deps.runCaptureOpenshell }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("records patchError when recreate throws and exitOnPatchError reports it via printDockerGpuPatchFailureAndExit", () => {
     const deps = makeDeps();
     const recreatePatch = vi.fn(() => {
diff --git a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.ts b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.ts
index 51eb4ed0426..60158c5cf04 100644
--- a/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.ts
+++ b/src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-sandbox-create.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import { detectWslDockerDesktopStatus } from "./wsl-docker-desktop-gpu";
 
 let cachedDockerDesktopWslRuntime: boolean | null = null;
 
+/** Detect whether the current WSL Docker runtime is Docker Desktop backed. */
 export function isDockerDesktopWslRuntime(): boolean {
   if (cachedDockerDesktopWslRuntime === null) {
     cachedDockerDesktopWslRuntime = detectWslDockerDesktopStatus({}) === "docker-desktop";
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ export function isDockerDesktopWslRuntime(): boolean {
   return cachedDockerDesktopWslRuntime;
 }
 
+/** Clear the cached Docker Desktop WSL runtime probe result for tests. */
 export function resetIsDockerDesktopWslRuntimeCache(): void {
   cachedDockerDesktopWslRuntime = null;
 }
@@ -46,9 +48,11 @@ type RecreatePatchFn = typeof recreateOpenShellDockerSandboxWithGpu;
 type WaitSupervisorFn = typeof waitForOpenShellSupervisorReconnect;
 type FindContainerIdsFn = typeof findOpenShellDockerSandboxContainerIds;
 type FinalizeBackupFn = typeof finalizeDockerGpuPatchBackup;
-// Loosen the override return type from `never` to `void` so tests can pass a
-// plain `vi.fn()` mock. Production wires `printDockerGpuPatchFailureAndExit`
-// which has return type `never`; that is assignable to `void`.
+/**
+ * Loosen the override return type from `never` to `void` so tests can pass a
+ * plain `vi.fn()` mock. Production wires `printDockerGpuPatchFailureAndExit`
+ * which has return type `never`; that is assignable to `void`.
+ */
 type PatchFailureExitFn = (
   sandboxName: string,
   error: unknown,
@@ -62,6 +66,7 @@ type DockerGpuSandboxCreatePatchOptions = {
   openshellSandboxCommand?: readonly string[] | null;
   timeoutSecs: number;
   backend?: DockerGpuPatchBackend;
+  dockerDesktopWsl?: boolean;
   deps: DockerGpuSandboxCreateDeps;
   /**
    * Test seams. The production composition uses the canonical
@@ -90,11 +95,17 @@ type DockerGpuSandboxCreatePlan = {
 };
 
 export type DockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch = {
+  /** Apply the Docker GPU patch after OpenShell creates the sandbox container. */
   maybeApplyDuringCreate: () => void;
+  /** Return a user-facing create failure message when patch application failed. */
   createFailureMessage: () => string | null;
+  /** Exit through the shared patch failure diagnostics when patch application failed. */
   exitOnPatchError: () => void;
+  /** Require the patch result before continuing with GPU verification. */
   ensureApplied: () => void;
+  /** Wait for supervisor reconnect and roll back the patch when reconnect fails. */
   waitForSupervisorReconnectIfNeeded: () => void;
+  /** Return the Docker GPU injection mode selected during patch application. */
   selectedMode: () => DockerGpuPatchMode | null;
   /**
    * Print the Docker GPU readiness-failure block (including the Error-phase
@@ -114,6 +125,10 @@ export type DockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch = {
   ) => SandboxGpuProofResult;
 };
 
+/**
+ * Build the create-time Docker GPU patch hooks that recreate a sandbox once
+ * OpenShell has materialized its Docker container.
+ */
 export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
   options: DockerGpuSandboxCreatePatchOptions,
 ): DockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch {
@@ -136,9 +151,11 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
     openshellSandboxCommand: options.openshellSandboxCommand ?? null,
     timeoutSecs: options.timeoutSecs,
     backend: options.backend,
+    dockerDesktopWsl: options.dockerDesktopWsl ?? isDockerDesktopWslRuntime(),
   };
 
   return {
+    /** Apply the Docker GPU patch immediately after OpenShell creates its container. */
     maybeApplyDuringCreate() {
       if (!options.enabled || result || patchError) return;
       const containerIds = findContainerIds(options.sandboxName);
@@ -158,11 +175,13 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
       }
     },
 
