Windows Subsystem for Linux, a feature that makes it possible to run Linux on Windows 10 and 11, is getting new features and improvements. In a new blog post, Microsoft outlined several changes that are coming soon or already available. They include memory, storage, and networking improvements, a dedicated GUI app for WSL settings, Dev Home integration, and more.
In September 2023, WSL received several experimental changes to improve memory, storage, and networking. They include automatic memory release from WSL back to Windows, automatic disk reclamation, IPv6 support, and more. Now, these features are enabled by default in Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Microsoft is also working on a more user-friendly way to customize WSL. Soon, the subsystem will have a dedicated GUI app for managing settings with tabs, toggles, categories, and more. This will make it easier to tweak WSL and understand what options are available on your machine and what are not. Microsoft says the new app will be fully compatible with the wslconfig text file so that it will respect your existing settings and preferences.
WSL is also enterprise-friendly, thanks to the zero-trust approach. Starting today, IT admins can enforce conditional access scenarios based on the state of a specific Linux distro. In July and August, Microsoft Entra ID will be integrated with WSL, which means Microsoft"s Authentication Library will be able to communicate with WSL so that users can log in with their Entra ID credentials.
Finally, WSL is coming to Dev Home, allowing users to work with Linux distros from the Environments tab. You can already try it by downloading the extension from GitHub, and a future update will make it part of the Dev Home app. Microsoft also reminds about Sudo for Windows, which is now open-source, and the ability to create Linux dev environments using AI in Dev Home. The latter is available as a part of the latest Dev Home Preview update.
You can learn more about the latest improvements for WSL in the official blog post.