microsoft/wsl

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a feature built by Microsoft that lets you run a real Linux environment directly on a Windows computer, without needing a separate virtual machine or setting up a dual-boot system where you pick either Windows or Linux at startup. The problem it solves is that many developers, data scientists, and system administrators need to use Linux tools, commands, and utilities, but they also need Windows for their main workflow. Before WSL, the only ways to do this were cumbersome: use a virtual machine (which is slow and resource-heavy), buy a separate Linux machine, or abandon Windows entirely. WSL works by integrating the Linux kernel directly into Windows. The second version, WSL 2, runs an actual Linux kernel in a lightweight, highly optimized virtual machine that Microsoft controls, giving near-native performance and full system call compatibility. This means you can run unmodified Linux software, command-line tools, shell scripts, compilers, package managers, server applications, as if you were on a real Linux machine. Files on your Windows drives are accessible from Linux, and vice versa, so the two environments work together rather than in isolation. A related project called WSLg also brings support for graphical Linux applications, meaning you can run Linux programs with windows and UI elements directly on your Windows desktop. You would use WSL if you are a developer on a Windows machine who needs access to Linux tooling, for example, running bash scripts, using Linux-native build systems, or following tutorials written for Linux environments. Installation is as simple as running one command in Windows PowerShell. The codebase is primarily written in C++ and this repository is the official open-source home of the WSL project maintained by Microsoft.