WSL 2 distros are now supported on Windows Server

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 on Github when this update was made available to folks who wanted to use it early, and now this is part of our latest update to Windows Server. To get it, all you need to do is click “Check for Updates” on your Windows Server machine to update to the latest version and you’ll get support for WSL 2 distros. To make sure you have the right update, please check that you have KB 5014678 installed.

Installing WSL

If you want to get started using WSL for the first time and you’re using a Windows Server SKU, we’ve updated our docs to have the latest guidance which you can find here! All you need to do is run wsl --install from a PowerShell window with administrator privileges. If you want to learn more about WSL check out the rest of our docs here.

Giving us your feedback

Please file any technical issues at the WSL repository. You can also follow up with me on Twitter @craigaloewen and all WSL team members that are on Twitter using this list. Stay tuned for more exciting WSL announcements in the future! Thank you, and happy coding.