+    /** Return the create-phase patch failure summary for the onboarding wait loop. */
     createFailureMessage() {
       if (!patchError) return null;
       return "Docker GPU patch failed while OpenShell sandbox create was still waiting.";
     },
 
+    /** Exit with Docker GPU patch diagnostics when the deferred create patch failed. */
     exitOnPatchError() {
       if (!patchError) return;
       onPatchFailureExit(options.sandboxName, patchError, {
@@ -171,11 +190,13 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
       });
     },
 
+    /** Apply the Docker GPU patch after create if it was not already applied. */
     ensureApplied() {
       if (!options.enabled || result) return;
       result = applyDockerGpuPatchOrExit(applyOptions, options.deps);
     },
 
+    /** Wait for supervisor reconnect and roll back the patch if reconnect fails. */
     waitForSupervisorReconnectIfNeeded() {
       if (!needsSupervisorWait) return;
       const supervisorReconnectTimeoutSecs = getDockerGpuSupervisorReconnectTimeoutSecs(
@@ -201,14 +222,7 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
         ? finalizeBackup({ result, supervisorReady }, options.deps)
         : null;
       if (supervisorReady) return;
-      const failureMessage = (() => {
-        if (!finalizeOutcome) {
-          return "OpenShell supervisor did not reconnect to the GPU-enabled container.";
-        }
-        return finalizeOutcome.rolledBack
-          ? "OpenShell supervisor did not reconnect to the GPU-enabled container; pre-patch sandbox restored."
-          : "OpenShell supervisor did not reconnect to the GPU-enabled container and rollback failed; pre-patch sandbox was NOT restored.";
-      })();
+      const failureMessage = supervisorReconnectFailureMessage(finalizeOutcome);
       onPatchFailureExit(options.sandboxName, new Error(failureMessage), {
         runCaptureOpenshell: options.deps.runCaptureOpenshell,
         dockerCapture: options.deps.dockerCapture,
@@ -223,10 +237,12 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
       });
     },
 
+    /** Return the selected Docker GPU injection mode, if the patch ran. */
     selectedMode() {
       return result?.mode ?? null;
     },
 
+    /** Print readiness diagnostics when onboarding failed after the patch was enabled. */
     printReadinessFailureIfEnabled() {
       if (!options.enabled) return;
       printDockerGpuReadinessFailure(options.sandboxName, result?.mode ?? null, {
@@ -236,6 +252,7 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
       });
     },
 
+    /** Run the sandbox GPU proof and surface Docker GPU diagnostics on failure. */
     verifyGpuOrExit(verifyDirectSandboxGpu) {
       // Before issuing GPU proof commands through `openshell sandbox exec`,
       // confirm the sandbox is still in a live phase. A sandbox that
@@ -284,6 +301,19 @@ export function createDockerGpuSandboxCreatePatch(
   };
 }
 
+/** Build the supervisor reconnect failure message from the rollback outcome. */
+function supervisorReconnectFailureMessage(
+  finalizeOutcome: { rolledBack: boolean } | null,
+): string {
+  if (!finalizeOutcome) {
+    return "OpenShell supervisor did not reconnect to the GPU-enabled container.";
+  }
+  return finalizeOutcome.rolledBack
+    ? "OpenShell supervisor did not reconnect to the GPU-enabled container; pre-patch sandbox restored."
+    : "OpenShell supervisor did not reconnect to the GPU-enabled container and rollback failed; pre-patch sandbox was NOT restored.";
+}
+
+/** Build the shared Docker GPU patch failure context used by diagnostics. */
 function buildFailureContext(
   sandboxName: string,
   result: DockerGpuPatchResult | null,
@@ -300,6 +330,7 @@ function buildFailureContext(
   };
 }
 
+/** Decide whether sandbox creation should use the Docker GPU patch flow. */
 export function shouldUseDockerGpuPatchForCreate(
   config: DockerGpuSandboxConfig,
   options: {
@@ -323,6 +354,7 @@ export function shouldUseDockerGpuPatchForCreate(
   return enabled;
 }
 
+/** Resolve the create-time Docker GPU patch plan and user-facing log message. */
 export function resolveDockerGpuSandboxCreatePlan(
   config: DockerGpuSandboxConfig,
   options: {