wsl Command Examples

Manage the Windows Subsystem for Linux. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/reference.

• Start a Linux shell (in the default distribution):

wsl {{shell_command}}

• Run a Linux command without using a shell:

wsl --exec {{command}} {{command_arguments}}

• Specify a particular distribution:

wsl --distribution {{distribution}} {{shell_command}}

• List available distributions:

wsl --list

• Export a distribution to a .tar file:

wsl --export {{distribution}} {{path\to\distro_file.tar}}

• Import a distribution from a .tar file:

wsl --import {{distribution}} {{path\to\install_location}} {{path/to/distro_file.tar}}

• Change the version of wsl used for the specified distribution:

wsl --set-version {{distribution}} {{version}}

• Shut down Windows Subsystem for Linux:

wsl --shutdown