Skip to content

Getting a usable linux environment on Windows

The Windows OS used to be unusable for most scientists due to a host of compatibility issues. But, Windows now offers the "Windows Subsystem for Linux" which has changed that. Here are some links to useful guides

  1. Installing Ubuntu in WSL. The default OS is Ubuntu, this has worked well for me. It is worth making sure you install WSL2.

  2. In theory, WSL now supports GUI apps natively (see here). I have yet to get this working, but it looks great.

  3. I have found that the Windows Terminal works really well. I actually prefer this to the native terminal in Ubuntu itself. There is a SO post here on getting it to launch WSL, but I think this may be a little out of date. You can add WSL by simply adding a new profile.