You can run Arch Linux in Windows now - here's how

Microsoft / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

In February, It's Foss News reported that a WSL representation for Arch Linux was connected its way, and arsenic of now, it has become official -- Arch Linux is available. Windows Subsystem for Linux is simply a compatibility furniture that allows the moving of a full-blown Linux environment.

Up until this point, the lone images disposable for WSL person been Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora Remix, openSUSE, Kali Linux, and Pengwin. The summation of Arch delivers a rolling merchandise organisation that should excite plentifulness of users, developers, and admins who privation to yet effort Arch.

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This caller summation comes by mode of respective Arch contributors, peculiarly Robin Candau, who is the authoritative WSL Arch image maintainer. According to the authoritative representation site, "Images are built & released monthly (via GitLab CI schedule) and purpose to supply the simplest but implicit strategy to connection an outright Arch Linux acquisition with WSL (including systemd support)." 

The tract continues to say, "While images are built regularly, it is powerfully recommended moving pacman -Syu close aft the archetypal motorboat owed to the rolling merchandise quality of Arch Linux."

How to usage the Arch Linux WSL image

To usage the Arch Linux WSL image, you request to person WSL 2 installed, arsenic WSL 1 is not supported.

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For those who privation to footwear the tires of Arch Linux connected Windows, you person to unfastened PowerShell and past tally the command:

wsl --install

Once you person WSL 2 installed, you tin adhd Arch Linux with:

wsl --install archlinux

After the installation completes, footwear Arch Linux with:

wsl -d archlinux

Remember, aft you person booted, the archetypal bid you should tally is to update everything, which is:

pacman -Syu

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Thanks to WSL 2, it is besides imaginable to tally Linux GUI desktops and past entree them via the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Do support successful mind, however, that the Linux images disposable to WSL 2 are each command-line based, which means you volition request to manually instal a desktop environment.

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