WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is perhaps relatively rarely known to the old school sys admins rats who usually use stuff like QEMU / KVM for Windows or Virtualbox / VMWare for Host machine.
However most people most lileky heard but never used or heard about the native (container like) virtualization WSL which was introduced in Windows 10 and Windows 11 as an attempt from Microsoft to improve the interoperability between Windows and Linux.
WSL version 1 and ver 2 allows Microsoft Windows for using a Linux environment without the need for a separate virtual machine.
In Windows 10, it is existing in Windows 10 Professional version can be installed either by joining the Windows Insider program or manually via Microsoft Store or Winget.
Hence perhaps you don't know that WSL virtualization can be used by those who want to mix Linux and Windows or for example get an advantages against dual-boot (installing Linux and Windows on the same computer).
Even better most significant WSL pros is you can literally running both systems at the same time without the need to run or stop every software that’s running and reboot to another system.
Procedure to set up a WSL is simple and similar to setting up a real Linux OS, therefore this guide can also be used as a reference to Linux setup.The specifications of WSL setup procedure are mainly in Install WSL and then setup any packages you would like to use for example if you want to be able to access remotely the WSL emulated Debian / Ubuntu or other of the installable distros via OpenSSH server.
1. Requirements to install and use WSL Linux emulation
To have the wsl subsystem used on Windows 10 or Windows 11 requirements:
You must be running Windows 10 version 2004 and higher (Build 19041 and higher) or Windows 11 to use the commands below. If you are on earlier versions please see the manual install page.
2. List available installable Linux distributions
WSL subsystem has ported only a certain set of Linux distributions, so if you need a very specific and unique Linux distribution, you would perhaps need to use Hyper-V virtualization or Virtualbox / VMWare.
However for people like me who are mainly using Debian GNU / Linux on daily basis as well as some OracleLinux admins / SUSE it is a perfect solution.
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –list –online
The following is a list of valid distributions that can be installed.
Install using 'wsl.exe –install <Distro>'.
NAME FRIENDLY NAME
Ubuntu Ubuntu
Debian Debian GNU/Linux
kali-linux Kali Linux Rolling
Ubuntu-18.04 Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubuntu-20.04 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
Ubuntu-22.04 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Ubuntu-24.04 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
OracleLinux_7_9 Oracle Linux 7.9
OracleLinux_8_7 Oracle Linux 8.7
OracleLinux_9_1 Oracle Linux 9.1
openSUSE-Leap-15.6 openSUSE Leap 15.6
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP5 SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP6 SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP6
openSUSE-Tumbleweed openSUSE Tumbleweed
3. Install Linux distribution for a first time
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –install
The default Linux distribution that will get installed inside WLS Virtlualization is Ubuntu.
4. Install Debian GNU / Linux distribution as a second distro
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –install Debian
That second installed distro would make Debian now the default one to boot by WSL.
To run the fresh installed Debian GNU / Linux distribution, run only wsl command with no arguments.
# wsl
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –set-version Debian 2
For information on key differences with WSL 2 please visit https://aka.ms/wsl2
Conversion in progress, this may take a few minutes.
The distribution is already the requested version.
Error code: Wsl/Service/WSL_E_VM_MODE_INVALID_STATE
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –set-version 2
There is no distribution with the supplied name.
Error code: Wsl/Service/WSL_E_DISTRO_NOT_FOUND
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0>
Simply pressting CTRL + D from the actively running WSL emulated Linux (that is pretty much like a native Windows docker container if we have to compare to Linux) would stop the VM.
5. List runnable / installed VM Linux distributions
To list the available runnable Linux VMs on your Windows status on Windows Subsystem for Linux:
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –list –verbose
NAME STATE VERSION
* Debian Stopped 2
Ubuntu Stopped 2
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0>
6. Run and check recent installed Linux distribution version
To run the newly install Debian Virtualized Linux (which as you can see is the default set distribution to run by WSL virtualization) simply type
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl
hipo@PC2LP3:/mnt/c/Windows/System32/WindowsPowerShell/v1.0$hipo@WL-2SLPWL3:/mnt/c/Windows/System32/WindowsPowerShell/v1.0$ cd ~
hipo@PC2LP3:~$
hipo@PC2LP3:~$ cat /etc/os-release
PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="12"
VERSION="12 (bookworm)"
VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
ID=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"
hipo@WL-2SLPWL3:~$
7. Update the Debian distribuion packages to latest available
hipo@PC2LP3:~$ sudo su – root
hipo@PC2LP3:~# apt update –fix-missing
8. Install openssh server to be able to connect to the WSL hosted Virtual Machine
hipo@PC2LP3:/home/hipo# apt install openssh-server –yes
…
root@PC2LP3:/home/hipo# systemctl start openssh-server telnet
System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate.
