The Fedora Project is exploring the possibility of creating official Fedora Linux images for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). This would allow Windows users to easily run Fedora on their systems without the need for dual-booting or a separate virtual machine. The proposal is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to make Fedora more accessible to a wider audience.
The target release for the Fedora WSL images is Fedora Linux 42. However, this is just a proposed change and it is subject to approval by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee.
Table of Contents
What is WSL?
WSL (stands for Windows Subsystem for Linux) is a feature of Windows that allows users to run a Linux environment directly on their Windows machines. It is designed to provide a seamless experience for developers who want to use both Windows and Linux tools.
WSL 2, the latest version, runs Linux distributions as isolated containers inside a lightweight virtual machine managed by Windows. This offers several advantages, including:
- Increased file system performance.
- Full system call compatibility.
Why Create Fedora WSL Images?
The goal of the proposal is to make it easier for Windows users to try out and use Fedora. A dedicated Fedora WSL image would allow users to:
- Experience Fedora's features and functionality without making any major changes to their system.
- Become more familiar with Fedora, potentially leading them to choose it as their primary Linux distribution in the future.
How Would the Images be Distributed?
The current proposal suggests distributing the Fedora WSL images as a tarball. This avoids the need to agree to the Microsoft Store policies and developer agreement, which Fedora has historically been hesitant to do.
Recent versions of WSL (2.4.4 and later) have improved the user experience for images distributed outside the store. These improvements include:
- Support for first-time setup scripts and icons within the tarball.
- Click-to-install functionality using the ".wsl" file extension.
While the images would be optimised for WSL 2.4.4 and later, documentation would be provided for users running older versions.
What Work is Involved?
To create Fedora WSL images, the project would need to:
- Add a WSL variant to the Fedora release repository.
- Provide a WSL configuration file and an out-of-the-box experience script.
- Create a Kiwi definition to produce a WSL root filesystem tarball.
- Write documentation explaining how to use the tarball with WSL.
- Add the Fedora images to the WSL distribution list, enabling installation via the
wsl --install Fedoracommand. - Potentially add a section on the Fedora Project website to increase the visibility of the WSL images.
Benefits for Fedora
Creating official Fedora WSL images would offer several benefits:
- Increased visibility and accessibility: Reaching a wider audience of Windows users who may not be familiar with Fedora.
- Improved user experience: Providing a streamlined and user-friendly way to experience Fedora on Windows.
- Potential for growth: Encouraging wider adoption of Fedora as a primary Linux distribution.
Next Steps
The proposal is currently under discussion within the Fedora community. If approved by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee, work will begin on creating the necessary infrastructure and building the WSL images. The target release for the images is Fedora Linux 42.
Resource:
Related Read:
