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WSL Distro Manager is a free and open source app that provides a user-friendly graphical interface for managing Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distributions. With WSL Distro Manager, you can easily install, uninstall, update, backup and restore WSL distros, as well as configure their settings and launch them with a single click. WSL Distro Manager also offers some extra features to enhance your WSL experience, such as sharing Distros between multiple machines, and creating actions to quickly do repetitive tasks. Whether you are a beginner or an expert in WSL, WSL Distro Manager will help you get the most out of it.
- Manage WSL instances
- Download and use Docker images as WSL instances - without Docker!
- Quick Actions (execute pre-defined scripts directly on your instances for quick configurations)
- Download and use Turnkey or other LXC containers (experimental, tested with e.g. Turnkey WordPress)
- Use your own repository for rootfs' or LXC containers
- and more...
Microsoft Store (Recomendado)
This app is available on the Microsoft Store.
Direct download (ZIP/EXE)
You can get this app with a direct download from the Releases page. The latest version is available as a zip file or as an executable installer (.exe).
- Download the latest release from the Releases page
- If downloading the ZIP file: Extract the contents and run
wsl2-distro-manager.exe - If downloading the installer (.exe): Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions
Install via Winget
The winget package is outdated! Please use the Windows Store version instead.
winget install Bostrot.WSLManagerInstall via Chocolatey
This package is maintained by the community (@mikeee). It is not an official package.
choco install wsl2-distro-managerInstall a nightly build
The last build can be found as artifacts in the "releaser" workflow or via this link. If you rather prefer an unsigned msix you can also use this link.
Manual Installation
If you're installing from source or a manual build:
- Copy the entire application folder to a location of your choice (e.g.,
C:\Program Files\WSL Manager) - Create a shortcut to
wsl2-distro-manager.exeon your desktop or start menu - Make sure Windows has WSL2 enabled before running the application
# Enable WSL if not already enabled
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
# Set WSL2 as default
wsl --set-default-version 2Make sure flutter is installed:
flutter config --enable-windows-desktop
flutter upgrade
flutter build windows # build it
flutter run -d windows # run itTo create an installer using NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System):
- First, build the Flutter Windows application
flutter build windows --release-
Install NSIS
- Download and install NSIS
- Ensure NSIS is added to your PATH
-
Create an NSIS script (installer.nsi) or use the one in the project
-
Compile the installer
# Navigate to the directory containing your NSIS script
cd path\to\nsis\script
# Compile the installer
makensis installer.nsi- The installer will be created in the output directory specified in your NSIS script
Example NSIS script structure:
# Define application name, version, and publisher
Name "WSL Manager"
OutFile "wsl-manager-setup.exe"
InstallDir "$PROGRAMFILES\WSL Manager"
# Install section
Section "Install"
SetOutPath $INSTDIR
File /r "path\to\build\windows\runner\Release\*.*"
# Create shortcuts
CreateShortcut "$DESKTOP\WSL Manager.lnk" "$INSTDIR\wsl2-distro-manager.exe"
CreateShortcut "$SMPROGRAMS\WSL Manager.lnk" "$INSTDIR\wsl2-distro-manager.exe"
# Write uninstaller
WriteUninstaller "$INSTDIR\uninstall.exe"
SectionEnd
# Uninstall section
Section "Uninstall"
Delete "$DESKTOP\WSL Manager.lnk"
Delete "$SMPROGRAMS\WSL Manager.lnk"
RMDir /r "$INSTDIR"
SectionEnd👤 Eric Trenkel
- Website: erictrenkel.com
- GitHub: @bostrot
- LinkedIn: @erictrenkel
👥 Contributors
Contributions, issues and feature requests are welcome!
Feel free to check the issues page.
You can also take a look at the contributing guide.
Give a ⭐️ if this project helped you!
Copyright © 2023 Eric Trenkel.
This project is GPL-3.0 licensed.
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