Microsoft has released instrumentation WSL 2.6.0 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), allowing users to run Linux applications on Windows. This version, marked as the first issue under the MIT license, includes utilities for the command line, background processes for Linux renovations, and services for launching a virtual machine. Previously, WSL components code related to the Linux nucleus and the graphic stack wslg, along with accompanying tools, were proprietary. The changes in version 2.6.0 mainly focus on error correction and work stability.
WSL provides a virtual machine with a full-fledged Linux core (based on a branch of 6.6) for launching Linux distributions. The core contains specific optimizations for WSL, including a reduced start time, lower memory consumption, the ability to release Windows memory used by Linux processes, and settings to exclude additional drivers and subsystems. The system is installed in a separate disk image (VHD) with the Ext4 file system and virtual network adapter.