Questions tagged [windows-subsystem-for-linux]

Stack Overflow welcomes programming-related questions regarding the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) according to our normal on-topic/off-topic Help Center guidance.

When determining the appropriate site on which to ask a WSL question, first consider whether your issue can be reproduced without code. If so, then it is likely not "programming related." It may be more appropriate for another Stack Exchange site (see below).

Some common types of WSL questions that may be "general computing" even though you first found them in your code:

• Running graphical applications under WSL: Some versions of WSL may require special configuration for graphical applications. If you are attempting to write a Linux application which uses X, Wayland, SDL, or another graphical library (vs. the console), then try installing and running a simple application like xterm first. If you aren't able to run xterm, then you are likely experiencing a "General Computing" issue that may be more appropriate elsewhere.

• Accessing your application over the network or Accessing network services running in Windows from WSL: Again, attempt to reproduce the problem using standard tools such as netcat (nc), ping, etc.

  To run a simple web server under most Linux distributions out-of-the-box, use:

  python3 -m http.server 3000 # or another port
  

  If you have trouble connecting using standard tools, then your code is likely experiencing the same issue. In that case, we can assume the root issue is not your code, and your question may be more suited for another, non-programming Stack Exchange site.

Other non-programming WSL questions may include (but are not limited to):

• Installing or running WSL itself.
• Installing or running a Linux distribution under WSL.
• General Linux or Windows functionality.
• Accessing files or filesystems (unless the issue can only be reproduced with a code example).
• Issues with or questions about Linux commands under WSL (unless the issue can only be reproduced as part of a larger script).
• Running non-programming Linux applications or tools under WSL.
• Configuring your shell or terminal.

Consider the following sites for non-programming WSL questions:

• Superuser for general-computing questions, especially those that touch on Windows-specific functionality.

• Ask Ubuntu if your question is specific to running Ubuntu on WSL.

• Unix & Linux Stack if you believe your question is best answered by someone with Linux expertise, and the question is more related to Linux functionality than Windows.