Linux in Windows
Never mind Windows 11, the latest version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux is where it’s at.
A re you part of the slightly sinister sounding Windows Insiders Program? Have you installed an even more sinister-sounding Preview Build of Windows 10 (at least build 20262)? Then it’s easy to run Linux as part of WSL 2.0: just open an administrator-privilege Windows command prompt and run wsl --install . This also works on Preview Builds of Windows 11. A few clicks and pops and a restart later and you’ll be in business.
Actually the GUI App Support download is pretty large, so now might be a good time to make a cup of tea. On return WSL, Microsoft’s Virtual Machine Platform, their custom Linux Kernel and Ubuntu should all have been downloaded. Other distros are available and one can specify, for example, wsl --install -d Fedora , to install Fedora instead, or additionally if you already have WSL Ubuntu installed. Users of non Preview Builds can either join the Insiders Program and upgrade to one, or follow the manual installation steps below.
HASSLE-FREE SETUP
“One of the amazing things about WSL 2.0 is that it supports GUI tools without any extra configuration”
Start by firing up Administrator-powered PowerShell, then acknowledging that the command line can get ugly on Windows too, enter the incantation:
> dism.exe /online /enable-feature / featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux / all /norestart