Craig Loewen

Program Manager II, Windows Developer Platform

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Windows Subsystem for Linux September 2023 update

September 18th, 2023
There is a new release for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with new features and bug fixes! Check out the summary below, and read on to learn more about new experimental features, and some significant quality improvements. Experimental features We know that WSL is used for a wide array of workflows and we want to help you get the ...

The Windows Subsystem for Linux in the Microsoft Store is now generally available on Windows 10 and 11

November 22nd, 2022
Today the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the Microsoft Store is dropping its “Preview” label and becomes generally available with our latest release! We are also making the Store version of WSL the default for new users who run wsl --install and easily upgradeable by running wsl --update for existing users. Using the Store version of...

Systemd support is now available in WSL!

September 21st, 2022
Systemd support is now available in WSL! The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) can now run systemd inside of your WSL distros, empowering you to do more with your Linux workflows on your Windows machine. This post will cover: What is systemd? What can you do with it? How is this change possible in WSL? How can you get systemd on your ...

WSL 2 distros are now supported on Windows Server

June 21st, 2022
WSL 2 distros are now supported on Windows Server You can now use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 type distros on Windows Server 2022! We’re excited to make this change so that now you can have the same modern WSL experience whether you use a Windows with Server or Desktop SKU. How to start using it We first talked about this change...

A preview of WSL in the Microsoft Store is now available!

October 11th, 2021
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) preview is now available in the Microsoft Store as a store application for Windows 11 machines! Installing WSL through the store will allow you to get the latest WSL updates and features faster, and without needing to modify your Windows version. Read on to see how that’s possible and what this means for...

Install WSL with a single command now available in Windows 10 version 2004 and higher

July 30th, 2021
In the latest Windows Insider Preview builds, you can install everything you need to run WSL just by running wsl.exe --install. We’re excited to announce that this functionality is now officially backported to Windows 10 version 2004 and higher, which will make installing WSL on those builds much easier! Using wsl --install The process ...

The Initial Preview of GUI app support is now available for the Windows Subsystem for Linux

April 21st, 2021
A year ago at BUILD 2020 we introduced our goal to bring Linux GUI applications to the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to run Linux GUI applications. We are proud to announce the first preview of this highly anticipated and open source feature! We’ve given this feature the nickname: “WSLg”. Please check out the video below or keep ...

Servicing the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 Linux kernel

April 16th, 2021
Note: This blog post is co-authored by the awesome WSL dev Pierre Boulay. Thanks Pierre! 😊 We’ve just shipped the 5.10.16.3 WSL 2 Linux kernel version to Windows Insiders which brings exciting new changes: Support for the LUKS disk encryption, and some long-awaited bug fixes. We’d like to seize this opportunity to highlight these ...

Distro installation added to WSL –install in Windows 10 insiders preview build 20246

October 29th, 2020
We've added automatic distro installation to wsl --install in Windows 10 insiders preview build 20246! This means that installing WSL is now easier than ever, as now when you run wsl --install all the necessary components that you need for WSL will be automatically enabled, including your specific Linux distro of choice. How to use this new ...

What’s new in the Windows Subsystem for Linux – September 2020

September 22nd, 2020
This blog post highlights the WSL updates being made over the past few months, in addition to some sneak previews of our upcoming features and future plans. WSL 2 distro support is now available in Windows 10 version 1903 and 1909 An update on running Linux GUI apps in WSL WSL --install with distro support is coming soon to Insiders Access ...