diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index c96ac3a786..ed594f8cb9 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -152,8 +152,19 @@ echo "   Installing studio dependencies..."
 run_quiet "pip install studio" pip install -r "$SCRIPT_DIR/studio/backend/requirements/studio.txt"
 echo "✅ Python dependencies installed"
 
+# ── 7. WSL: pre-install GGUF build dependencies ──
+# On WSL, sudo requires a password and can't be entered during GGUF export
+# (runs in a non-interactive subprocess). Install build deps here instead.
+if grep -qi microsoft /proc/version 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "⚠️  WSL detected — installing build dependencies for GGUF export..."
+    echo "   You may be prompted for your password."
+    sudo apt-get update -y
+    sudo apt-get install -y build-essential cmake curl git libcurl4-openssl-dev
+    echo "✅ GGUF build dependencies installed"
+fi
 
-# ── 7. Add shell alias ──
+# ── 8. Add shell alias ──
 # Note: venv activation does NOT persist across terminal sessions.
 # This alias hardcodes the venv python path so users don't need to activate.
 echo ""
diff --git a/studio/backend/core/export/export.py b/studio/backend/core/export/export.py
index 2ee05090f3..da5b11c60d 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/export/export.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/export/export.py
@@ -18,6 +18,45 @@ from core.inference import get_inference_backend
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+
+def _is_wsl():
+    """Detect if running under Windows Subsystem for Linux."""
+    try:
+        return "microsoft" in open("/proc/version").read().lower()
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
+def _apply_wsl_sudo_patch():
+    """On WSL, monkey-patch do_we_need_sudo() to return False.
+
+    WSL doesn't have passwordless sudo, and do_we_need_sudo() runs
+    `sudo apt-get update` which hangs waiting for a stdin password
+    inside a non-interactive subprocess. setup.sh pre-installs the
+    build dependencies on WSL, so sudo is not needed at runtime.
+    """
+    if not _is_wsl():
+        return
+
+    try:
+        import unsloth_zoo.llama_cpp as llama_cpp_module
+
+        def _wsl_do_we_need_sudo(system_type="debian"):
+            logger.info(
+                "WSL detected — skipping sudo check "
+                "(build deps pre-installed by setup.sh)"
+            )
+            return False
+
+        llama_cpp_module.do_we_need_sudo = _wsl_do_we_need_sudo
+        logger.info(
+            "Applied WSL sudo patch to "
+            "unsloth_zoo.llama_cpp.do_we_need_sudo"
+        )
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning(f"Could not apply WSL sudo patch: {e}")
+
+
 # Model card template
 MODEL_CARD = \
 """---
@@ -353,6 +392,9 @@ class ExportBackend:
                     os.chdir(save_directory)
                     logger.info(f"Changed directory to: {save_directory}")
 
+                    # On WSL, patch out sudo check before llama.cpp build
+                    _apply_wsl_sudo_patch()
+
                     # Now save (will save in current directory)
                     self.current_model.save_pretrained_gguf(
                         "model",  # Base filename