WSL Series 2 : Adding a Linux distribution to WSL

Now that you have installed the WSL feature, you can install any number of the Linux distributions that Microsoft makes available through its Microsoft apps store. Following are the steps to do so.

  1. Downlaod the distribution from the Microsoft store :

a. click the Windows button and tap "Microsoft Store"

b. In the Microsoft Store, Search for Ubuntu 20.04, this is the linux distro we will go for, Click on the button Get

2. Install the distribution :

Depending on your internet connexion speed, it will take some moments to download the distribution.

3. launch the distribution and configure it :

a. Click on the Windows button and tap the name of the distro, the shell of the distro will display and prompt the message "Installing, this may take a few minutes"

b. before finalizing the installation, the command prompts you to enter your username and password, as shown in this screenshot.

4. Check the list of your WSL Linux distributions :

use the command wsl -l -v

the WSL command displays the list of installed distributions, along with their state (here it is Running because my Ubuntu version is launched), and the version of WSL used to run it.

Congratulations !! You have installed Ubuntu 20.04 LTS version on your same Windows installation using the WSL feature.

In the next tutorials, I will show you some ways that make the WSL feature very useful, by using the powerfull command line tools that Linux provides.

Happy learning ! Enjoy !