Set up and manage WSL

Task guide for getting Windows Subsystem for Linux working and choosing a default distro. For the full comparison and “why,” see Choosing a WSL Linux Distro.

Prerequisites

  • Recent Windows 10 or Windows 11

  • Ability to elevate (Administrator) for first-time enablement

  • Virtualization enabled in firmware (required for WSL2)

Install or repair WSL

From an elevated PowerShell:

wsl --install

That enables required features and typically installs the default Store Ubuntu. To install a specific distro:

wsl --list --online
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Confirm:

wsl -l -v

You want VERSION 2 for normal development. Convert if needed:

wsl --set-version <DistroName> 2
wsl --set-default-version 2

Pick and set the default

Merit-based default for most developers: Ubuntu LTS (for example Ubuntu-24.04). Keep rolling or RHEL-clone distros as named specialists.

wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04

Names must match wsl -l -v exactly (spaces and capitalization included).

Open official WSL Settings (global VM config)

Windows ships a WSL Settings app (Start menu). It edits the global .wslconfig options (memory, CPUs, networking features, and related toggles). Prefer it over hand-editing %UserProfile%\.wslconfig.

Docs: Microsoft: WSL configuration.

After changing memory/CPU limits you usually need:

wsl --shutdown

Then start a distro again.

Everyday commands

Goal Command

Open default distro

wsl

Open a named distro

wsl -d openSUSE-Tumbleweed

List installed

wsl -l -v

Set default

wsl --set-default <Name>

Stop all WSL VMs

wsl --shutdown

Export / backup

wsl --export <Name> backup.tar

Remove a distro

wsl --unregister <Name> (destructive)

Multi-distro layout (recommended)

  1. Default: Ubuntu LTS — daily shell and docs match.

  2. Optional: openSUSE Tumbleweed or Arch — fresh packages.

  3. Optional: AlmaLinux — RHEL-shaped work.

  4. Never default: docker-desktop / podman-machine-*.

Where to keep code

Prefer the Linux filesystem inside the distro (for example ~/code or a bind to your layout) for Linux-native tools. Windows drives appear under /mnt/c, /mnt/z, and so on; cross-OS file I/O is slower and can confuse file watchers.

Dev-Centr’s usual Windows code root (Z:\code) is visible from WSL as /mnt/z/code when that drive is mounted—usable, but not always ideal for heavy node_modules / build trees.

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