Turn Windows 10 into a Full‑Featured Linux Development Workstation with WSL 2

What is WSL 2?

WSL 2 is the second‑generation architecture of the Windows Subsystem for Linux. It runs a real Linux kernel inside a lightweight virtual machine, which provides near‑native file‑system performance and full system‑call compatibility. Each Linux distribution can be configured to run under WSL 1 or WSL 2, and the version can be switched at any time.

Installation

Because the automatic installer is not yet available, the following manual steps are required on Windows 10 (version 2004 or later).

Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux feature:

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

Enable the Virtual Machine Platform (required for WSL 2):

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

Restart the computer.

Set WSL 2 as the default version: wsl --set-default-version 2 If the last command reports that a kernel update is required, download the Linux kernel MSI from https://aka.ms/wsl2kernel, install it, and re‑run the command.

Install a Linux distribution

Open the Microsoft Store, search for “Ubuntu 20.04 LTS”, install it, and launch the app to complete the initial user setup.

Verify that the distribution is using WSL 2: wsl --list --verbose If it shows Version 1, convert it:

wsl --set-version your_distribution_name 2

Developer workstation setup

After Ubuntu is running, install any required development tools (e.g., Anaconda for data science, npm/Angular for front‑end work).

Visual Studio Code

Install VS Code on Windows and add the Remote Development extension. The extension lets you edit files inside the WSL 2 distribution while the editor runs on Windows, providing IntelliSense, Git integration, debugging, and an integrated terminal.

Docker + Kubernetes

Install Docker Desktop for Windows. In Docker Desktop settings, enable the “Use the WSL 2 based engine” option. This runs Docker natively inside the WSL 2 VM, eliminating the need to switch between Windows and Linux contexts.

Optionally enable the Kubernetes checkbox and click “Restart Kubernetes Cluster” to start a local Kubernetes cluster.

From the Ubuntu shell, verify the installations:

docker version

kubectl version

Windows Terminal

Install the Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store. It provides a modern, GPU‑accelerated console with multiple tabs, split panes, Unicode/UTF‑8 support, and JSON‑based theme customization for PowerShell, Command Prompt, and WSL.

Future roadmap

Upcoming WSL 2 features include native GPU support for CUDA workloads and the ability to run Linux GUI applications directly on Windows, which will further simplify deep‑learning model training and GUI‑based development.

With these capabilities, a Windows PC can serve as a full‑featured Linux development workstation without the need for dual‑boot configurations.