Installing Windows Subsystem for Linux

You can skip this step if you're on macOS or Linux, or already have WSL 2 configured. I know the course is called "Learn Linux", but if you're on Mac, it's Unix-like enough for all the lessons in this course.

The built-in Windows command prompt is terrible (in my opinion). It's so bad that if you're on Windows we're just going to have you install WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux). This will allow you to keep using your normal Windows desktop but also have a Linux command line, operating system, and filesystem for your programming work.

WSL 2 was a huge step forward for developers on Windows. You get a full Linux operating system and command line experience without the need to dual boot. WSL is an official Microsoft product: it won't mess up your base Windows install. You'll still be able to run Steam...

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about WSL 2:

There are two versions of WSL. We will be using the latest: version 2.
The WSL 2 filesystem is completely separate from your Windows file system. Use your normal Windows file system normally: for games, documents, windows apps, whatever. I recommend using the Linux filesystem for all your code.

Assignment

Install WSL 2 and Ubuntu, and get the Ubuntu shell up and running.

Make sure you're on Windows 10 or 11. These directions are inadequate for Windows versions < 10. If you are on an older version, please upgrade. Your life as a developer will not be fun if you're on an older version of Windows.
Run Windows Update
- Click on the start menu and begin typing "Windows update". You should see a program called "Windows Update Settings", open that.
- Click "check for updates", and if there are any updates, install them and restart your computer as instructed by the updater.
Open the Windows Command Prompt and install WSL
- Click on the start menu and begin typing "cmd.exe". You should see a program called "Command Prompt", right-click on it and select "Run as administrator".
- Type wsl --install in the prompt and press enter.
- Restart your computer
- Confirm wsl is installed by running wsl -l -v in the Command Prompt. Don't panic if it says that you have no distros installed, we'll do that next.
Set up the Ubuntu distro. Ubuntu is a very popular distribution (or distro) of Linux.
- Run wsl --install Ubuntu in the Command Prompt and follow the instructions.
- It should bring up a new Ubuntu window, but if it didn't, you can search for the "Ubuntu" program in the start menu and launch it.
- The Ubuntu window will prompt you to enter a username and password (which may not appear when typed). Make sure you remember these! These are the credentials for your Linux user. Later when you need to enter your password for certain commands, you'll need to re-enter this password. Note: by default Ubuntu only accepts usernames in lowercase.
Once you're logged in, you should see a command prompt! Go ahead and type:

echo "Hello world"

You should see the text "Hello world" printed to the console. If you do, you're good to move on to the next step.

Troubleshooting

Here is the link to the official WSL installation guide. Take a look and see if you missed any steps.
Seeing Error: A required feature is not installed?
- To fix this you will need to enable Hyper-V (Virtualization). You can find this in your Windows features. You will need both Hyper-V Management Tools, and Hyper-V Platform enabled.
- You may also need to enable virtualization in your BIOS.
Ask in the Boot.dev Discord if you're still having trouble with WSL 2!