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Installing WSL2 on Windows

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Fernando edited this page Oct 11, 2021 · 5 revisions

Installing WSL2 on Windows

WSL 2 is a new version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux architecture that enables the Windows Subsystem for Linux to run Linux binaries on Windows. This tool is needed by qa-ctl for integrating Ansible in Windows, as there isn't any native support for this tool in the system. We are using the second version of this tool as is the version that is able to work with docker. There are two different installation options depending on the Windows version that you are currently using. These two different ways are:

Installing WSL2 in Windows build 19041 or higher

Note: To be able to use this method, you need to have your Windows system updated as this command is only available after some update packages from Windows.

If your current OS is Windows11, Windows 10 version 2004 or any Windows system with a superior build than 19041, you only need to run this single command:

wsl --install

After the command execution is done, reboot your PC and you'll have wsl installed and the Ubuntu Linux distribution.

If this method seems to not work with your system, follow the Installing WSL2 in Windows with older builds section.

Installing WSL2 in Windows with older builds

If you are using a system with an inferior build version, there are a few steps that you have to follow to get WSL2 on your system

1. Enabling Windows Subsystem for Linux

Before you can get WSL2, you need to have WSL. Open PowerShell as administrator and enter this command:

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

2. Enabling Virtual Machine

WSL2 is a tiny virtual machine, so Windows needs to be prepared for that:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

After running the command above, reboot your PC.

3. Downloading and installing WSL2

  • Download the WSL2 Kernel update and run the installer. When prompted for elevated permissions, click yes. Once the installer process is over you'll have WSL2 successfully installed on your PC.
  • Now you have to set WSL2 as your default version. That can be done by running the next command:
wsl --set-default-version 2
  • After all the steps above are completed, you can proceed to download the Ubuntu on Windows application on the store.

Creating the wslconfig file

On your home folder, create the file .wslconfig and add the following lines on it:

[wsl2]
memory=3GB
swap=0
localhostForwarding=true

Setting up Ubuntu distro system

Once WSL2 has been installed and configured, you need to configure the downloaded Ubuntu subsystem for Windows. In order to do so, follow the next steps:

  1. Open the Ubuntu application.
  2. Enter the desired username and password for your subsystem.
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