To begin with, we will tell you that all those who want to install the Windows subsystem for Linux or WSL, on their computers, can do so. To achieve this, it is enough that they execute a single command in the 2004 and later versions of Windows 10. At this point we will tell you that Microsoft introduced this improvement in the Insider compilations back in October 2020.
Now it has released the improvement in the recent updates for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1, that is, in the most recent versions of the system. Specifically, the improvement that we are going to talk about here is included in the patch KB5004296. This is an optional update for the versions that we have commented on Windows 10. In this way the new functionality for WSL it is introduced on the same day as the August 2021 patches. This will therefore arrive on Tuesday the 10th for all supported devices via Windows Update.
What improvement will come to us in the Windows subsystem for Linux
Note that optional updates are only installed on systems if users activate them. This is done by searching for the update or by downloading it from the Microsoft Update Catalog. What interests us in this case is the arrival of the new WSL installation option in Windows 10 version 2004 or higher, as we will see.
We tell you all this because from the aforementioned update that will arrive in a few days, we will install the Windows subsystem for Linux much faster. In fact, just open an elevated command prompt window and run the following command:
wsl.exe --install
Only with it we will achieve install WSL on our computer with Windows 10. At this point we will tell you that by default it will be installed Ubuntu on the PC, as it is the default Linux distribution if no other distribution is specified. It is clear that the main advantage of this new method is that the installation is much faster and easier. Previously we had to install all the necessary components separately on the computer, which was a bit more cumbersome.
Compatibility with multiple Linux distributions
As we mentioned, this is a command that by default will directly install the Ubuntu distribution in the Windows subsystem for Linux. But how could it be otherwise, we can also make use of all this to install other open source alternatives. Thus, in addition to the aforementioned we will have the possibility to install Debian, Kali Linux, or OpenSUSE.
Due to all this that we have told you, it is not difficult to imagine that the new commands facilitate the installation of WSL on a computer based on Windows 10. Also, at the moment Microsoft did not mention if this function will also be included in Windows 11, but it is quite likely yes.
