Window Subsystem for Linux

Window Subsystem for Linux

Scott Hanselman with some nice tips on how to use WSL, and other Windows tips.

• Use Windows Terminal instead of command prompt
  • it knows about the various shells, eg command prompt, PowerShell, WSL Linux distros
  • right-click to split window
• Oh My Posh
  • a prompt theme engine for any shell
  • looked nice when he used it, but I won’t use it because it needs setup for each type of prompt, and I prefer naked prompts
• wsl --list --online to see list of available distros
• wsl --list -v to see state of installed distros
• df inside WSL to see drives, eg the Windows c: drive
• can run Windows commands inside WSL
  • eg notepad.exe (but remember to edit files in Linux format)
  • eg explorer.exe to use Windows to explorer WSL
  • code . is an exception
    • special handling to run VSCode
    • runs as a client/server app
    • extensions can be local (Windows) or on server (WSL)
    • localhost on WSL is port forwarded to Windows
• can install GUI apps in WSL and run them from Windows
  • eg Gimp - install in WSL and it’ll show up on Windows menu under Ubuntu
  • useful if there’s an app you want to run that’s only available on Linux
• .Net Core is just another app available from apt or whatever