Background

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a feature of Windows that allows you to run a Linux environment on your Windows machine, without the need for a separate virtual machine or dual booting. WSL is designed to provide a seamless and productive experience for developers who want to use both Windows and Linux at the same time.

How to install wsl?

Go to cmd.exe, and run as an administrator.

$wsl.exe --install
$wsl.exe --update

Check: Make sure it is 2.x.x.x

$wsl --version

How to install Linux?

Go to cmd.exe

$wsl --install -d Ubuntu

• Set Username
• Set Password

Note: You can choose your distro (Ubuntu, kali-linux, ..)

NAME                                   FRIENDLY NAME
Ubuntu                                 Ubuntu
Debian                                 Debian GNU/Linux
kali-linux                             Kali Linux Rolling
Ubuntu-18.04                           Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubuntu-20.04                           Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
Ubuntu-22.04                           Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
OracleLinux_7_9                        Oracle Linux 7.9
OracleLinux_8_7                        Oracle Linux 8.7
OracleLinux_9_1                        Oracle Linux 9.1
openSUSE-Leap-15.5                     openSUSE Leap 15.5
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-Server-15-SP4    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP5           SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5
openSUSE-Tumbleweed                    openSUSE Tumbleweed

Check:

$wsl -l -v

How to use WSL within VScode?

• Go to VScode
• Install WSL extension (to open any folder in WSL)
• Connect to a remote window (connect to WSL)
• Everything sets up automatically!

Reference

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/basic-commands