diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/diskFileSystemProvider.ts b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/diskFileSystemProvider.ts
index 530f3ea5c235d39148061e75f04707e475cc51ad..a645ac84ef03cb8c07b7c6aac2a745e1112cac20 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/diskFileSystemProvider.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/diskFileSystemProvider.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
  *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
 
 import { mkdir, open, close, read, write, fdatasync } from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
 import { promisify } from 'util';
 import { IDisposable, Disposable, toDisposable, dispose, combinedDisposable } from 'vs/base/common/lifecycle';
 import { IFileSystemProvider, FileSystemProviderCapabilities, IFileChange, IWatchOptions, IStat, FileType, FileDeleteOptions, FileOverwriteOptions, FileWriteOptions, FileOpenOptions, FileSystemProviderErrorCode, createFileSystemProviderError, FileSystemProviderError } from 'vs/platform/files/common/files';
@@ -408,22 +409,30 @@ export class DiskFileSystemProvider extends Disposable implements IFileSystemPro
 						folders: { path: string, excludes: string[] }[],
 						onChange: (changes: IDiskFileChange[]) => void,
 						onLogMessage: (msg: ILogMessage) => void,
-						verboseLogging: boolean
+						verboseLogging: boolean,
+						watcherOptions?: { [key: string]: boolean | number | string }
 					): WindowsWatcherService | UnixWatcherService | NsfwWatcherService
 				};
-
-				// Single Folder Watcher
-				if (this.recursiveFoldersToWatch.length === 1) {
-					if (isWindows) {
-						watcherImpl = WindowsWatcherService;
-					} else {
-						watcherImpl = UnixWatcherService;
+				let watcherOptions = undefined;
+
+				if (this.forcePolling()) {
+					// WSL needs a polling watcher
+					watcherImpl = UnixWatcherService;
+					watcherOptions = { usePolling: true };
+				} else {
+					// Single Folder Watcher
+					if (this.recursiveFoldersToWatch.length === 1) {
+						if (isWindows) {
+							watcherImpl = WindowsWatcherService;
+						} else {
+							watcherImpl = UnixWatcherService;
+						}
 					}
-				}
 
-				// Multi Folder Watcher
-				else {
-					watcherImpl = NsfwWatcherService;
+					// Multi Folder Watcher
+					else {
+						watcherImpl = NsfwWatcherService;
+					}
 				}
 
 				// Create and start watching
@@ -436,7 +445,8 @@ export class DiskFileSystemProvider extends Disposable implements IFileSystemPro
 						}
 						this.logService[msg.type](msg.message);
 					},
-					this.logService.getLevel() === LogLevel.Trace
+					this.logService.getLevel() === LogLevel.Trace,
+					watcherOptions
 				);
 
 				if (!this.recursiveWatcherLogLevelListener) {
@@ -504,6 +514,12 @@ export class DiskFileSystemProvider extends Disposable implements IFileSystemPro
 		return createFileSystemProviderError(error, code);
 	}
 
+
+	forcePolling(): boolean {
+		// wsl1 needs polling
+		return isLinux && /^[\.\-0-9]+-Microsoft/.test(os.release());
+	}
+
 	//#endregion
 
 	dispose(): void {
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/chokidarWatcherService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/chokidarWatcherService.ts
index db31180b5a1b9911d9899548be1884b5b49124a3..2302d222f57961698705c26d3b9d4b35ccbebf04 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/chokidarWatcherService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/chokidarWatcherService.ts
@@ -23,10 +23,6 @@ interface IWatcher {
 	stop(): any;
 }
 
-export interface IChockidarWatcherOptions {
-	pollingInterval?: number;
-}
-
 interface ExtendedWatcherRequest extends IWatcherRequest {
 	parsedPattern?: glob.ParsedPattern;
 }
@@ -40,6 +36,7 @@ export class ChokidarWatcherService implements IWatcherService {
 	private _watcherCount: number;
 
 	private _pollingInterval?: number;
+	private _usePolling?: boolean;
 	private _verboseLogging: boolean;
 
 	private spamCheckStartTime: number;
@@ -52,8 +49,9 @@ export class ChokidarWatcherService implements IWatcherService {
 	private _onLogMessage = new Emitter<ILogMessage>();
 	readonly onLogMessage: Event<ILogMessage> = this._onLogMessage.event;
 
-	public watch(options: IWatcherOptions & IChockidarWatcherOptions): Event<IDiskFileChange[]> {
+	public watch(options: IWatcherOptions): Event<IDiskFileChange[]> {
 		this._pollingInterval = options.pollingInterval;
+		this._usePolling = options.usePolling;
 		this._watchers = Object.create(null);
 		this._watcherCount = 0;
 		return this.onWatchEvent;
@@ -106,6 +104,10 @@ export class ChokidarWatcherService implements IWatcherService {
 		}
 
 		const pollingInterval = this._pollingInterval || 1000;
+		const usePolling = this._usePolling;
+		if (usePolling && this._verboseLogging) {
+			this.log(`Use polling instead of fs.watch: Polling interval ${pollingInterval} ms`);
+		}
 
 		const watcherOpts: chokidar.IOptions = {
 			ignoreInitial: true,
@@ -113,6 +115,7 @@ export class ChokidarWatcherService implements IWatcherService {
 			followSymlinks: true, // this is the default of chokidar and supports file events through symlinks
 			interval: pollingInterval, // while not used in normal cases, if any error causes chokidar to fallback to polling, increase its intervals
 			binaryInterval: pollingInterval,
+			usePolling: usePolling,
 			disableGlobbing: true // fix https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/4586
 		};
 
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcher.ts b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcher.ts
index fa5d4b23335b086d6af98333ce3b0df140a44df7..fc87e15803a33e880dca077d9027af9bce0a28de 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcher.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcher.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ export interface IWatcherRequest {
 }
 
 export interface IWatcherOptions {
+	pollingInterval?: number;
+	usePolling?: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface IWatcherService {
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcherService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcherService.ts
index 887932e9e714fda9d62f06260877a89cab63ad7b..202b505d53a54df279d2eef0860677649ed2104e 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcherService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcherService.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { Client } from 'vs/base/parts/ipc/node/ipc.cp';
 import { IDiskFileChange, ILogMessage } from 'vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/watcher';
 import { WatcherChannelClient } from 'vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcherIpc';
 import { Disposable } from 'vs/base/common/lifecycle';
-import { IWatcherRequest } from 'vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcher';
+import { IWatcherRequest, IWatcherOptions } from 'vs/workbench/services/files/node/watcher/unix/watcher';
 import { getPathFromAmdModule } from 'vs/base/common/amd';
 
 export class FileWatcher extends Disposable {
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ export class FileWatcher extends Disposable {
 		private folders: IWatcherRequest[],
 		private onFileChanges: (changes: IDiskFileChange[]) => void,
 		private onLogMessage: (msg: ILogMessage) => void,
-		private verboseLogging: boolean
+		private verboseLogging: boolean,
+		private watcherOptions: IWatcherOptions = {}
 	) {
 		super();
 
@@ -66,8 +67,7 @@ export class FileWatcher extends Disposable {
 
 		this.service.setVerboseLogging(this.verboseLogging);
 
-		const options = {};
-		this._register(this.service.watch(options)(e => !this.isDisposed && this.onFileChanges(e)));
+		this._register(this.service.watch(this.watcherOptions)(e => !this.isDisposed && this.onFileChanges(e)));
 
 		this._register(this.service.onLogMessage(m => this.onLogMessage(m)));