Microsoft open sources Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and releases code on GitHub
Microsoft has officially open sourced Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), a feature that allows users to run a Linux environment directly on Windows without needing a virtual machine or dual boot. This move gives the developer community full access to WSL’s code, which is now available for review, modification, and extension on GitHub.
With this announcement, developers can directly download the WSL source code, build the subsystem themselves, and contribute fixes or new features. This change gives the community a central role in the ongoing development and enhancement of WSL, providing new opportunities for collaboration and innovation around Linux on Windows.
According to Pierre Boulay, senior software engineer at Microsoft, this transition is the culmination of a multiyear effort aimed at preparing WSL for open sourcing. He describes the announcement as meaningful closure to the first issue ever raised on Microsoft’s WSL repository, underlining the longstanding community interest in open sourcing WSL.
- Compatibility Layer Tool
- Free • Open Source
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External links
- The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open sourceMicrosoft • Official source
- Microsoft’s Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open-sourceThe Verge
- Microsoft is open sourcing the Windows Subsystem for LinuxWindows Central
- Microsoft closes 9-year-old feature request, open-sources Windows Subsystem for LinuxArs Technica
- Microsoft open-sources Windows Subsystem for Linux at Build 2025BleepingComputer
- Microsoft open sources Windows Subsystem for LinuxThe Register
Comments
WSL Linux Kernel and X/Wayland interface were already open sourced (thanks to GPL, that Microsoft likes so much). Now, even if WSL has been separated from Windows few years back, there is still a fair share of code running on Windows side (mostly filesystem), that won't be open-sourced. I still wonder what Microsoft plan to do with this 10 years project, most devs are using Linux (except when targeting exclusively Microsoft) and WSL 2 performances range from okay to very poor, preventing it from running heavy load tasks. And embed and C dev, and Docker are subpar on Windows compared to Linux. So if it's the solution Microsoft has offered instead of a "Windows Developer Edition", it may not has been a great success, and making it open source may be the Microsoft way to reduce investment on it.