WLinux, Linux® distribution optimized is available on Microsoft Store
Users who want to experience Linux on Windows now have a lot of choices. With the development and improvement of WSL, distributions including Ubuntu, openSUSE Leap 42, Debian GNU/Linux, and Kali Linux are all registered in the Microsoft Store. However, these distributions often lack development tools and contain some unnecessary packages.
Recently, a team called Whitewater Foundry launched a new Linux distribution designed for WSL and named WLinux. Unlike other distributions on WSL, WLinux enables many WSL-specific features by default and other enhancements are planned.
WLinux comes pre-installed with favourite development tools, including the zsh shell, git, neovim, and Python 3.7, and other packages can be installed via the apt package management tool. WLinux also has built-in wslu, a set of open source utilities for interacting between WSL and Windows 10.
The development team promised that WLinux could provide WSL users with fixes and test patches in a matter of days instead of months. To improve stability and security, WLinux has removed some unnecessary packages, such as systemd.
Features
- A fast Linux terminal and development environment for developers and pro-users built on Windows® Subsystem for Linux(WSL) on Windows 10.
- Out-of-the-box support for most Linux graphical apps with no need to configure display or libGL settings. Note: Requires a Windows-based X client, such as X410.
- Popular development tools, including zsh shell, git, neovim, and python 3.7 pre-installed. Additional packages can be easily installed via the apt package management system (e.g.
$ sudo apt install nodejs) from the expansive Debian repos and third-party Debian-compatible repos. The Debian backports and testing repos are also pre-configured.- Pre-installed with wslu, a set of useful open-source utilities for interacting between WSL and Windows 10.
- A handful of unnecessary packages, such as systemd, have been removed to improve stability and security.
- Additional scripts to easily install the following popular applications:
- Google Chrome
$ sudo /opt/installchrome.sh- Visual Studio Code
$ sudo /opt/installcode.sh- pip3 for python (Testing)
- fzf (Testing)
- Think another app needs to be here? File a feature request and state your case.
- New features are actively added based on community interest, including paid bug and feature bounties.
- WLinux offers faster patching than any upstream Linux distro for WSL-specific bugs.
Although WLinux is open source, it needs to be purchased for download at Microsoft Store.
