Install Linux Ubuntu on Windows using WSL

In this Guide, I'll tell you how to Install Linux (Ubuntu distribution) on Windows using WSL

Step 1: Enable WSL 2

1. Opening Windows Powershell Terminal

2. Enable WSL

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

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

4. Run the WSL Installation Command:

wsl --set-default-version 2
wsl --install

• It may ask you to choose a username and password

3. Reboot Computer:

After the installation completes, you may need to reboot your computer

Step 2: Install Ubuntu

1. Open Microsoft Store:

After restarting, open the Microsoft Store from the Start menu.

2. Search for Ubuntu:

In the Store, type "Ubuntu" in the search bar. You’ll see various versions like Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, etc

3. Select and Install:

Click on the version you want to install, then click the Get or Install button

Step 3: Set Up Ubuntu

1. Launch Ubuntu:

• Once installed, you can launch it directly by searching for "Ubuntu" in the Start menu
• The first time you launch Ubuntu, it will take a moment to set up. After that, you will be prompted to create a new user account and password

Step 4: Install and Update Packages (aka Drivers)

1. Update and Upgrade default Packages

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

2. Install more important packages

sudo apt install curl iptables build-essential git wget lz4 jq make gcc nano automake autoconf tmux htop nvme-cli pkg-config libssl-dev libleveldb-dev tar clang bsdmainutils ncdu unzip libleveldb-dev  -y

3. Install Docker

sudo apt update -y && sudo apt upgrade -y
for pkg in docker.io docker-doc docker-compose podman-docker containerd runc; do sudo apt-get remove $pkg; done

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl gnupg
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  "$(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME")" stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

sudo apt update -y && sudo apt upgrade -y

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Docker version
docker --version

Optional: To install more packages you can check my recent Linux guide

Optional: Change user

There are 2 ways to login to ubuntu:

• 1. You are root (administrator with full permissions)
• 2. you are an specific user with specific permissions

You see by entering whoami, I am logged in as user:mirana

If you want to login with root (full permissions):

sudo su

• Now you see I am as root user, but in mirana user main directory
• I need to type cd to move to the main directory of root

To login to a specific user again, Enter this command: su - username

Access Ubuntu directories in Windows explorer

To go to your Ubuntu directory using Windows explorer, Enter this in Windows Explorer Addressbar

\\wsl$

• home: main directory of your specific user
• root: main directory of your root user

If you don't have access to root directory, Enter this command in terminal sudo chmod 755 /root

Give a user sudo access

If you are not root, switch to root first (from Windows PowerShell):

wsl -d Ubuntu -u root

Or from Ubuntu if you already have sudo:

sudo su

If needed, create the user, then add to the sudo group and set a password:

id -u <username> 2>/dev/null || adduser <username>
adduser <username> sudo
passwd <username>

# verify
groups <username>

Optional: enable passwordless sudo for the user (use one of the following):

# safer (uses visudo)
visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/<username>
# add this single line and save
<username> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL

Or as commands:

echo '<username> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' > /etc/sudoers.d/<username>
chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/<username>

Optional: make the user the default for your Ubuntu WSL distro (run in Windows PowerShell):

ubuntu.exe config --default-user <username>

Note: the executable may be named ubuntu2004.exe, ubuntu2204.exe, etc., depending on your distro.

Connect to Ubuntu from Windows tools (Cursor, MobaXterm, etc.)

• Cursor

  • Open folder via WSL share: File > Open Folder > enter \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\<username>\<project>
  • Or install the "Remote - WSL" extension in Cursor, then use Command Palette: "Remote-WSL: New WSL Window" and open your folder inside WSL

• MobaXterm

  • WSL session: Session > WSL > select your distro (e.g., Ubuntu) > OK
  • SSH session (optional): install and start SSH inside WSL, then connect from MobaXterm

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y openssh-server
# enable systemd in WSL if not already enabled
sudo tee /etc/wsl.conf >/dev/null <<'EOF'
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF
exit

From Windows PowerShell:

wsl --shutdown

Back in Ubuntu:

sudo systemctl enable --now ssh
hostname -I  # use this IP in MobaXterm, port 22

• Windows Terminal / PowerShell

wsl -l -v                 # list distros
wsl -d Ubuntu             # open Ubuntu
wsl -d Ubuntu -u <user>   # open as a specific user