by In this Windows and Linux tutorial, we explain how to install a desired Linux distribution in Windows Subsystems for Linux (WSL1 or WSL2). The YouTube tutorial accompanying this webpage is given below.
Prerequisites
Make sure that WSL2 is installed on the system. You can do that by opening a PowerShell terminal in the administrator mode (click on Start and search for PowerShell, then do the right click on PowerShell and select “Run as administrator”), and by typing:
wsl --installThen, after restarting the system, you will be able to use WSL. Note that with WSL there will be a default Linux Ubuntu version installed. We can change the default distribution and install any other supported distribution.
Install Desired Linux Distribution in WSL1 or WSL2
First, double-check the default Linux distribution that comes with WSL. To do that, open WSL by clicking on Start and by searching for WSL, or you can also search for Ubuntu. Once you start the WSL you will be automatically redirected to the default Linux distribution. To check the Linux distribution, type
lsb_release -a
And you will see your default distribution. If this is the distribution you need, then you do not need to do anything. Otherwise, let us install the distribution you need.
To list all available Linux distributions that can be run through WSL, open a PowerShell in the administrator mode and type:
wsl --list --online You will see this
From the list, you need to select the Linux distribution that you want to install. After that, you need to type in PowerShell:
wsl --install -d <Distribution Name>For example, to install Ubuntu 24.04 you will need to type
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04After that the distribution will be installed, and you need to set your username and password. You will be automatically logged in the distribution. Exit the distribution by typing “exit”. You can always start this distribution, by clicking on Start and by searching for the correct Linux distribution you just installed.
To check a list of installed Linux distributions and check which version of WSL you are running, go back to the PowerShell and type
wsl -l -v
The start symbol denotes the default distribution. To change the default distribution, type this
wsl --setdefault <Distribution Name>In our case, to set the default distribution to be Ubuntu 24.04, we need to type
wsl --setdefault Ubuntu-24.04After that, we can type
wsl -l -vTo verify that the default distribution is changed. The output is
