WSLB - Windows Subsystem for Linux Builder

WSLB is a command-line tool that simplifies building and installing Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distributions from Docker images.

Features

• Build custom WSL distributions from any Docker image
• Install WSL distributions directly from Docker image URLs
• Manage WSL distributions (list, stop, remove)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Windows operating system with WSL enabled
• Docker installed and running
• Go 1.16 or later (for building from source)

Install With Go

go install -a github.com/wsl-images/wslb@latest

Install With Scoop

scoop bucket add wsl-images-bucket https://github.com/wsl-images/wsl-images-bucket
scoop install wsl-images-bucket/wslb 

Antivirus and Anti Malware Problems with Scoop

Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$($env:programdata)\scoop", "$($env:scoop)"

To Undo this change

Remove-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$($env:programdata)\scoop", "$($env:scoop)"

Building from source

git clone https://github.com/wsl-images/wslb.git
cd wslb
./build.sh

The executable will be available in the bin directory.

Usage

Build a WSL distribution from a Docker image

wslb build ubuntu:20.04

This will create a .wsl file in the current directory.

Options:

• -o, --output: Specify output directory (default: current directory)

Install a WSL distribution

From Docker image URL:

wslb install ubuntu:20.04

From a pre-built .wsl file:

wslb install -f ./ubuntu.wsl

Options:

• -n, --name: Specify a custom name for the WSL distribution
• -f, --file: Path to a pre-built .wsl file

List WSL distributions

wslb ls
# or
wslb list

Options:

• --all: List all distributions, including those being installed or uninstalled
• --running: List only distributions that are currently running
• -q, --quiet: Only show distribution names
• -v, --verbose: Show detailed information about all distributions
• -o, --online: Display a list of available distributions for install

Remove a WSL distribution

wslb rm <Distro>

Unregisters the distribution and deletes the root filesystem.

Stop a WSL distribution

wslb stop <Distro>

Terminates the specified WSL distribution.

Shutdown all WSL distributions

wslb shutdown

Immediately terminates all running distributions and the WSL 2 lightweight utility virtual machine.

Show WSL status

wslb status

Shows the status of Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Display version information

wslb version

Prints the version information of WSLB.

Examples

Build Ubuntu 22.04 and save to a specific directory:

wslb build ubuntu:22.04 -o ~/wsl-images

Install Debian with a custom name:

wslb install debian:bullseye -n MyDebianWSL

List all running WSL distributions:

wslb ls --running

Logs

Logs are stored in $HOME/.wslb/logs/wslb.log