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How to Set Up WSL2 on Windows 11

#wls2 #devops #windows

Windows 11 ships with WSL2 support built in — no manual kernel updates, no legacy workarounds. This is the cleanest path to a Linux environment on Windows I've seen so far.

Prerequisites

  • Windows 11 (any edition — Home, Pro, Enterprise)
  • A user account with Administrator privileges
  • Internet connection for downloading the distro

Step 1 — Open PowerShell as Administrator

Right-click the Start button → Terminal (Admin) or search for PowerShell, right-click → Run as administrator.

You'll need this for the install command to work.

Step 2 — Install WSL2

One command does everything — enables the WSL feature, sets version 2 as default, and installs Ubuntu as the default distro:

wsl --install
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Output you'll see:

Installing: Virtual Machine Platform
Virtual Machine Platform has been installed.
Installing: Windows Subsystem for Linux
Windows Subsystem for Linux has been installed.
Downloading: WSL Kernel
Installing: WSL Kernel
WSL Kernel has been installed.
Downloading: Ubuntu
The requested operation is successful.
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If you want a specific distro instead of Ubuntu, use wsl --install -d <DistroName>. Run wsl --list --online to see what's available.

Step 3 — Restart Your Machine

WSL2 requires a reboot to finish the setup. Save anything open and restart.

Restart-Computer
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Or just restart manually from the Start menu.

Step 4 — Finish the Linux Setup

After reboot, Ubuntu (or whichever distro you picked) will launch automatically and ask you to create a user account:

Enter new UNIX username: localadmin
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfully
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Pick a username and a password. The password won't show as you type — that's normal.

Once done you'll land at the shell prompt:

localadmin@MACHINE-NAME:~$
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You're in.

Step 5 — Verify WSL2 is Running

Open a new PowerShell window and check:

wsl -l -v
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Expected output:

  NAME      STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu    Running         2
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The VERSION 2 confirms you're on WSL2, not the older WSL1. The * marks your default distro.

Step 6 — Update the Distro

First thing after a fresh install — update the package list:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
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Takes a minute or two. Do it now and you won't have to think about it again for a while.

Step 7 — Install Windows Terminal (if you haven't already)

WSL2 works fine in the default console but Windows Terminal is significantly better — tabs, split panes, profiles per distro, proper font rendering.

Install it from the Microsoft Store or:

winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal
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Once installed, open it and your Linux distro will already be listed as a profile in the + dropdown.

Useful Commands to Know

Command What it does
wsl --install Install WSL2 with default distro (Ubuntu)
wsl --install -d Debian Install a specific distro
wsl --list --online See all available distros
wsl -l -v List installed distros with version and state
wsl --set-default-version 2 Force WSL2 for all future instros
wsl --shutdown Stop all running WSL instances
wsl --update Update the WSL kernel
wsl -d Ubuntu Launch a specific distro

Accessing Files Between Windows and Linux

From inside WSL2, your Windows drives are mounted under /mnt/:

ls /mnt/c/Users/
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From Windows Explorer, type this in the address bar to browse your Linux filesystem:

\\wsl$\Ubuntu
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Or just run explorer.exe . from inside your WSL2 terminal to open the current folder in Explorer.

Troubleshooting

wsl --install says WSL is already installed but nothing works

  • Run wsl --update to make sure the kernel is current
  • Then wsl --shutdown and try again

Stuck on "Installing" after reboot

  • Open the Microsoft Store and check for pending updates — the Ubuntu app sometimes needs to finish installing from there

Error: 0x80370102 — virtualization not enabled

  • Reboot into BIOS/UEFI and enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V (virtualization)
  • On most machines it's under Advanced → CPU Configuration

WSL1 instead of WSL2 showing in wsl -l -v

  • Set the default version: wsl --set-default-version 2
  • Convert an existing distro: wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2

What's Next

Tested on Windows 11 23H2. If something looks different on your machine, the WSL docs at aka.ms/wsl are actually pretty good.

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