
Microsoft designed WSL 2’s support for GUI apps to resemble the essential Windows experience. Launch the app, then interact with it like any other Windows app. Otherwise you’ll be limited to whatever the distribution has built-in.ĥ.

It doesn’t matter which installation method you chose, but you must have something installed. Linux distributions offer various package managers that can be used to install software via the command line some also offer central distribution platforms similar to the Microsoft Store where Linux apps can be found.

This command should return a list of distros that can be installed via the command line.Ĥ. The “wsl” part of the command indicates that we’re using the Windows Subsystem for Linux, the “list” is a list of supported Linux distributions, and the “online” specifier indicates the distributions Microsoft offers rather than the ones we already have running on our PC. Enter the following command: wsl -list -online Microsoft doesn’t allow every distribution to be installed that way, likely because there are too many for the company to offer built-in support for, but there are several popular distributions available.ġ. The command line-meaning either Command Prompt or PowerShell-is the most convenient way to install some of the more popular Linux distributions available today.

There are two ways to install alternative Linux distributions with their own default user interfaces, pre-installed utilities, and other features: via the command line and through the Microsoft Store. Ubuntu is the default Linux distribution installed alongside the Windows Subsystem for Linux, but it’s not the only “flavor” of Linux compatible with Microsoft’s feature. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) How to install Different Linux distributions in Windows 11 Get the Full Layout in Windows 10’s Touch Keyboard.How to record your screen in Windows 10.Measure the Time it Takes for Apps to Load at Boot.There's also a program which allows you to run windowed Ubuntu apps in Windows 10. There are a few command line apps built-in, including the vi and pico text editors, and you can add more by using the apt-get command. You can now use the Bash shell as if you were on a a computer with Ubuntu installed as its primary OS.
