The latest articles on DEV Community by ComCl7 (@comcl7). https://dev.to/comcl7 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4111550%2Fd801d628-30cf-45e1-a0d7-d3f54e2eab83.gif https://dev.to/comcl7 en ComCl7 Fri, 16 Oct 2026 09:25:24 +0000 https://dev.to/comcl7/exploring-wsl-on-windows-3a3m https://dev.to/comcl7/exploring-wsl-on-windows-3a3m <p>Hi together,</p> <p>when using Windows and writing IaC, you are almost in need to install a linux emulation as some of needed binarys like ansible.<br> Or, as it comes to me personally, I like to work in a linux environment to use some advantages as easy to use package manager.</p> <p>In this article, I don't really want to go into every detail and just want to show you:</p> <ul> <li>How to install WSL and a Distro</li> <li>Reset your Distro, if you want to start over.</li> </ul> <h2> Install WSL and Distro </h2> <ol> <li>Open your command line (cmd or powershell)</li> <li>Type <code>wls --install</code> </li> <li>Accept User Access Control request, if necessary</li> <li>Wait for installation</li> </ol> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgz2edjrn9hoo4421og1w.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgz2edjrn9hoo4421og1w.png" alt="Install WSL" width="745" height="176"></a></p> <ol> <li>Now type in <code>wsl</code> to install default distro (in my case ubuntu) and type in a username, password and set metrics. After that, the distro should be installed succesfully</li> </ol> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F7r7yvwq72mzghlhgmfsh.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F7r7yvwq72mzghlhgmfsh.png" alt="Configure Ubuntu" width="800" height="230"></a></p> <ol> <li>To get out, you can type <code>exit</code> and enter</li> </ol> <h2> List distro's </h2> <p>You can list your distro' using <code>wsl -l</code></p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fknqdvenee7gd5pcx1u7u.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fknqdvenee7gd5pcx1u7u.png" alt="WSLK List Distro's" width="552" height="211"></a></p> <h2> Remove distro </h2> <p>Sometimes you need to delete the distro, for example if you need a new environment if you want to start over again after something went wrong.</p> <p>To do this, you can just open your command line and type <code>wsl --unregister ubuntu</code> (instead of Ubuntu, you can type your distro used)</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F9b70xm517hghhoglj8us.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F9b70xm517hghhoglj8us.png" alt="WSL Remove Distros" width="475" height="162"></a></p> linux microsoft infrastructureascode ansible