Install Ubuntu on WSL2¶
What you will learn¶
How to enable and install WSL on Windows
How to install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS using the Microsoft Store or WSL commands in the terminal
How to start Ubuntu instances
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 and run the default Ubuntu distro¶
To install WSL, open PowerShell as an Administrator and run:
> wsl --install
This installs both WSL and the default distro for WSL, which is the latest LTS version of Ubuntu.
Install specific versions of Ubuntu on WSL¶
There are multiple ways of installing Ubuntu distros on WSL. The best method depends on your specific requirements.
Method 1: Install Ubuntu from the terminal¶
In a PowerShell terminal, run wsl --list --online
to see a list of all available distros and versions:
The following is a list of valid distributions that can be installed.
Install using 'wsl --install <Distro>'.
NAME FRIENDLY NAME
AlmaLinux-8 AlmaLinux OS 8
... ...
Ubuntu Ubuntu
Ubuntu-24.04 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
archlinux Arch 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
...
Install a specific Ubuntu distro using a NAME from the output:
> wsl --install Ubuntu-24.04
Important
At time of writing, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and later versions are download in WSL’s new tar-based format. Earlier Ubuntu versions are currently downloaded in the old format. The new format requires WSL 2.4.10 or higher.
Method 2: Download and install from the Ubuntu archive¶
Ubuntu images for WSL can be downloaded directly from ubuntu.com/wsl.
The image has a .wsl
extension and can be installed in two ways:
Double-clicking the downloaded file
Running
wsl --install --from-file <image>.wsl
in the download directory
This method has advantages in some contexts:
Access to the Microsoft Store is not required
Images can be self-hosted on an internal network
Custom installations can be created by modifying the image
Read our blog post about the new format and Microsoft’s guide on building custom WSL distros.
Method 3: Install from the Microsoft Store¶
Find the Ubuntu distribution that you want in the Microsoft Store and click Get.
Once installed, you can either launch Ubuntu 24.04 LTS directly from the Microsoft Store or search for Ubuntu in your Windows search bar.
Starting an Ubuntu instance¶
During installation of an Ubuntu distro, you are asked to create a username and password specific to that instance. This also starts an Ubuntu session and logs you in.
After installation, you can open Ubuntu instances by:
Searching for them in the Window’s search bar
Opening the dropdown in Windows Terminal
Running the
wsl -d <Distro>
command in PowerShell
At any point, you can list the Ubuntu distros that you can start with wsl -l -v
.
Starting an instance in the right directory¶
By default, if you open Ubuntu using the Windows search bar or the Windows Terminal dropdown, the instance starts in the Ubuntu home directory.
When starting an instance from the terminal, the command run determines the starting directory.
Start Ubuntu in the current Windows directory from the terminal¶
When you open PowerShell, the working Windows directory is C:\Users\username
.
Run wsl -d <Distro>
to start an Ubuntu session in that directory. The prompt
will indicate that the Windows C:
drive is mounted to Ubuntu and that you are
in the Windows home directory:
username@pc:/mnt/c/Users/username$
Start Ubuntu in the Ubuntu home directory from the terminal¶
When in a directory in the mounted C:
drive, you can change to the Ubuntu
home directory with:
username@pc:/mnt/c/Users/username$ cd ~
To skip this step, and start an instance from PowerShell with Ubuntu home as the working directory, run:
> wsl ~ -d Ubuntu
Tip
For the default Ubuntu distro only, this command can be shortened further to:
> wsl ~
Enjoy Ubuntu on WSL¶
In this guide, we’ve shown you how to install Ubuntu WSL using different methods.
We hope you enjoy working with Ubuntu in WSL. Don’t forget to check out our blog for the latest news on all things Ubuntu.