Introducing WSLg: Full Linux GUI Support on Windows 10
Microsoft’s recent preview of WSLg brings full Linux GUI support to Windows 10, enabling users to install and run desktop Linux distributions, launch IDEs and GUI applications with audio, microphone, and GPU acceleration, and seamlessly integrate development workflows across Windows and Linux environments.
Microsoft announced a major update for the Windows 10 WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) called WSLg , which adds native support for Linux graphical applications.
WSLg allows users to install Linux desktop environments on Windows 10 preview builds with a single command, currently supporting Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux Rolling, openSUSE Leap 42, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server v12, and several Ubuntu LTS releases.
The feature supports a variety of IDEs beyond Visual Studio Code, such as gedit, JetBrains editors, and gvim, enabling high‑performance testing, building, and debugging of Linux applications directly from Windows.
Developers can run any Linux GUI program, including audio‑centric or GPU‑intensive applications, making it convenient to test cross‑platform software without needing separate machines or virtual machines.
WSLg includes built‑in audio and microphone support, allowing Linux applications to play sound and capture audio seamlessly.
GPU acceleration is also supported; the official demo showed Gazebo 3D running at 60 fps.
The system automatically launches a supporting distribution that includes Wayland, an X server, PulseAudio, and other components needed for Linux GUI apps to communicate with Windows, and it shuts down automatically when the WSL distribution is closed.
Supported Linux distributions include:
Ubuntu
Debian GNU/Linux
Kali Linux Rolling
openSUSE Leap 42
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server v12
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
WSLg is available on Windows 10 build 21364 and later; existing WSL installations can be updated with wsl --update . The project is open‑source on GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg.
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