Failed to connect to bus: Host is down
root@WL-2SLPWL3:/home/hipo# /etc/init.d/ssh start
Starting OpenBSD Secure Shell server: sshd.
root@WL-2SLPWL3:/home/hipo# ps -ef|grep -i ssh
root 30 9 0 18:19 ? 00:00:00 sshd: /usr/sbin/sshd [listener] 0 of 10-100 startups
root 32 15 0 18:20 pts/1 00:00:00 grep -i ssh
By default a fresh new installed VM would have a process list like below:
root@PC2LP3:/home/hipo# ps axuwef
To be able to have ifconfig and a number of other network tools it is useful to install net-tools package
root@PC2LP3:/home/hipo# apt install net-tools –yes
…
root@PC2LP3:/home/hipo# /sbin/ifconfig
…
Once the WSL VM and OpenSSHD is run you can try to telnet or ssh to the VM locally or remotely.
root@PC2LP3:/home/hipo# telnet localhost 22
Trying 127.0.0.1…
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_9.2p1 Debian-2+deb12u3
9. Run commands directly from Windows command line or Powershell
You can also use the powershell to run commands via the virtualized Linux environment using simple syntax
# wsl [cmd-to-run]
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl ls /
bin dev home lib lost+found mnt proc run srv tmp var
boot etc init lib64 media opt root sbin sys usr
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl ps -ef
UID PID PPID C STIME TTY TIME CMD
root 1 0 0 18:07 hvc0 00:00:00 /init
root 5 1 0 18:07 hvc0 00:00:00 plan9 –control-socket 5 –log-level 4 –server-fd 6 –pipe-fd 8 –log-t
root 8 1 0 18:07 ? 00:00:00 /init
root 9 8 0 18:07 ? 00:00:00 /init
hipo 10 9 0 18:07 pts/0 00:00:00 ps -ef
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0>
10. Enable systemd on Linux distribution in WSL 2
Once you boot into the WSL installed distro shell edit /etc/wsl.conf:
$ vim /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
systemd=true
11. Setting extra useful variables to boot the WSL emulated Linux VM
root@debian-wsl:/home/hipo# cat /etc/wsl.conf
[boot]
systemd=true
# Automatically mount Windows drive when the distribution is launched
[automount]
# Set to true will automount fixed drives (C:/ or D:/) with DrvFs under the root directory set above. Set to false means drives won't be mounted automatically, but need to be mounted manually or with fstab.
enabled = true
# Sets the directory where fixed drives will be automatically mounted. This example changes the mount location, so your C-drive would be /c, rather than the default /mnt/c.
root = /
# DrvFs-specific options can be specified.
options = "metadata,uid=1003,gid=1003,umask=077,fmask=11,case=off"
# Sets the `/etc/fstab` file to be processed when a WSL distribution is launched.
mountFsTab = true
# Network host settings that enable the DNS server used by WSL 2. This example changes the hostname, sets generateHosts to false, preventing WSL from the default behavior of auto-generating /etc/hosts, and sets generateResolvConf to false, preventing WSL from auto-generating /etc/resolv.conf, so that you can create your own (ie. nameserver 1.1.1.1).
[network]
hostname = debian-wsl
generateHosts = true
generateResolvConf = true
# Set whether WSL supports interop processes like launching Windows apps and adding path variables. Setting these to false will block the launch of Windows processes and block adding $PATH environment variables.
[interop]
enabled = false
appendWindowsPath = false
# Set the user when launching a distribution with WSL.
[user]
default = hipo
# Set a command to run when a new WSL instance launches. This example starts the Docker container service.
#[boot]
#command = service docker start
root@debian-wsl:/home/hipo#
To learn about on Advanced settings configuration in WSL check out official Microsoft documentation here
12. Shutting down a running emulated Linux VM
If you have run a WSL VM and you want to shut it down do:
# wsl shutdown
If you at a point want to delete / uninstall the installed distribution you can do
# wsl –terminate Distro_Name
# wsl –uninstall Distro_Name
Or you if you want to do a cleanup of the stored files inside the installed distribution (if you have stored files), do:
# wsl –unregister Distro_Name
For more in depth details check out the manual
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> wsl –help
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
For privacy information about this product please visit https://aka.ms/privacy.
Usage: wsl.exe [Argument] [Options…] [CommandLine]
Arguments for running Linux binaries:
If no command line is provided, wsl.exe launches the default shell.
–exec, -e <CommandLine>
Execute the specified command without using the default Linux shell.
