Microsoft has now open-sourced the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), marking the culmination of a long-standing developer request. With the latest release (WSL 2.5.7), the full WSL source code is now available on GitHub, giving developers unprecedented access to its inner workings.
Windows Subsystem for Linux Highlights
- WSL includes components like wsl.exe, wslg.exe, and wslservice.exe, as well as Linux-side services like init and gns.
- Microsoft previously open-sourced WSLg (for GUI apps) and the WSL2 Linux kernel.
- Some elements like lxcore.sys (used in WSL 1) and certain file-sharing drivers remain proprietary.
- WSL has evolved from a kernel-integrated solution (WSL 1) in 2016 to a VM-based model (WSL 2) with features like mirrored networking and session 0 support.
- The open-source move is expected to boost development with direct community contributions.
Developers can now explore and contribute to the project at: github.com/microsoft/WSL
