Release notes for Ubuntu on WSL

This page includes:

Upgrade instructions for Ubuntu on WSL

The default Ubuntu distro for WSL (wsl --install Ubuntu) always ships the latest stable LTS release, which can be upgraded once the first point release of a new LTS is available:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade 
$ do-release-upgrade

By default, Ubuntu distros downloaded as explicitly numbered releases (wsl --install Ubuntu-24.04) will not be upgraded in this manner, unless the following configuration change is made:

/etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
- Prompt=never
+ Prompt=normal

Latest supported releases

LTS is recommended for Ubuntu on WSL

We recommend LTS versions of Ubuntu on WSL, which receive standard support for five years.

You can try interim releases of Ubuntu but they are not recommended for production.

Ubuntu on WSL distro (LTS)

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat)

Cloud-init support

cloud-init is the industry standard multi-distribution method for cross-platform cloud instance initialisation. It is supported across all major public cloud providers, provisioning systems for private cloud infrastructure, and bare-metal installations.

With cloud-init on WSL you can now automatically and reproducibly configure your WSL instances on first boot. Make the first steps with this guide.

New documentation

The documentation specific to Ubuntu on WSL is available on Read the Docs. This evolving project is regularly updated with new content about Ubuntu’s specifics on WSL.

Reduced footprint

Experience faster download and installation times with 24.04, with a 200MB reduction in image size.

Systemd by default

systemd is now enabled by default even when the instance is launched directly from a terminal with the wsl.exe command or from an imported root files system.

Point release changes
24.04.3

  • WSL setup: remove the systemd-binfmt.service override after WSL implemented a more robust binfmt protection mechanism. (wsl-setup/#11)

  • WSL setup: Fix an issue when the Windows user name contains non-ASCII characters (wsl-setup/#23)

24.04.2

  • WSL setup: Adapt to new Microsoft package format (2091293)

  • Cloud init: Deliver warnings via MotD if cloud-init doesn’t succeed (2080223).

24.04.1

  • WSL setup: Override cloud-init default_user configuration for Ubuntu distros to prevent creation of a default user which confused WSLg (2065349)

Ubuntu Pro for WSL

This application is pending an official release of its 1.0 version.

Previous LTS distro releases

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)

22.04

  • Various bug fixes relating to the installer, UI and profile page

Point release changes

22.04.4, 22.04.5

  • None

22.04.3

  • Fix for get_ppid() not working on WSL

22.04.2

  • Cherry-pick upstream patch to use more portable alignment to resolve failure to execute on WSL1.

22.04.1

  • Fixes and improvements to the store listing, slide show and release upgrader policy.

Interim distro releases

Click to expand for 25.04 (Plucky Puffin), and more…

Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin)

Ubuntu 24.10 (Oracular Oriole)

  • None