Windows Subsystem for Linux 0.65.1 Release Highlights

Microsoft's Linux on Windows team announced the public rollout of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) version 0.65.1 to all Windows Insiders, bringing a range of performance and feature updates.

WSL is a compatibility layer that runs Linux ELF binaries natively on Windows, allowing users to run GNU/Linux environments without a virtual machine or dual‑boot setup, and it supports both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Main Changes

Improved localhost relay for better performance and accurate reporting of bind failures.

Added support for /dev/ptp0 to keep the guest clock synchronized with the host.

Enhanced error handling when the distribution list cannot be retrieved and when running wsl.exe --list --online .

Upgraded the Linux kernel to version 5.15.57.1, including fixes for 9p filesystem regressions, PTP clock device support, Retbleed mitigations, nftables, traffic control, and VGEM driver.

Updated Microsoft.WSLg to version 1.0.41 with default X11 sound, default user set to wslg, new weston launch option for gdbserver, simplified weston command line, and various compositor improvements such as wslgd‑notify, SIGINT handling, and Xwayland session handling.

Adjusted RDP MoveWindow/SnapArrange PDU margin and switched rdpaudio to use pthread_cancel instead of pthread_kill .

These updates aim to provide a more stable and efficient development environment for cross‑platform developers using WSL.