Use Linux shell in Windows! - WSL Installation (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Overview

This guide walks you through the complete setup of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows. It covers the installation of WSL2, the setup of a Linux distribution, and the essential commands to get started.

WSL2 is a lightweight, Hyper-V–based virtualized Linux environment, tightly integrated with Windows. You get the benefits of using popular Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Kali…) and their tools while staying within your Windows environment.

This allows you to have a separate environment for testing, run scripts, create automations and much more!

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0️. Prerequisites

Requirements:

• Windows 10+
• Virtualization (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) enabled in your system’s firmware settings (UEFI or the legacy BIOS)

Check if virtualization is enabled:

systeminfo | find "Virtualization"

If it’s disabled, we have to enable it by editing the firmware!

If you don’t know how to get there, check out how to enter the UEFI-BIOS.

NOTE

Virtualization support is determined exclusively by the CPU. It is independent of whether the system firmware is legacy BIOS or UEFI.

Enable Firmware CPU virtualization

Now that you are inside your system’s UEFI/BIOS, you have to find the option for enabling CPU virtualization.

Here’s a list of the main manufacturers and how to enable it:

PC Manufacturer	Link
Acer	How to Enable Virtualization Technology on Acer Products
Asus	For AMD processors: How to enable or disable AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™) technology? For Intel processors: How to enable Intel(VMX) Virtualization Technology in the BIOS? How to enable or disable Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)?
Dell	How To Enable or Disable Hardware Virtualization on Dell Systems
HP	HP PCs - Enable Virtualization Technology in the BIOS
Lenovo	How to enable Virtualization Technology on Lenovo PC computers
Microsoft	Virtualization is already enabled on Surface devices.

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1️. WSL Installation

Open PowerShell as Administrator:

wsl --install

This command enables the required Windows features, installs WSL2, and automatically installs Ubuntu.

A reboot is required for the changes to take effect. After reboot, Ubuntu will start automatically and you will be prompted to create a username and password for your new OS.

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2️. Verify the Installation

Check that you are running WSL Version 2:

wsl --version

If you are not on WSL2, upgrade with:

wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2

And… that’s it!

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3️. Accessing the File Systems

WSL allows access to both Windows and Linux file systems. Here’s how you can access them:

Location	Path	Description
WSL filesystem (from Windows)	\\wsl$\<DISTRO_NAME>\	The WSL FS is exposed as a virtual network share
Windows filesystem (from WSL)	/mnt/c/	Automatic mount of Windows drives inside WSL

TIP

Best practice: Avoid working directly under /mnt/c for I/O-intensive workloads (e.g. managing a Git repo), as performance is slower! Use /mnt/c mainly for Windows file access and exchange and prefer storing code and projects inside the WSL filesystem for optimal performance.

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4️. Basic Commands

Command	Description
wsl	Enter WSL (default distro). Add -d <DISTRO_NAME> to enter a specific one
wsl --update	Update WSL
wsl --status	Check WSL status
wsl --shutdown	Stop all running WSL instances
wsl -l -v	List all installed distros with their WSL version and state
wsl --list --online	List all available distros to install
wsl --install -d <DISTRO_NAME>	Install a specific distro
wsl --set-default <DISTRO_NAME>	Set the default distro

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5️. Interoperability

WSL allows you to call Windows executables directly from the Linux shell. Any .exe in the Windows PATH is accessible from WSL.

Command	Description
code .	Open the current directory in VS Code (via WSL Remote Extension)
explorer.exe .	Open the current directory in Windows File Explorer
notepad.exe <file>	Open a file with Notepad
explorer.exe <file>	Open a file with its default Windows application

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6️. Basic Configuration

System update:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Useful tools:

sudo apt install -y curl wget git vim net-tools htop

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7️. Advanced: Backup & Restore

Backup

WARNING

The WSL environment must be fully stopped before exporting.

Template:

wsl --shutdown
$DATE = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm"
wsl --export <DISTRO_NAME> <BACKUP_PATH>\<DISTRO_NAME>-$DATE.vhdx --vhd

Example:

wsl --shutdown
$DATE = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm"
wsl --export Ubuntu C:\backups\Ubuntu-$DATE.vhdx --vhd

Restore

Template:

wsl --import <NEW_DISTRO_NAME> <INSTALL_LOCATION> <VHDX_FILE_PATH> --vhd

Example:

wsl --import Ubu2 C:\WSL\Ubu2 C:\backups\Ubuntu-2026-04-30_14-00.vhdx --vhd

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8️. Useful Links

• WSL Official Documentation — Microsoft Learn
• Install WSL — Step-by-step official install guide
• Troubleshooting WSL — Microsoft Learn official troubleshooting page
• WSL Troubleshooting Guide — Extended guide by Microsoft
• Basic WSL Commands — Full command reference