Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) Alternatives

    Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is described as 'The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a new Windows 10 feature that enables you to run native Linux command-line tools directly on Windows, alongside your traditional Windows desktop and modern store apps' and is an app in the OS & Utilities category. There are seven alternatives to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) for Windows, Linux, Online / Web-based, Mac and BSD. The best alternative is Cygwin, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) are MinGW (Free, Open Source), BitNami Application Stacks (Free, Open Source), MSYS2 (Free, Open Source) and Turnkey Linux (Free, Open Source).

    This page was last updated Nov 18, 2020
    1. Cygwin is a Unix-like environment and command-line interface for Microsoft Windows. Cygwin provides native integration of Windows-based applications, data, and other system resources with applications, software tools, and data of the Unix-like environment.

    2. MinGW

      • Free • Open Source
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • BSD
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      MinGW ("Minimalistic GNU for Windows") is a port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and GNU Binutils.
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    4. BitNami Stacks make it incredibly easy to deploy your favorite open source software. BitNami Stacks include an open source application and all of the other software necessary to run it, such as Apache, MySQL, PHP or Ruby.
    5. MSYS2 is an independent rewrite of MSYS, based on modern Cygwin (POSIX compatibility layer) and MinGW-w64 with the aim of better interoperability with native Windows software.
      MSYS2 vs Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) opinions
      pros, cons and recent comments
      Familiar package manager from ArchLinux and up-to-date packages
      Positive comment • 11 months ago

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    6. Save time and money with 100+ ready-to-use solutions that include a Debian based OS, and the relevant open source software and all dependencies pre-installed. Discover and leverage the best free open source software.
    8. The idea is to simplify developers configuration work through lightweight and powerful environments in order to help them to devote more time to their passion: the code. Moreover, it can be interesting for Linux and virtualisation enthusiasts.
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    9. OSBoxes

      • Free • Proprietary
      • Mac
      • Windows
      • Linux
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        Homepage of site that offers virtual machines (VDI & VMDK & VHD) for VirtualBox and VMware. Run VMs inside VirtualBox and VMware on any host.
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