Windows 10: Microsoft makes it easier to install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows 10

Microsoft has improved the installation process for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the recent Insider Preview build 20246. Starting in this build and going forward, all it takes to install all necessary components and a supported Linux distribution is a single command.

The new feature makes the installation of WSL on Windows 10 devices a lot easier. If you check out the current installation procedure on Microsoft's Docs website, you will notice that it involves a total of seven steps that include enabling required operating system features -- Windows Subsystem for Linux and Virtual Machine -- downloading the Linux kernel update package, and installing the Linux distribution of choice.

While that is not a huge problem for system administrators, it surely delays the process of installing a Linux distribution on the Windows machine.

Starting now in Insider Builds and next year in stable versions of Windows 10, administrators may install a Linux distribution with minimal effort.

All it takes then is to open an elevated PowerShell prompt and run the command wsl --install. The command installs all necessary components and a Linux distribution.



If no distribution is specified, it is Ubuntu Linux that is going to get installed. The parameter -d followed by the identifier of the Linux distribution allows administrators to install a different Linux distribution on the device.

The command wsl --install -d Debian will install Debian Linux on the device instead of Ubuntu. Administrators may run the command wsl --list --online to get the available list of Linux distributions returned.

The list returns the name that administrators need to specify and a "friendly name" that provides additional details.



Currently, the following distributions are available:

• Ubuntu
• Debian
• kali-linux
• openSUSE-42
• SLES-12
• Ubuntu-16.04
• Ubuntu-18.04
• Ubuntu-20.04

Not all Linux distributions that are available on the Microsoft Store are supported by the new command at the time of writing. It is quite possible that support will be extended in coming builds.

The installation is automatic once the command is issued on the PowerShell prompt, and the entire process should not take longer than a few minutes to complete.

Now You: Have you installed WSL on Windows 10 devices?

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Windows Subsystem Linux

Hello,

We would like to know more about the issue you're experiencing with using
Windows Subsystem for Linux. Kindly answer the following questions:

• Are you developing a program, an app, or a software for Linux?
• Is your Window 10 PC connected to a domain?
• Are you managing a Windows Server PC?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• Can you tell us the Version and OS build of your Windows 10 device? You can find this information by clicking the
  Start button, type About your PC, and then press
  Enter.

We need the following information in order to determine if we need to refer your concern to the
TechNet forums or the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) forums.

For now, we suggest reviewing these support articles to find out if there's an issue with the installation of
Windows Subsystem for Linux:

• Install the Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Troubleshooting Windows Subsystem for Linux

We'll be waiting for your response.

 

Unable to enable Windows Subsystem for Linux

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you have downloaded Linux Terminal from Microsoft Store and you are getting an error when running the PowerShell command. However, as per the article

Windows Subsystem for Linux Installation Guide for Windows 10 you need to run the PowerShell command first and then install the required Linux distribution from the store. I suggest you to try running the PowerShell command
first and check.



For more information on Windows Subsystem for Linux, please refer the articles

Windows Subsystem for Linux Documentation and

Troubleshooting Windows Subsystem for Linux.



If the issue persists, I suggest you to post your query in
TechNet forums, where we have support professionals and experts on this query to assist you with the appropriate details.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Issues while installing Windows Subsystem for Linux 2

Hi Paul,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are facing issues while installing Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 on your PC. I certainly appreciate your efforts in trying to resolve the issue by performing certain troubleshooting steps.



I would suggest you to refer the section Set a distro to be backed by WSL 2 using the command line from the article

Installation Instructions for WSL 2 and see if that helps.



However, since the issue is related to Windows Subsystem for Linux, I would suggest you to post your query on

TechNet forums, where we have support professionals who are well equipped with the knowledge to assist you with the query.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator