Installing WSL Goes From a Multi-Step Process to One Command
For years, setting up WSL meant enabling Windows features manually, downloading a kernel update package separately, and installing a distro as separate steps. The wsl --install command collapsed all of it into one line.
The single-command wsl --install setup, which collapsed a previously multi-step WSL installation process into one command, became available on Windows 10 version 2004 and higher through the KB5004296 update, announced around July 30, 2021.
What installing WSL required before this
Setting up WSL previously meant separately enabling the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” optional feature, enabling the “Virtual Machine Platform” feature for WSL2 specifically, manually downloading and installing a Linux kernel update package, setting WSL2 as the default version, and finally installing a distro — five-plus distinct manual steps, each a potential point of confusion for a new user.
What the single command actually does
wsl --installRun from an administrator PowerShell or Command Prompt, this one command handles enabling the necessary Windows features, installing the Linux kernel component, setting WSL2 as default, and installing Ubuntu as a default distro — collapsing what had been a multi-step, easy-to-get-wrong process into a single, reliable command.
Why this mattered for WSL’s broader adoption
A multi-step manual setup process, however well documented, is a real barrier for less experienced users specifically — collapsing it into a single, well-tested command significantly lowered the practical barrier to trying WSL at all, particularly for developers newer to Linux tooling who might have been discouraged by the earlier, more involved setup sequence.
How this fit into WSL’s broader simplification trend
This simplification came alongside WSL’s later move to standalone Microsoft Store distribution, part of a consistent multi-year trend of Microsoft reducing WSL’s setup and maintenance friction — from a developer-preview feature requiring Developer Mode and manual configuration, toward something closer to installing any other application.
Sources: