How to Set Up WSL2 (Linux on Windows 11)

The rest of this guide covers the details worth knowing: choosing a different distribution, the difference between WSL 1 and WSL 2 and how to set the default, keeping WSL updated, moving files between Windows and Linux, and the notes that matter for GPU compute and systemd.

1. Install WSL with one command

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin), or search for PowerShell, right-click it and pick Run as administrator.
2. Run:

   wsl --install

3. Wait for it to enable the required components and download WSL and Ubuntu, then restart your PC when prompted.
4. After the reboot, open Ubuntu from the Start menu. The first launch unpacks the distribution, then asks you to create a Linux username and password. This account is separate from your Windows sign-in.

That is the entire happy path. On Windows 11, wsl --install installs the Microsoft Store version of WSL, enables the Virtual Machine Platform, and sets WSL 2 as the default version for new distributions.

2. Pick a Linux distribution

Ubuntu is the default, but WSL supports many distributions, and you can install several side by side. To see the current catalog available for download:

wsl --list --online

That command can also be written wsl -l -o. To install a specific distribution, pass its name with the -d flag:

wsl --install -d Debian

Replace Debian with any name from the online list — for example Ubuntu-24.04, Debian, kali-linux, or openSUSE-Tumbleweed. Each distribution appears in the Start menu with its own launcher, and you can run them independently.

3. WSL 1 vs WSL 2 — and setting the default

WSL comes in two architectures, set out in Microsoft Learn's comparison of WSL 1 and WSL 2, whose feature table gives WSL 2 the full Linux kernel, managed VM and full system-call compatibility, and gives WSL 1 the win on performance across OS file systems:

• WSL 2 (the default) runs a genuine Linux kernel inside a fast, lightweight managed virtual machine. It gives full system-call compatibility and much faster performance for work done inside the Linux file system. This is the right choice for almost everyone.
• WSL 1 translates Linux system calls to Windows on the fly. It has no virtual machine, and it can be faster when your files live on the Windows drive and are reached through /mnt/c. A few specific workloads keep it deliberately.

New distributions installed with wsl --install already default to WSL 2. To confirm which version each installed distribution is using:

wsl --list --verbose

Short form: wsl -l -v. The VERSION column shows 1 or 2. To make WSL 2 the default for anything you install in future:

wsl --set-default-version 2

To convert an existing distribution between versions, name it and the target version:

wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2

4. Keep WSL updated

WSL now ships as a Microsoft Store package rather than an OS component, so it is serviced separately from Windows — Microsoft's note on WSL in the Microsoft Store says to run wsl.exe --update to pull the latest features and servicing, and to append --web-download if the Store is blocked on your network. From an elevated PowerShell:

wsl --update

To confirm the installed versions of WSL and its kernel components:

wsl --version

And for a summary of your configuration — default distribution, default version and kernel:

wsl --status

If you ever need WSL to reload its virtual machine — for example after changing a configuration file — shut everything down cleanly with:

wsl --shutdown

5. Access files across Windows and Linux

The two file systems are fully browsable from each other. Microsoft Learn's Working across file systems article documents all three routes below, and recommends keeping project files on whichever file system matches the tools you are running.

• From Linux, reach your Windows drives under /mnt. Your C: drive is at /mnt/c, your D: drive at /mnt/d, and so on. For example: cd /mnt/c/Users/.
• From Windows, reach your Linux files by typing \\wsl$\ or \\wsl.localhost\ into the File Explorer address bar to see each installed distribution as a network location.
• Open the current Linux folder in File Explorer straight from a WSL shell with:

  explorer.exe .

6. Run Linux tools alongside Windows

WSL is designed to blend the two environments, and you can call across the boundary in both directions:

• Run a Windows program from inside Linux by appending .exe, for example notepad.exe or explorer.exe ..
• Run a single Linux command from PowerShell without opening a shell, by prefixing it with wsl. For example wsl ls -la or wsl pwd.
• Pipe between the two — Windows and Linux tools can be chained together on the same command line.

The most comfortable way to work with several shells at once is Windows Terminal, which is built into Windows 11. It opens each distribution — plus PowerShell and Command Prompt — in its own tab or pane, so you can switch between them instantly.

7. Notes on GPU compute and systemd

GPU compute. WSL 2 can pass your GPU through to Linux for accelerated compute workloads such as CUDA and DirectML. You do not install a Linux GPU driver inside the distribution. Instead, install the current WSL-enabled GPU driver in Windows from your GPU vendor, keep WSL updated, and the GPU is exposed to Linux automatically.

systemd. Modern WSL can run systemd, which many Linux services and packages expect. It is enabled per distribution through the /etc/wsl.conf file. Edit (or create) that file inside the distribution, for example with sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf, and add:

[boot]
systemd=true

Save the file, then from Windows run wsl --shutdown and reopen the distribution for the change to take effect.