Remix of Fedora Linux distro live in the Microsoft Store

Jan 23, 2019 07:39 GMT  ·  By

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows 10 is constantly growing, mostly thanks to more Linux distros being released in the Microsoft Store for users who want to run the open-source platform on top of Microsoft’s operating system.

The latest distro to become available for download is called Fedora Remix for WSL and it is a remix of the super-popular Fedora Linux.

Created by Whitewater Foundry, the same company that launched WLinux last year, Fedora Remix for WSL is based on the @core package group from Fedora and obviously includes several modifications to the original Fedora image.

However, it’s important to know that Whitewater Foundry removed several packages from the default install, including grub, kernel, linux-firmware, and fedora-release. You can see the full list of packages that have been added and removed to and from the distro on the official GitHub page here.

One key highlight, however, is that this distro includes Fedora Linux distribution tools, and without an official Fedora version for WSL, this is particularly important for developers.

Fedora not coming to WSL

Powered by WLinux Enterprise, Fedora Remix for WSL is available with a $4.99 price tag in the Microsoft Store – this is a temporary discount from the original price of $9.99. The developing company says the small fee allows it to maintain the distro and deliver further update in the future.

“We charge for the official download through the Microsoft Store in order to continue optimizing, building, and packaging Fedora Remix for WSL, pay open-source developers, and build a sustainable open-source venture,” it explains.

As for Fedora Linux itself coming to the WSL, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Fedora project leader Matthew Miller suggested in late 2018 that bringing the distro to the Microsoft Store is a rather difficult process and “I’ve kind of lost Steam on figuring out alternative paths.”

In addition to the Microsoft Store listing, Whitewater Foundry is also offering signed downloads of Fedora Remix for WSL on GitHub for users who want to sideload them on their PCs.