<p>Unlock the power of Ubuntu within your Windows environment using Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2). This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing Ubuntu on WSL 2 via two methods: the Command Line and the Microsoft Store.</p>
<h2><strong>Prerequisites</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Operating System</strong>: Windows 10 (Version 1903, Build 18362 or later) or Windows 11.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>System Requirements</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Ensure all the latest Windows updates are installed.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Verify that virtualization is enabled in your system's BIOS/UEFI settings.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Check Windows Version</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Press <code>Win + R</code>, type <code>winver</code>, and press Enter.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>Step 1: Enable WSL</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Option A: Using PowerShell (Recommended for Windows 11 and newer Windows 10 versions)</strong></h3>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Open <strong>PowerShell as Administrator</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Search for "PowerShell" in the Start Menu, right-click, and select <strong>Run as administrator</strong>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<p>Execute the following command:</p>
<pre><code>wsl --install
</code></pre>
<p>This command enables the necessary WSL features and installs the default Ubuntu distribution.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Restart your computer when prompted to complete the installation.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3><strong>Option B: Manual Installation (For older Windows 10 versions)</strong></h3>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Open <strong>PowerShell as Administrator</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Enable the required features:</p>
<pre><code>dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
</code></pre>
</li>
<li>
<p>Set WSL 2 as the default version:</p>
<pre><code>wsl --set-default-version 2
</code></pre>
</li>
<li>
<p>Restart your computer to apply the changes.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Step 2: Install Ubuntu on WSL</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Method 1: Using the Command Line</strong></h3>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Open <strong>PowerShell as Administrator</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>List available distributions:</p>
<pre><code>wsl --list --online
</code></pre>
<p>This command displays a list of available Linux distributions.</p>
<pre>The following is a list of valid distributions that can be installed.
The default distribution is denoted by '*'.
Install using 'wsl --install -d &lt;Distro&gt;'.

  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
...</pre>
</li>
<li>
<p>Install your desired Ubuntu version (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04 LTS):</p>
<pre><code>wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
</code></pre>
</li>
<li>You&rsquo;ll see an indicator of the installation progress in the terminal:<br>
<pre>Installing: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
[==========================72,0%==========                 ]</pre>
</li>
<li>
<p>Use&nbsp;<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">wsl</span>&nbsp;<span class="pre">-l</span>&nbsp;<span class="pre">-v</span></code>&nbsp;to see all your currently installed distros and the version of WSL that they are using:</p>
<section id="install-ubuntu-wsl" class="">
<section id="method-2-wsl-commands-in-the-terminal" class="active">
<div class="no-copy highlight-text notranslate">
<div class="highlight">
<pre>NAME            STATE           VERSION
  Ubuntu-20.04    Stopped         2
* Ubuntu-24.04    Stopped         2
</pre>
</div>
</div>
</section>
</section>
<section id="note-on-installing-images-without-the-microsoft-store"></section>
</li>
<li>
<p>Upon completion, Ubuntu will launch, prompting you to create a UNIX username and password.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3><strong>Method 2: Using the Microsoft Store</strong></h3>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Open the <strong>Microsoft Store</strong> from the Start Menu.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Search for "Ubuntu" in the store's search bar.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Select your preferred Ubuntu version (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04 LTS) and click <strong>Get</strong> to begin the installation.<br><img src="../../../../uploads/1748078948455-choose-distribution.png" alt="" width="1512" height="850"></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Once installed, click <strong>Launch</strong> or open Ubuntu from the Start Menu.<br><img src="../../../../uploads/1748078974369-search-ubuntu-windows.png" alt="" width="997" height="929"></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>On the first launch, you'll be prompted to create a UNIX username and password.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Step 3: Verify WSL Installation</strong></h2>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Open <strong>PowerShell</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Check the installed distributions and their WSL versions:</p>
<pre><code>wsl --list --verbose
</code></pre>
<p>The output should resemble:</p>
<pre><code>NAME            STATE           VERSION
* Ubuntu-24.04  Running         2
</code></pre>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Optional: Set Ubuntu as the Default WSL Distribution</strong></h2>
<p>If you have multiple distributions installed and wish to set Ubuntu as the default:</p>
<pre><code>wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04
</code></pre>
<h2><strong>Optional: Install Ubuntu Without Microsoft Store Access</strong></h2>
<p>If you don't have access to the Microsoft Store or prefer manual installation:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>Download the Ubuntu <code>.appx</code> package from the <a href="https://ubuntu.com/download/wsl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official Ubuntu releases</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Convert the <code>.appx</code> file to a <code>.zip</code> file and extract its contents.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Run the installer to complete the installation process.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h2><strong>Post-Installation: Update and Upgrade Ubuntu</strong></h2>
<p>After installation, it's advisable to update your Ubuntu packages:</p>
<pre>sudo apt update &amp;&amp; sudo apt upgrade -y</pre>
<p><strong>You're All Set!</strong><br><br>You now have Ubuntu running on WSL 2, providing a powerful and integrated Linux environment within Windows. Utilize it for development, scripting, and more, all without the need for a separate virtual machine.</p>
<p>For more detailed information and advanced configurations, refer to the official Ubuntu documentation: (<a href="https://documentation.ubuntu.com/wsl/en/stable/howto/install-ubuntu-wsl2/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ubuntu Documentation</a>)</p>

