# MicrosoftDocs/WSL

Source code behind the Windows Subsystem for Linux documentation.

Repository: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/WSL
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wsl
Homepage: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-03T22:10:20+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3815, "days_push": 30, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2405, forks 665 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:44.074345+00:00)

## What it is
The markdown source code for Microsoft's official Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) documentation, published on Microsoft Learn. It covers installing and using WSL to run GNU/Linux environments directly on Windows.

## Use cases
- install wsl on windows
- run linux on windows without a vm
- set up a linux dev environment on windows
- install wsl on windows server
- troubleshoot wsl installation issues
- learn differences between wsl 1 and wsl 2

## When to choose
- you need official, up-to-date guidance on installing or using WSL
- you want to contribute fixes or improvements to WSL documentation
- you're setting up Linux tooling on Windows 10/11 or Windows Server

## When to avoid
- you're looking for the WSL source code itself (that lives in microsoft/WSL)
- you need to report WSL bugs rather than documentation issues
- you want documentation for Windows Terminal or the console (separate repo)

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: active
- function: documentation, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems, documentation
- platform: windows
- tags: wsl, microsoft, windows-subsystem-for-linux, docs, markdown, command-line, linux

## Member repositories
- MicrosoftDocs/WSL (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:44.074345+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 2026-08-30T02:34:07.415074+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/WSL (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:44.074345+00:00, sha 3be84aef1daf)
  - homepage: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.667401+00:00, sha 54d794504230)
  - site_page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.678511+00:00, sha c07241abab65)
  - site_page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.680410+00:00, sha e9058aee7998)
  - site_page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-server (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.684523+00:00, sha b6ab2f5a7468)
  - site_page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.686995+00:00, sha b4586008cc43)
  - site_page: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/learn-about-windows-console-and-windows-subsystem-for-linux-wsl (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.689266+00:00, sha e5743059e662)
  - site_page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.682089+00:00, sha a6a2fcea7180)
  - site_page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/internet-explorer-microsoft-edge (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:51.676488+00:00, sha c363b2f43d4b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.