Resources > Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) lets Windows users run a GNU/Linux environment – including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications – directly on Windows, unmodified, without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine or dualboot setup.

Overview & Installation Instructions

• Video Tutorial for Configuring WSL (highly recommended – short and to the point)
• About
• Installation / Configuration

Basic Installation Workflow

1. From powershell, install wsl:
   wsl --install
   • This should install WSL and the default Ubuntu distribution of Linux.
   • It should prompt you to create a username and a password. Write your username and password down so you don’t forget it.
2. Verify that a Linux distribution has been installed by typing:
   wsl --list --verbose
3. Now you can run bash commands!
4. To shutdown your wsl instance, just type:
   wsl --shutdown