# RoliSoft/WSL-Distribution-Switcher

Scripts to replace the distribution behind Windows Subsystem for Linux with any other Linux distribution published on Docker Hub.

Repository: https://github.com/RoliSoft/WSL-Distribution-Switcher
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wsl-distribution-switcher
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2022-01-25T08:55:48+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3668, "days_push": 1681, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1665, forks 179 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:19.039561+00:00)

## What it is
A set of Python scripts for switching the Linux distribution behind Windows Subsystem for Linux to any distribution published on Docker Hub. It downloads rootfs tarballs from official Docker images and installs them into WSL without admin rights.

## Use cases
- install a non-default Linux distro in WSL
- switch between Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and CentOS under WSL
- download rootfs tarballs from Docker Hub for WSL
- replace the WSL distribution without reinstalling Windows
- run multiple Linux distributions in Windows Subsystem for Linux

## When to choose
- you use classic WSL (pre-Store distributions) and want a distro not offered by Microsoft
- you want to script installing arbitrary Docker Hub rootfs images into WSL

## When to avoid
- you use WSL2 with modern Store-based distributions, which support direct imports
- you need a maintained tool - the project has seen little activity since 2022

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: cli, developer-tools, file-system
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems
- platform: windows, python, cli
- tags: wsl, linux-distributions, docker-hub, windows-subsystem-for-linux, command-line

## Member repositories
- RoliSoft/WSL-Distribution-Switcher (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:19.039561+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:43:01.115099+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/RoliSoft/WSL-Distribution-Switcher (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:19.039561+00:00, sha 906069746eb4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.