Microsoft today announced that the Store version of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is generally available for Windows 10 and 11 customers.

With the move to WSL in the Store, Redmond is also moving away from providing WSL as an optional component of the operating system.

Although both offer the same user experience, with the Microsoft Store version being the default, users will get faster updates and maintenance (as soon as they become available) instead of waiting for an update from the windows operating system.

Also, due to customer requests, all Windows 10 users can now use Linux GUI apps after updating to the Microsoft Store version.

“Today, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the Microsoft Store is dropping its ‘Preview’ tag and becoming generally available with our latest release,” said Craig Loewen, developer platform program manager. Windows. said.

“We are also making the Store version of WSL the default version for new users running wsl –install and easily upgradeable by running wsl –update for existing users.

“In response to requests from the WSL community, WSL in the Store will now also be available on Windows 10 in addition to Windows 11. So Windows 10 users will also be able to enjoy all the latest WSL features, including systemd and Linux GUI application support!”

The latest generally available version is rolling out to researchers on systems running Windows 10 21H1 and later or Windows 11 21H2 and later, with the November 2022 updates installed.

On the correct version of Windows, new users can get WSL by running wsl –install, while existing users can upgrade to the latest Store version using wsl –update.

Microsoft released WSL in 2018 as a compatibility layer allowing Windows users to run Linux binaries on their computers natively, using PowerShell or a Windows 10 command prompt.

WSL 2, a notable upgrade that significantly increased file system performance, has been released in May 2019adding support for full system call compatibility and using a Linux kernel running in a lightweight virtual machine (VM).

It also added support for GUI-based Linux applications with the introduction of WSLg (short for Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI), which started rolling out to Windows 10 Insiders in May 2021.

You can find detailed guidance on installing and launching Linux GUI applications on the official WSLg GitHub page.