Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 support coming to Windows 10 version 1903 and 1909

1 min. read

Published on August 21, 2020

published on August 21, 2020

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Based on the customer feedback, Microsoft is bringing Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2 support to Windows 10 version 1903 and Windows 10 version 1909.

WSL 2 is a new version of the architecture in WSL that changes how Linux distributions interact with Windows. Each Linux distribution can run as WSL 1 or as WSL 2, and can be switched between at any time.

With WSL 2.0 support, customers can enjoy the following improvements.

File system performance now on par with Mac and Linux speeds
Improved System Call Support for all Linux applications notably: Docker, FUSE, rsync, etc.
Full Linux kernel built into WSL 2
Docker Desktop has added support to use WSL 2 as its engine, giving faster startup speeds and improved resource usage.

Right now, WSL 2 is only available for x64 systems on Windows 10 version 1909 and 1903. If you are using an ARM64 version, you need to upgrade to Windows 10 version 2004 to access WSL 2.

Source: Microsoft