Unlock the power of Ubuntu within your Windows environment using Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2). This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing Ubuntu on WSL 2 via two methods: the Command Line and the Microsoft Store.

How to Install Ubuntu on WSL 2: A Comprehensive Guide

<p><strong>Visual Studio Code 1.34 has been released and includes enhancements for Remote Development as Preview. In addition, new features for the editor and the debugging as well as a new documentation are on board.</strong></p>

<p>Microsoft has released the latest version of its free source code editor Visual Studio Code. The April release, VS Code 1.34, includes some new features, including previewing for VS-Code Insiders, a Python tutorial for use with Azure Functions, and What&rsquo;s New for Vetur. A debugging milestone is also announced by Microsoft.</p>

<h2>Remote Development for Insiders</h2>

<p>In April, Microsoft worked on new VS Code&nbsp;Extensions&nbsp;for remote development on WSL, SSH servers and in containers. Already earlier this month &ndash; before the Microsoft build 2019 &ndash; Remote Development for Visual Studio Code was announced on Twitter and caused many reactions there:</p>

<p>There are three preview extensions available for the Remote Development feature:</p>

<ol>
<li><a href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Remote &ndash; WSL</a>&nbsp;for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)</li>
<li><a href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Remote SSH</a>&nbsp;for remote machines with an SSH server</li>
<li><a href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Remote Containers</a>&nbsp;for Docker Containers</li>
</ol>

<p>So far, the new extensions are only running on&nbsp;<a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/insiders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insider builds</a>&nbsp;of VS code that can be run alongside the stable build. The Visual Studio&nbsp;<a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2019/05/02/remote-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog</a>&nbsp;has all the information you need about Remote Development.</p>

<h2>Features in Visual Studio code 1.34</h2>

<p>As a milestone Microsoft calls the possibility to debug in VS code 1.34 at the same time several Extensions. Especially when developing tightly coupled or interdependent extensions this should be useful.</p>

<p>The Vetur extension for Vue tooling offers some new features in VS Code 1.34 &ndash; semantic diagnostics, hover information, jump-to-definition, and the JavaScript expression reference search within the Vue Template Interpolation Region:</p>
<p><img src="../../../../uploads/1744773806604-vetur-interpolation.gif" alt="" width="791" height="500"></p>
<p>In addition, the feature CodeLens should have become more stable when switching between editors. Python also gets&nbsp;<a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/tutorial-azure-functions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new documentation</a>&nbsp;for deployment to Azure Functions, and some bugfixes are included again.</p>

<p>More details about all the new features in Visual Studio Code 1.34 is&nbsp;<a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_34" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">available from Microsoft</a>.</p>

Visual Studio Code 1.34 has been released and includes enhancements for Remote Development as Preview.

How to Install Ubuntu on WSL 2: A Comprehensive Guide

Visual Studio Code 1.34: Remote Development as a preview feature