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Tutorial

Install Ubuntu WSL

This guide will provide instructions on how to install WSL on Windows 11

Hake HardwarePublished Updated ~5 minbeginner

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Contents

Install Ubuntu

Windows 11 makes it extremely easy to install WSL and Ubuntu. Open up the Terminal by pressing WIN + x and then select "Terminal". Then paste in:

bash
wsl --install --no-distribution
PowerShell terminal showing WSL installation progress

Reboot once the installation is complete.

Once WSL is installed, the available distros can be viewed with:

bash
wsl --list --online
PowerShell showing available WSL distributions list

I prefer to install Ubuntu 24.04 which is the latest version at the time. To install, run:

bash
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Install Updates

Once Ubuntu is installed a prompt will be displayed to provide a username and then password. Afterwards, Ubuntu will be logged in and should be updated. Paste in:

bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y

Once complete, restart WSL with the following commands.

Exit Ubuntu:

bash
exit

Shutdown WSL:

bash
wsl --shutdown

Then start WSL back up with:

bash
wsl

Setting a Default Distro

If more than one distro is installed, it is possible to set the distro that is used as the default. First, list the installed distros:

bash
wsl -l -v

Then set whichever one should be default:

bash
wsl --set-default <DISTRO>

Keep Ubuntu VM Running

If running into issues where the Ubuntu VM keeps shutting down (which was happening to me and closing all my Docker containers), consider configuring WSL to auto start.

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