Install Ubuntu on WSL2¶

Authored by Oliver Smith (oliver.smith@canonical.com) and edited by Edu Gómez Escandell (edu.gomez.escandell@canonical.com)

What you will learn¶

How to enable and install WSL on Windows 10 and Windows 11
How to install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS using the Microsoft Store or WSL commands in the terminal

What you will need¶

Windows 10 or 11 running on either a physical device or virtual machine
All of the latest Windows updates installed

Install WSL¶

You can install WSL from the command line. Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (we recommend using Windows Terminal) and run:

> wsl --install

This command will enable the features necessary to run WSL and also install the default Ubuntu distribution of Linux available in the Microsoft Store. It is recommended to reboot your machine after this initial installation to complete the setup. You can also install WSL from the Microsoft Store.

Install Ubuntu WSL¶

WSL supports a variety of Linux distributions including the latest Ubuntu LTS release. Check our reference on distributions to see which one you prefer.

There are multiple ways of installing distros on WSL, here we focus on two: the Microsoft Store application and WSL commands run in the terminal. The result is the same regardless of the method.

Method 1: Microsoft Store application¶

Find the distribution you prefer on the Microsoft Store and then click Get.

Installation page for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in the Microsoft store.

Ubuntu will then be installed on your machine. Once installed, you can either launch the application directly from the Microsoft Store or search for Ubuntu in your Windows search bar.

Method 2: WSL commands in the terminal¶

It is possible to install the same Ubuntu versions available on the Microsoft Store directly from the command line. In a PowerShell terminal, you can run wsl --list --online to see an output with all available distros and versions:

The following is a list of valid distributions that can be installed.
The default distribution is denoted by '*'.
Install using 'wsl --install -d <Distro>'.

  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
  Ubuntu-24.04                           Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
...

Your list may be different once new distributions become available.

You can install a version using a NAME from the output:

> wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

You’ll see an indicator of the installation progress in the terminal:

Installing: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
[==========================72,0%==========                 ]

Use wsl -l -v to see all your currently installed distros and the version of WSL they are using:

  NAME            STATE           VERSION
  Ubuntu-20.04    Stopped         2
* Ubuntu-24.04    Stopped         2

Note on installing images without the Microsoft Store¶

If you do not have access to the Microsoft Store or need to install a custom image it is possible to import a distribution as a tar file:

> wsl --import <DistroName> <InstallLocation> <InstallTarFile>

Appx and MSIX packages for a given distro can also be downloaded and installed. Please refer to Microsoft’s documentation for more detailed information on these installation methods:

Warning

You should always try to use the latest LTS release of Ubuntu, as it offers the best security, reliability and support when using Ubuntu WSL.

Currently we do not have a recommended store for downloading tar and Appx/MSIX files for Ubuntu distros.

Run and configure Ubuntu¶

To open an Ubuntu 24.04 terminal run the following command in PowerShell:

> ubuntu2404.exe

Congratulations, you now have an Ubuntu terminal running on your Windows machine.

Once it has finished its initial setup, you will be prompted to create a username and password. They don’t need to match your Windows user credentials.

Finally, it’s always good practice to install the latest updates by running the following commands within the Ubuntu terminal, entering your password when prompted:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt full-upgrade -y

Enjoy Ubuntu on WSL¶

In this guide, we’ve shown you how to install Ubuntu WSL on Windows 10 or 11.

We hope you enjoy working with Ubuntu in WSL. Don’t for to check out our blog for the latest news on all things Ubuntu.