Install WSL

Learn how to install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) using the terminal

The Windows Subsystem for Linux lets developers run a GNU/Linux environment directly on Windows. The latest version is WSL 2, which powers the Windows Subsystem for Linux to run ELF64 Linux binaries on Windows.

List available WSL distros

$ wsl -l -o

NAME            FRIENDLY NAME
Ubuntu          Ubuntu
Debian          Debian GNU/Linux
kali-linux      Kali Linux Rolling
openSUSE-42     openSUSE Leap 42
SLES-12         SUSE Linux Enterprise Server v12
Ubuntu-16.04    Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
Ubuntu-18.04    Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubuntu-20.04    Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Install WSL via powershell

Below command installs Ubuntu distribution.

$ wsl --install Ubuntu

Check Current WSL Version

$ wsl -l -v

Update from WSL 1 to WSL 2

$ wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2

For more information, feel free to access:

• WSL Documentation

• WSL basic commands