Install any GNU/Linux distribution userspace in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with compressed RootFS tarballs 📦 (tar.gz) or with Docker containers 🐳 or with ISO files 💿

Clone this GitHub repository with this link https://github.com/Biswa96/WSLInstall.git . Use MSBuild (or mingw-w64) to make executable file from project file(.vcxproj). Or use the makefile in WslFunctions folder. The project file only provides x64-Release version.

• Generate DEF file: gendef /c/Windows/System32/wslapi.dll
• For MSVC: lib /DEF:wslapi.def /MACHINE:X64
• For GCC: dlltool -D /c/Windows/System32/wslapi.dll -d wslapi.def -l libwslapi.a

wslapi export library was added in latest mingw-64 toolchain. See this commits for further details:

• wslapi export library
• wslapi header file

1. First make a folder where you want to install that distribution, that may be any partition of internal drives only. External drives are not supported now.
2. Place both WslInstall.exe and {distribution}.tar.gz files in that same folder.
3. Open command prompt in that folder and type the command like this: WslInstall.exe <distro_name> <distribution.tar.gz>. Always put a space between the two command arguments like between <distro_name> and <distribution.tar.gz>.
4. After some seconds, that distribution will be installed. Confirm it with wslconfig.exe /list /all command. Also you may see a rootfs folder in that directory where you want to install.

• WslInstall: In the source code, the main function imports the WslRegisterDistribution function from wslapi.dll file. Then it passes the provided two commandline arguments in distroName and in tarGzFilename string parameters of that function respectively and the imported function installs that distribution. See details of WSL Functions and WSL_DISTRIBUTION_FLAGS.

• Docs:

  • Install any distribution in WSL
  • Install any desktop environment in WSL
  • List of distributions
  • Make rootfs tarball
  • Chroot into ARMv8 64bit (AARCH64) distribution

• Tools:

  • DistroLink: Create a shortcut file aka. shell link with \\wsl$ path.

1. LxRunoffline
2. WSL-DistroLauncher
3. runnix
4. miniwsl
5. wslbridge

This project is licensed under GNU General Public License v3 or higher. See LICENSE for more details. You are free to study, change, modify the source code and make your own version and publish that.