Windows 10 build 16251 pushes WSL out of beta

Jul 31, 2017 06:40 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has made another big change in Windows 10 build 16251, as the Windows Subsystem for Linux is no longer marked as a beta feature.

All users should get the fully-supported feature with the release of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (Redstone 3), Microsoft’s Rich Turner said in an announcement.

As compared to the beta version of WSL, not much is being changed, though Turner emphasizes that starting with the stable version, there’ll be small updates to how you file issues.

“What will change is that you will gain the added advantage of being able to file issues on WSL and its Windows tooling via our normal support mechanisms if you want/need to follow a more formal issue resolution process. You can also provide feedback via Windows 10 Feedback Hub app, which delivers feedback directly to the team,” he writes.

Linux distros available in the Windows Store

Additionally, it’s important to note that Microsoft only supports the WSL infrastructure and the tooling, while distro publishers are the ones that you should contact for any features or distro internals.

At this point, there are several Linux distributions that can be used with the WSL, all of them available in the Windows Store, including Ubuntu, SUSE Linux, and OpenSuSE.

It goes without saying that Microsoft is already working on a series of improvements for WSL, but one particular scenario that the company says is not looking into is support for X/GUI apps, desktops, and servers. Even though Linux files cannot be accessed from Windows just yet, Turner says that “we’re working o improve this scenario over time,” and some tweaks in this regard will indeed be made.

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is projected to see daylight in September, as the company is currently working with insiders on finding the latest bugs and fixing them before publishing the RTM build.