WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Owned by Selvyn Wright
Last updated: Sept 25, 2023
1 min read

If you have to reinstall a distro for WSL it loses the default setting so that bash from PowerShell no longer works.

Here is the fix

wsl --list

This will get the current distributions on your machine. The distro you installed should be there

wsl --set-default <distro>

Replace <distro> will the distro name

Use wsl -l -v to list the WSL version and distro versions

Use wsl --distribution <distro> to start a distro, it’s the same as doing bash from PowerShell.

Use wsl -t <distro> to terminate a running distro.

If you get an error saying a feature has not been enable or installed after enabling the WSL, try enabling the virtual machine option as shown below, restart the host machine, and try reinstalling a distro, solution courtesy of https://superuser.com/questions/1736443/wsl-2-installing-linux-failed-error-code-0x80370114