WSL Preview now available in the Microsoft Store for Windows 11

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There's a new preferred way to install WSL in Windows 11.

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What you need to know

  • The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is now available in preview in the Microsoft Store on Windows 11.
  • Installing WSL has gradually been getting easier but this seems to be the new preferred method going forwards.
  • Existing methods of installation remain and this isn't available on Windows 10 right now.

If you're a Windows 11 user and a WSL user there's some good news coming your way today. Announced via a Microsoft blog post, WSL is now available as a preview in the new Microsoft Store on Windows 11.

"The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) preview is now available in the Microsoft Store as a store application for Windows 11 machines! Installing WSL through the store will allow you to get the latest WSL updates and features faster, and without needing to modify your Windows version. Read on to see how that's possible and what this means for WSL!"

Windows 11 WSL improvements

Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

This isn't a preview in the sense of it being a new version of WSL, it is in fact the latest version that you may already be running on your machine. But you can install this one alongside and it will take precedence, as it seems that installation of WSL could be moving towards the Microsoft Store in the future. And it seems the logic behind it is undeniable as it separates the binaries from being part of the Windows image to make life easier for everyone.

"This change moves those binaries from being part of the Windows image, to instead being part of an application that you install from the Store. This decouples WSL from your Windows version, allowing you to update through the Microsoft Store instead. So now once new features like GUI app support, GPU compute, and Linux file system drive mounting are developed, tested and ready for a release you will get access to it right away on your machine without needing to update your entire Windows OS, or going to Windows Insider preview builds."

There is still one pre-requisite to installing WSL this way, and that's ensuring you have virtual machines enabled on your PC. Uninstalling is as easy as any other Store app, and you don't have to worry if you'd rather not use the Microsoft Store as for the foreseeable future the two are being developed side-by-side.

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Richard Devine
Richard Devine
Managing Editor

Richard Devine is the Managing Editor at Windows Central, where he combines a deep love for the open-source community with expert-level technical coverage. Whether he’s hunting for the next big project on GitHub, fine-tuning a WSL workflow, or breaking down the latest meta in Call of Duty, Forza, and The Division 2, Richard focuses on making complex tech accessible to every kind of user. If it’s happening in the world of Windows or PC gaming, he’s probably already knee-deep in the code (or the lobbies). Follow him on X and Mastodon.