In previous posts, I published a template for wsl.conf, the internal configuration file for WSL instances, and explained how it differs from .wslconfig. Now it’s time to take a closer look at .wslconfig. This file globally manages the Windows Subsystem for Linux itself and affects all instances within it.
Canonical has announced support for packages optimized for the v3 CPU architecture. Starting with Ubuntu 25.10 (currently in testing), it’s now possible to install and update packages built for this architecture.
At the moment, v3 packages are still being rebuilt, so not all of them are available yet. Testing is also incomplete, and users who upgrade may encounter some issues, these will be addressed by the time Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is released.
Since I started using WSL as my primary environment for learning and development, I began collecting the settings of its configuration files. By gradually testing and verifying the behavior of each setting and its dependencies, I compiled a documented and ready-to-use wsl.conf template, which I apply across all of my instances.
My WSL overview begins with a look at its main configurations. These files provide the big picture of what WSL can do and how to control its behavior, both for the overall WSL environment and for individual Linux instances.
Throughout this text, I will use the term instance to distinguish between two related concepts. A distribution is an archive containing the rootfs of the operating system being installed. An instance is a system that has been installed from a distribution and is ready to run (or already running).
About a year ago, I decided to start learning again and chose the DevOps direction. I no longer had access to infrastructure where I could deploy projects and experiment, so I began looking for a convenient way to work locally.
At first, I tried VirtualBox, but quickly realized that it wasn’t for me. Setting up environments took too much time, and the resources of my Surface simply weren’t enough for comfortable work.
Then I turned my attention to WSL, specifically its second version. It proved to be exactly what I needed: easy installation and setup, fast deployment of instances, integration with Windows and VS Code, and at the same time the feeling of working on Linux. Since then, I have been using WSL daily for learning, experiments, and projects.