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How to install WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux 2) on Windows 10

To install WSL with a specific distro on Windows 10, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

  3. Type the following command to view a list of available WSL distros to install on Windows 10 and press Enter:

wsl --list --online

The following is a list of valid distributions that can be installed.
Install using 'wsl.exe --install <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
OracleLinux_7_9                        Oracle Linux 7.9
OracleLinux_8_7                        Oracle Linux 8.7
OracleLinux_9_1                        Oracle Linux 9.1
openSUSE-Leap-15.5                     openSUSE Leap 15.5
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-Server-15-SP4    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP5           SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5
openSUSE-Tumbleweed                    openSUSE Tumbleweed

Quick note: At the time of this writing, you can install Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux, openSUSE, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

  1. Install the Ubuntu 22.04 from the Windows Store.

For this case, we recomend the Ubuntu-22.04 distribution. Type the following command to install the WSL with a specific distro on Windows 10 and press Enter:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04
  1. Update the WSL to WSL 2 (Optional)

If you have WSL 1, you can update it to WSL 2.

To check which version you have, execute the following command:

wsl --list --verbose

Alternatively, to check the WSL status, use:

wsl --status

You should see a message including "Default Version 2," which verifies that the default version has been set correctly.

To set the version to 2, enter the following command:

wsl --set-version Ubuntu-22.04 2

Wait for the "Conversion complete" or "This distribution is already the requested version" message in the terminal.

Again, execute the following command to check the current version:

wsl --list --verbose

You should see a message including "NAME Ubuntu VERSION 2," which verifies that the version has been set correctly.

Fix Common Issues

If the installation fails with errors like "Virtual Machine Platform not enabled" or mentions enabling virtualization in the BIOS, follow these solutions:

Solution 1: Enable Required Windows Features

  1. Open the Start Menu and search for Turn Windows features on or off.

  2. Enable the following features by checking their boxes:

    • Virtual Machine Platform
    • Windows Subsystem for Linux
    • (Optional) Windows Hypervisor Platform (recommended for advanced virtualization tasks).

  3. Click OK and let Windows install the features. Restart your computer if prompted.

Solution 2: Enable Virtualization in the BIOS

If WSL still doesn’t work or the error mentions virtualization, you need to enable it in your computer’s BIOS:

  1. Restart your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI setup. This usually requires pressing a specific key during startup (like F2, F10, Del, or Esc).

    • The key varies depending on your manufacturer, so check your system’s manual if unsure.

  2. Look for an option like:

    • Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) (for Intel processors).
    • SVM Mode (for AMD processors).

  3. Enable the option.

  4. Save the changes and exit the BIOS (usually with the F10 key).

References

For further information, read the Microsoft documentation.

Increase the Memory Usage Limit in WSL2

If you need to increase the memory usage limit in WSL2, you can follow these steps:

  1. Check the Current Memory

You can check how much memory and swap space are allocated to WSL using the free command from within a WSL distribution:

free -h --giga
  1. Create .wslconfig

Refer to the Microsoft documentation on configuration settings for .wslconfig if you need help with this step. Below is the configuration I'm currently using for my machine, as I don't have a lot of RAM to work with:

Create or edit the file at "C:\Users\YourUsername\.wslconfig" and add the following lines:

[wsl2]
memory=100GB
  1. Restart WSL

You can either close out of WSL manually and wait a few seconds for it to fully shut down, or you can launch Command Prompt or PowerShell and run the following command to forcibly shut down all WSL distributions:

wsl --shutdown
  1. Verify That WSL Respects .wslconfig

Finally, run the free command again to verify that WSL respects your specified resource limits:

free -h --giga