–shell-type <standard|login|none>
Execute the specified command with the provided shell type.
—
Pass the remaining command line as-is.
Options:
–cd <Directory>
Sets the specified directory as the current working directory.
If ~ is used the Linux user's home path will be used. If the path begins
with a / character, it will be interpreted as an absolute Linux path.
Otherwise, the value must be an absolute Windows path.
–distribution, -d <Distro>
Run the specified distribution.
–user, -u <UserName>
Run as the specified user.
–system
Launches a shell for the system distribution.
Arguments for managing Windows Subsystem for Linux:
–help
Display usage information.
–debug-shell
Open a WSL2 debug shell for diagnostics purposes.
–install [Distro] [Options…]
Install a Windows Subsystem for Linux distribution.
For a list of valid distributions, use 'wsl.exe –list –online'.
Options:
–no-launch, -n
Do not launch the distribution after install.
–web-download
Download the distribution from the internet instead of the Microsoft Store.
–no-distribution
Only install the required optional components, does not install a distribution.
–enable-wsl1
Enable WSL1 support.
–manage <Distro> <Options…>
Changes distro specific options.
Options:
–move <Location>
Move the distribution to a new location.
–set-sparse, -s <true|false>
Set the vhdx of distro to be sparse, allowing disk space to be automatically reclaimed.
–mount <Disk>
Attaches and mounts a physical or virtual disk in all WSL 2 distributions.
Options:
–vhd
Specifies that <Disk> refers to a virtual hard disk.
–bare
Attach the disk to WSL2, but don't mount it.
–name <Name>
Mount the disk using a custom name for the mountpoint.
–type <Type>
Filesystem to use when mounting a disk, if not specified defaults to ext4.
–options <Options>
Additional mount options.
–partition <Index>
Index of the partition to mount, if not specified defaults to the whole disk.
–set-default-version <Version>
Changes the default install version for new distributions.
–shutdown
Immediately terminates all running distributions and the WSL 2
lightweight utility virtual machine.
–status
Show the status of Windows Subsystem for Linux.
–unmount [Disk]
Unmounts and detaches a disk from all WSL2 distributions.
Unmounts and detaches all disks if called without argument.
–uninstall
Uninstalls the Windows Subsystem for Linux package from this machine.
–update
Update the Windows Subsystem for Linux package.
Options:
–pre-release
Download a pre-release version if available.
–version, -v
Display version information.
Arguments for managing distributions in Windows Subsystem for Linux:
–export <Distro> <FileName> [Options]
Exports the distribution to a tar file.
The filename can be – for stdout.
Options:
–vhd
Specifies that the distribution should be exported as a .vhdx file.
–import <Distro> <InstallLocation> <FileName> [Options]
Imports the specified tar file as a new distribution.
The filename can be – for stdin.
Options:
–version <Version>
Specifies the version to use for the new distribution.
–vhd
Specifies that the provided file is a .vhdx file, not a tar file.
This operation makes a copy of the .vhdx file at the specified install location.
–import-in-place <Distro> <FileName>
Imports the specified .vhdx file as a new distribution.
This virtual hard disk must be formatted with the ext4 filesystem type.
–list, -l [Options]
Lists distributions.
Options:
–all
List all distributions, including distributions that are
currently being installed or uninstalled.
–running
List only distributions that are currently running.
–quiet, -q
Only show distribution names.
–verbose, -v
Show detailed information about all distributions.
–online, -o
Displays a list of available distributions for install with 'wsl.exe –install'.
–set-default, -s <Distro>
Sets the distribution as the default.
–set-version <Distro> <Version>
Changes the version of the specified distribution.
–terminate, -t <Distro>
Terminates the specified distribution.
–unregister <Distro>
Unregisters the distribution and deletes the root filesystem.
PS C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0>
Once wsl is installed you can run it directly from Windows start menu, by searching for the name of the distribution you would like to run for example to run my Debian WSL running emulator::
Sum it up
What was shown up is how to run in parallel virtualized Linux distribution on Windows 10 and Windows 11 and how to install update to latest and run opensshd server to be able to ssh into the WSL Linux virtual machine remotely.
.Also i've shown you, How to test ssh is reachable and how to stop / start or destroy and cleanup any stored files for VM if necessery, as well as how to apply some extra advanced configurations to boot VM for.
Using WSL is not the best virtualization ever but anyways it is an alternative for people employed in Domain attached Windows PCs part of Big Corporations, where VirtualBox use is blocked / prohibited and you still need to experiment or develop Shell scripts or software on Python / Perl / Ruby on Linux before you do stuff on the PreProd or Production Linux host.
That's all folks, Enjoy ! 🙂
