How to Install WSL and Its Linux Subsystem on Windows

1. Download and Install the Latest Kernel Component Package

https://wslstorestorage.blob.core.windows.net/wslblob/wsl_update_x64.msi

2. Install the Virtual Machine Platform and Linux Subsystem, and Set Default Version

Run PowerShell as Administrator:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

Then restart your computer and install a Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu)

Make sure the default version is set to 2:

wsl --set-default-version 2

Execution Result:

For information on key differences with WSL 2, visit https://aka.ms/wsl2
Operation completed successfully.

3. View Available Linux Distributions for Installation

wsl.exe --list --online

If this command does not respond, troubleshoot your network:

Reset Winsock and Network Components

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
ipconfig /flushdns

Restart the system

Executing wsl.exe --list --online should normally return:

The following is a list of valid distributions that can be installed.
The default distribution is indicated with "*".
Use 'wsl --install -d <Distro>' to install.

  NAME                            FRIENDLY NAME
* Ubuntu                          Ubuntu
  Debian                          Debian GNU/Linux
  kali-linux                      Kali Linux Rolling
  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_10                Oracle Linux 8.10
  OracleLinux_9_5                 Oracle Linux 9.5
  openSUSE-Leap-15.6              openSUSE Leap 15.6
  SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP6    SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP6
  openSUSE-Tumbleweed             openSUSE Tumbleweed

4. Install the Linux Subsystem

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04

Installation Process Example:

C:\Users\TANGXG>wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04
Installing, this may take a few minutes...
Please create a default UNIX user account. The username does not need to match your Windows username.
For more information visit: https://aka.ms/wslusers
Enter new UNIX username: tangxg
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfully
Installation successful!
To run a command as administrator (user "root"), use "sudo <command>".
See "man sudo_root" for details.

Welcome to Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS (GNU/Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64)

 * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com
 * Management:     https://landscape.canonical.com
 * Support:        https://ubuntu.com/pro

System information as of Thu Nov 20 11:27:19 CST 2025

  System load:  0.0                 Processes:             68
  Usage of /:   0.1% of 1006.85GB   Users logged in:       0
  Memory usage: 3%                  IPv4 address for eth0: 172.20.90.116
  Swap usage:   0%

This message is shown once a day. To disable it please create the
/home/tangxg/.hushlogin file.

5. Check if a Distribution is Installed

wsl -l -v

If the output is empty, it means no distribution is installed

Execution Result:

C:\Users\TANGXG>wsl -l -v
  NAME            STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu-22.04    Running         2

6. Access Windows Host from WSL (Linux)

WSL automatically mounts Windows disks under /mnt/:

ls /mnt/c          # View C drive
cd /mnt/d/Users    # Enter D drive's Users directory

Access localhost services (e.g., web servers) on the Windows host

Windows automatically forwards localhost requests from WSL 2 to the Windows host.

You can execute:

cat /etc/resolv.conf | grep nameserver | awk '{print $2}'

Output:172.20.80.1

The output IP (usually 172.x.x.1) is the gateway address for the Windows host in the WSL 2 network, which can be used to access services on Windows

7. Access WSL (Linux) from Windows Host

Windows still supports accessing services listening on 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1 in WSL 2 (Microsoft has done port forwarding)

View the actual IP of WSL 2 (generally not needed):

hostname -I

Output:172.20.90.116

8. SSH Service is Not Enabled by Default in WSL

To log in via SSH from external sources (including Windows), you need to install and configure SSH in WSL:

# Download the latest package list information
sudo apt update

# Install SSH service
sudo apt install openssh-server

# Start SSH service
sudo service ssh start

# Check SSH service status
sudo service ssh status

9. Manually Update WSL Kernel (Requires Internet)

wsl.exe --update

10. Backup Environment

wsl --export Ubuntu-22.04 d:\Ubuntu-22.04_backup.tar

11. (Reinstall System) Import

wsl --import Ubuntu-22.04 d:\Ubuntu-22.04_backup.tar --version 2

12. Shut Down All WSL (Free Memory, Resolve Port Conflicts, etc.)

wsl --shutdown

13. Uninstall Linux from WSL

wsl --list --verbose
# or shorthand
wsl -l -v

Output:

C:\Users\TANGXG>wsl -l -v
  NAME            STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu-22.04    Running         2

Uninstall:

wsl --unregister Ubuntu-22.04