Running Linux GUI applications on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Windows 11 now officially released comes with more exciting features. One of the most amazing features is the ability to run Linux GUI applications using WSL(Windows Subsystem for Linux) version 2. This feature used to be limited to members of the Windows Insider but is now available to all users.

WSL can be defined as a lightweight virtualization technology that makes it possible to execute Linux binaries on a Windows system. WSL was first released in 2016 and ever since its development has increased with the latest major release WSL 2 available for Windows 11 Build 22000 and above.

WSL 2 offers a fully integrated desktop experience where you can:

• Pin Linux apps to the Windows task bar
• Launch Linux apps from the Windows Start menu
• Use alt-tab to switch between Linux and Windows apps
• Cut + Paste across Windows and Linux apps

WSL is available on Windows 10 as well, but more features are available on Windows 11 systems. This guide aims to demonstrate how to run Linux GUI applications on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

Step 1 – Install Graphics Drivers for WSL

Graphic drivers are so essential when running GPU-accelerated Linux GUI applications on your system. Thanks to the Microsoft Team for creating links to drivers for 3 major Architectures:

• Intel Graphics Drivers
• AMD Graphics Drivers
• NVIDIA Graphics Drivers

Install the desired drivers for your system.

Once installed, proceed as below.

Step 2 – Install WSL on Windows

This step is for those who haven’t installed WSL on their systems. Open the administrator PowerShell/Windows Command Prompt.

In the command line, run the below command to install WSL.

wsl --install

Sample Output:

The above command downloads the Linux kernel sets WSL2 as default and also installs Ubuntu. Once installed, you need to restart your machine.

Now enable WSL.

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

If you already had WSL installed, upgrade it to WSL 2 as below.

wsl --update

Force a restart.

wsl --shutdown

You can list available Linux distributions as below.

wsl --list

Sample Output:

Install a preferred Linux distro using the syntax below.

wsl --install -d <distro name>

Step 3 – Run Linux on Windows using WSL

Now after the desired Linux distribution is installed, it will appear in the Start menu.

The Linux distro will be installed as below.

You may need to create a new Unix user.

Finally, you will access the Linux shell. Here, you can run normal Linux commands for the installed distribution.

Step 4 – Run GUI applications on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Finally, you can run GUI applications from the Linux command line using WSL. For example to run Firefox, begin by installing it.

For Ubuntu.

sudo apt install firefox

Once installed, run it as below.

firefox

Sample Output:

More and more Linux applications such as VLC, vim text editor e.t.c. The installed applications can also be launched from the Windows App Menu.

Conclusion.

That marks the end of this guide. I hope you enjoyed the new WSL feature on Windows. You can now easily run Linux GUI applications on Windows.

Related posts:

• Run Podman on Windows using WSL2
• How To Run Arch Linux on Windows WSL
• How to run Linux on Windows Server 2019 with WSL