Windows Subsystem for Linux is generally available in Microsoft Store

The Windows Subsystem for Linux in the Microsoft Store is now generally available on Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft has announced the availability in the official blog, noting that it is now longer has a Preview tag. So, Windows 10 and Windows 11 can install the first stable release of the tool right from the Store.

There are 3 highlights in the change log on GitHub.

• Removed the "Preview" label - WSL in the Store is now generally available!
• Use an override in generator.early to prevent the /tmp/.X11-unix socket from being removed during boot
• Don't create a pty for systemd to fix issue where systemd would time out during boot

The official announcement shares more details.

What's new in WSL 1.0

• You can opt in for systemd support
• Windows 10 users can now use Linux GUI apps! This was previously only available to Windows 11 users
• wsl --install now includes:
  • Direct installation from the Microsoft Store by default
  • --no-launch option to not launch the distro after installing
  • --web-download option which will download the distro through our GitHub releases page rather than through the Microsoft Store
• wsl --mount now includes:
  • --vhd option to make mounting VHD files easier
  • --name option to make naming the mountpoint easier
• wsl --import and wsl --export now include:
  • --vhd option to import or export to a VHD directly
• Added wsl --import-in-place to take an existing .vhdx file and register it as a distro
• Added wsl --version to print your version information more easily
• wsl --update now includes:
  • Opening the Microsoft Store page by default
  • --web-download option to allow updates from our GitHub release page
• Better error printing
• All of WSLg and the WSL kernel are packaged into the same WSL package, meaning no more extra MSI installs!

Microsoft points that the Store version of WSL is now the default platform on Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you run the wsl.exe --install command, it will install WSL from the Store. The same for the --update switch.

If you want to install the earlier provided built-in Windows component, you have to install it now like this:

wsl.exe --install  --inbox

Other new options include:

• --enable-wsl1 Enables WSL 1 support during the install of the Microsoft Store version by also enabling the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” optional component
• --no-distribution Do not install a distribution when installing WSL
• --no-launch Do not automatically launch the distro after install
• --web-download Download the most recent version of WSL from the internet instead of the Microsoft Store.

Finally, Windows must have the latest cumulative updates installed. It is  KB5020030 for Windows 10, and KB5019157 on Windows 11.

Source: Microsoft

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