A real Linux kernel and userland running alongside Windows — architecture, integration, and daily use.
A field guide to global WSL 2 VM settings versus per-distribution boot, automount, networking, and interop configuration.
How Windows firewall policy reaches WSL traffic under mirrored networking, and why Linux iptables rules alone cannot describe the real host exposure.
When wsl --import-in-place is the right migration tool, how it differs from a tar import, and how to avoid registering your only copy of the disk.
A safe procedure for wsl --mount covering Windows disk ownership, filesystem support, read-only inspection, and clean detachment.
Separating VM startup, distribution boot, systemd, and fstab failures so you can repair a broken WSL distro without deleting its data.
How Windows interop, mounted drives, networking, and enterprise policy actually shape WSL's threat model, and why it isn't a sandbox for untrusted code.
How the Microsoft Store WSL package decouples updates from full Windows releases, and why that affects available features, policy, and troubleshooting.
Why enabling systemd in WSL does not guarantee daemon permanence, and how services should actually handle WSL's own lifecycle events.
Why WSL cannot expose arbitrary USB devices directly, and how Windows binding, USB/IP transport, and Linux drivers fit together in usbipd-win.
How WSLENV selectively crosses environment variables between Windows and WSL and translates paths without corrupting separators or leaking secrets.