WSL is actually worse than people think it is , I tried doing android via using wsl and wanted to run emulator , the amount of work you have to put and still the result you get is sub norminal. And this was in my job which made the matter even worse because my boss thought I was slacking .
Most WSL users I know all run Linux at home; WSL is the best they can get at work.
True
fuck it
run windows in a virtual machine in Linux, then run wsl within it.
Look what they have to do to mimic a fraction of our power
Look what they have to do to mimic a fraction of our power
I think that sounds more like Cygwin.
I forgot about Cygwin… ugh
WSL is Linux On a Budget. Its rough as hell but hey, if its all you have practical access to.
Linux on a Budget
Have… Have I been accidentally pirating Linux all this time? Who do I owe money to?
Linus and Stallmann
When using WSL, be sure to not mention anything about that when reporting bugs because that’ll just confuse the issue for the maintainers. They like having that casually mentioned about 20 messages into the troubleshooting process.
Pff, issue reports should ask for the output of ‘uname -ar’. It clearly shows its wsl as wsl runs a special kernel
I’m a big fan of going on WSL forums and letting them know everything is working well for give or take 20 messages, then I let them know I need help troubleshooting.
it’s a unix system on top of a windows system; i know this!
Yo dawg…
We don’t talk about
Brunothe Microsoft POSIX subsystem
I tried to get the *arr stack running on it at one point, using Docker.
Do not do this. Just install the Windows apps. Yes, it’s a mess. Yes, they work.
Just curious, what were the issues?
It was a while ago now, bit I think it was trying to get all the individual bits to talk to each other (radarr to prowlarr, etc). I was following some guide and that’s where it all fell apart.
Sounds like a network configuration issue of the containers - you either have to use the host network (probably not recommended) or to map the necessary ports of each app. But trying to do that in WSL sounds like an extra layer of fuckery that you don’t necessarily have to deal with. Running Docker directly on Windows sounds like the more sane thing to do in that case.
Jokes on you, docker on windows uses wsl too :')
I know, but it’s managed by Docker, i.e. you don’t have to do anything special.
Yeah, it was blocking the networking between them, and after Google failed me for an hour, I realised they all had Windows installers so there wasn’t really a lot of point persevering with weird half-broken versions of Linux and Docker.
When someone ask for help with a Linux issue: 🤩
It’s a wsl bug: 🤭
Open source now tho
What’s the benefit for that? Can you fork it and run a copy in windows (or is it too integrated in wondows) or is it just Microsoft wanting your free labour (bugfixes etc)?
Mom! Windows is doing EEE again.
At least you can look at how it works under the hood I guess
Oh yeah, that is true !
I don’t think anyone is a “wsl user” so much as they’ve found themselves in a position where the lowest friction solution is utilizing wsl for a given situation.
Around 2019, even up until like 2022 if you wanted to run docker in windows, that was how to do it.
I learned the shell in wsl before I switched to Linux full time. I wasn’t trying to learn it intentionally. Just didn’t want to develop software on windows. It’s a great gateway drug that reduces friction by a lot.
The terminal is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
It’s not a story the Vibe Coders would tell you
That’s where I was a few years ago, and then I switched back to proper Linux. I was only keeping Windows at all for games, but then most of the games I played started working fine on Linux (thank you, Valve).
Plus, I tried doing some TensorFlow stuff with CUDA (Nvidia) GPU acceleration. In theory, you can do it in pure Windows, but nobody has bothered trying to do that. You’re on your own if you try it. The usual way is to do GPU passthrough to WSL. There have been three different ways to do that over the years, only one of which currently works. If you happen to Google a page that tells you one of the wrong ways, there’s a good chance you’ll need to reinstall to get it working the right way.
Using pure Linux for this stuff is no problem. Just use Nvidia’s server drivers instead of gaming drivers. All the AI datacenters are using Nvidia GPUs on Linux, so Nvidia is highly motivated to make this work. Someday, Windows might be as easy to use as Linux.
Pretty much my situation. Work stuff, Windows machine, but Linux/Docker workflow and I refuse to let go of my POSIX shell.
All the good stuff available and you choose a POSIX shell? To each their own I guess.
Granted, I still prefer it to PowerShell, but only in how it feels, not conceptually.
Eh I’m not hard set on full spec compliance. I use ZSH, it’s not technically POSIX compliant but close enough that I virtually never have to think about it. Technically correct would probably have been “sh derivative” or something.
I still prefer it to PowerShell
Who hurt you?
Why?
Not enough caffeine. Please disregard.
What’s the current best way to run docker on Windows?
I’m still using wsl(2) for that in 2025 because it seems to be the path of least resistance on Win11.
Just install the docker engine in wsl like anywhere else and avoid docker desktop if you can
That could very well be the best practice. I haven’t had to run docker in windows since then.
Me looking disgusted at myself in the mirror, for I am doomed towards eternal Microsoft-dependency at work.
Still better than cygwin
God I remember suffering through cygwin at a VB shop back in '17… literal hell
And msys
This is me looking at myself cause I use both lol
WSL is cool when you first use it then you realize it actually kind of sucks
Apt username
Yum username.
Yay username
Dnf usernam
For once I think I agree with Linux purists.
Fuck I might need a shower.
Born to Gentoo+i3, forced (by work) to WSL
