Ross ROSS = Recommend OSS · open-source software intelligence for agents

microsoft/WSL-DistroLauncher

Sample/reference launcher app for WSL distro Microsoft Store packages. observed · 2026-08-28

github.com/microsoft/WSL-DistroLauncher · C++ · MIT (permissive) · archived observed · 2026-08-28

Health v2 · maintenance only

10/100

  • Activity 0
  • Release rhythm 35
  • Longevity 100

Flags: no_releases archived

How is this computed?

round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-03. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.

  • gap_med: n/a
  • age_days: 3396
  • days_rel: n/a
  • days_push: 603
  • n_releases_24m: 0

Full methodology

Adoption not part of the score

1732 stars · 518 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

A C++ reference implementation of a launcher app required for packaging custom Linux distributions as WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) Microsoft Store packages. It handles distro registration, installation, user setup, and launching shell instances on top of WSL.

Use cases

  • package a custom linux distro for the microsoft store
  • create a sideloadable WSL distribution
  • build a launcher app for my WSL distro
  • register a custom distro tarball with WSL
  • launch a custom linux environment on windows

When to choose

  • you are a distro maintainer packaging for the Microsoft Store
  • you want to sideload a custom WSL distro on your machines
  • you need a starting template for a WSL distro launcher

When to avoid

  • you just want to run Linux on Windows (use standard WSL)
  • you need the newest custom distro method (Microsoft now documents a newer approach)
  • you are not building or packaging a WSL distribution

Facets

application · maturity maintenance

developer-tools cli configuration-management developer-tools operating-systems windows cpp wsl distro-launcher reference-implementation uwp microsoft-store command-line

1 source

Member repositories

RepositoryRoleHealth v2
microsoft/WSL-DistroLaunchermain10

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="microsoft/WSL-DistroLauncher")

Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem