14 DAY TRIAL // After such a long time in preview, the Microsoft Store version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux is making its way to the Microsoft Store as a stable release.
In other words, users can now download and install WSL from the Microsoft Store, and then obviously update it in a more straightforward manner on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The software giant explains that the debut of WSL in the Microsoft Store comes with lots of big news and improvements, including not only support for opting in for systemd support but also the debut of Linux GUI apps on Windows 10.
The Store version is now default
“Today the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the Microsoft Store is dropping its “Preview” label and becomes generally available with our latest release! We are also making the Store version of WSL the default for new users who run wsl --install and easily upgradeable by running wsl --update for existing users. Using the Store version of WSL allows you to get updates to WSL much faster compared to when it was a Windows component,” the software company announced this week.
“In response to the WSL community’s requests, WSL in the Store will now also be available on Windows 10 in addition to Windows 11. So, Windows 10 users will also be able to enjoy all of the latest features for WSL including systemd and Linux GUI app support!”
Worth knowing is that the Microsoft Store version of WSL is now the default version on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, and Microsoft explains that some functionality is specifically backported to Windows 10 for this purpose.
For example, from this point on, the wsl.exe --install command installs the Microsoft Store version of WSL on both operating systems.