New tool converts pretty much any Linux Docker image into a WSL distro
EasyWSL extends the list of distros you can run with WSL
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Cybersecurityfirm Red Code Labs has created an open source tool calledEasyWSL, which can be used to convert virtually any Docker image of aLinux distroto boot with Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
WSL enables advanced users to deploy and use Linux distros from insideWindows 10. The popular Windows subsystem hasrecently been updatedand isn’t just faster, but also allows for full system compatibility by putting a real Linux kernel at the heart of things, and will soon even rungraphical Linux apps.
By default, WSL is designed to fetch Linux distros from theMicrosoftStore, which already lists quite a few distros, including Fedora,Ubuntu, Debian and others. However, many aren’t available or aren’t offered as free downloads.
EasyWSL hopes to make it easier to build your own Linux distros that aren’t currently available via the store.
“Basically it was a great idea to try usingArch and Gentooand their repos at the first point, but then I realized, why not somehow get images fromDocker Hub, to make the possibilities even bigger,” said one of the project’s developers in a conversation withBleepingComputer.
Roll your own
In addition to expanding the list of available WSL distros, the project also helps address a security concern with many of the distros listed in the Microsoft Store.
BleepingComputernotes that because many of the paid WSL distributions are not created by the original upstream project maintainers, but rather by third parties, business have a legitimate reason to be concerned about their integrity.
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EasyWSL works around this problem by creating WSL-compatible images fromDocker containerscreated and managed by the original upstream maintainers of the project.
EasyWSL already offers a wide-range of free Linux distros, several of which aren’t available in the Microsoft Store. And distros that aren’t available can be easily converted from a Docker image for use with WSL with a single command.
ViaBleepingComputer
With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.
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