Ubuntu comes to the Windows Store

At Build 2017, Microsoft announced that three Linux distributions — Ubuntu, SUSE, and Fedora — would be coming to the Windows Store. SUSE has already made that leap, and now Ubuntu is available as well.

Initially spotted by Rafael Rivera and Necrosoft Core on Twitter, Ubuntu on the Windows Store will let you install and run the Ubuntu terminal on Windows next to your other apps. The Windows Store description reads:

Ubuntu on Windows allows one to use Ubuntu Terminal and run Ubuntu command line utilities including bash, ssh, git, apt and many more.

To use this feature, one first needs to use "Turn Windows features on or off" and select "Windows Subsystem for Linux", click OK, reboot, and use this app.

The above step can also be performed using Administrator PowerShell prompt: Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

After above is done simply use "ubuntu" command in cmd.exe or launch Ubuntu from the start menu.

Ubuntu's arrival, and that of SUSE, are part of a recent push by Microsoft to embrace Linux and the open source community more broadly. This began with the arrival of the Windows Subsystem for Linux in 2016, allowing users to use the Bash shell from within Windows.

Keep in mind that this is limited to the Fall Creators Update, which isn't set for a public release until later this year. If you're running a PC testing the Fall Creators Update through the Windows Insider Program, however, you should be able to download and try Ubuntu from the Windows Store just fine.

Download Ubuntu from the Windows Store