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You won’t need to set up a dual boot system, either, as WSL runs entirely on top of your Windows operating system. Therefore, you don’t get access to a Linux desktop environment such as Gnome or KDE and you can’t run Linux desktop apps. The most important thing to know about the Windows Subsystem for Linux is that it’s not a virtual machine. What Is the Windows Subsystem for Linux Good for? But, first, let’s see what exactly you can use WSL for. Then, we will install the Ubuntu 18.04 (LTS) on top of WSL. In this tutorial, we will show you step by step how to install the Windows Subsystem for Linux. With WSL, you can install any Linux distro you want on your Windows machine. It allows you to set up a Linux environment on Windows without having to install a virtual machine.
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The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a compatibility layer that natively runs Linux binaries on the Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 operating systems.
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