How to Install WSL on Windows

Installing WSL today is dramatically simpler than its original multi-step setup process — this walks through the current, streamlined path.

Step 1: check your Windows version meets the minimum requirement

winver

WSL2 requires Windows 10 version 2004 (Build 19041) or higher, or any version of Windows 11 — check this first if the install command fails unexpectedly.

Step 2: open PowerShell or Command Prompt as Administrator

Start menu → search "PowerShell" →
  right-click → "Run as administrator"

Administrator privileges are required specifically for the initial installation, since it enables Windows features and installs system-level components.

Step 3: run the single install command

wsl --install

This single command enables the necessary Windows features (WSL and Virtual Machine Platform), downloads and installs the Linux kernel component, sets WSL2 as the default version, and installs Ubuntu as the default distro — all in one step.

Step 4: restart your computer when prompted

A restart is required after the initial feature installation for the changes to fully take effect — the installation process will prompt you when this is needed.

Step 5: complete the first-run distro setup

After restart, the installed distro launches automatically
  and prompts for a Unix username and password

This username and password are specific to your Linux environment, separate from your Windows account credentials.

Step 6: verify the installation

cat /etc/os-release
uname -r

Confirming the distro identifies itself correctly and that uname -r shows a WSL2-specific kernel version string confirms a working installation.

Step 7: install a different distro if you don’t want the Ubuntu default

wsl --list --online
wsl --install -d Debian

The first command lists all distros available for installation; the second installs a specific one by name instead of the Ubuntu default.

Step 8: if the install command fails, check the specific error

Common failure points: virtualization disabled in firmware,
  a conflicting virtualization product, or an outdated
  Windows version — see this blog's dedicated troubleshooting
  guide for a distro that won't start

If the single command doesn’t complete cleanly, the dedicated troubleshooting guide for a distro that won’t start walks through the specific common causes systematically.

Why the single-command path is worth using even if you know the manual steps

Beyond the convenience, wsl --install is Microsoft’s actively maintained, tested installation path — it correctly sequences feature enablement, kernel installation, and distro setup in a way that’s easy to get wrong doing manually, particularly for a first-time WSL setup on an unfamiliar machine.