Linux Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2.0.14 released

@Brink - Is there a way to update the version of WSL already installed? wsl -v shows 2.0.9 installed.

I have the installer package (.msi) from their Github page, but I think that actually installs a separate instance of it, as last time I installed it there were 2 WSL entries in my apps list.

@johnlgalt - Mines always updated automatically via Microsoft Store as seen below and I did just got this new version which updated over 2.0.12 I believe:

I just went to the page for WSL in the Store app and it only shows installed, not update.

2.0.9 is the current stable according to GitHub, while all the newer builds are pre-release:


I need to get the store to let me install pre-release builds lol.

Or, I may have had an additional installation or 2 that were hindering my efforts.



Whoops! Uninstalled, and then allowed the Store to reinstall, and now only once instance is there - and it is still 2.0.9.

It seems from what I learned from the Windows Terminal update, they update to people running Beta builds (not sure if one has to be a insider or not) before they send to the General Audience retail channels as seen here:|



but in this case, everything after 2.0.9 is pre-release.

Hmmm. I may uninstall it and use the MSI installer then. Let's see what happens.

I wish there was a way I could not have to be on a Beta Windows 11 build to receive Beta Windows 11 products....

And now WU is showing me this:

@johnlgalt - That's normal since there are 4 things that are called WSL and WSLg that is installed as my apps list shows:
On mines, the first two are the same version of 2.0.14 with different sizes so one has to wonder which one is the one from Microsoft Store but your update which is the third one is newer than what I can get...

Unreal.

I have an older base system and a newer subsystem.

WTF Microsoft?

And ofcourse elsewhere, it only shows one WSL for the 12/1/2023, maybe the 136MB one is inside Windows Store and the other is not?

Yeah, the tiny one I think is merely a wrapper to work with Microsoft Store, not 100% sure of that, but it makes sense if it is true.

I wonder how one can get the Windows for Subsystem Linux Update to 5.10.102.2. LOL.

MUC probably has it.

Thanks @johnlgalt, indeed it does and 3 versions in the course of 2 days...


I noticed it says it is a kernel update, I thought WSL itself already came with it's own kernel version, maybe this is why it didn't update as WSL 2.0.5 was the first version that came with kernel 5.15.133.1-1 as you also show in post #5 so if it is really for a kernel update, then what was offered in post #8 would have been a kernel downgrade. LOL

I'm also looking at the WSL version history and it seems for the March 24, 2022 date, 1.13 was the official release verson at the time which was released on February 14, 2022 with 5.15.90.1 so the WSL update if that is really the kernel would actually be a older version. What's more interesting is WSL 1.1.7 pre-released of April 3, 2022 actually updated the kernel to 6.1.21.1-1 but the actual released version of WSL 1.2.0 of April 4, 2022 actually "Revert to the 5.15.90.1 version of the kernel while we debug a few issues." and ofcourse every version that followed only went with newer versions of the kernel in the 5.15.x.x and not back to the stable 6.1.x kernel versions. So looks like they have spent almost 2 years trying to get kernel 6.x working as this is a post with a answer from the development team last week:
when they said back in end of February 2023 that the 6.1 kernel would be available *soon*:

So it seems WSL itself would handle and update WSL, WSLg as well as the linux kernel so probably safer not to do the WSL Update versions manually as I can have a messed up kernel afterwards. LOL.

As for MC, now if it had KB4023057 after 2021 and current, that would be better. LOL.

That ... is a rather convoluted history.

However, it does explain why when I manually install the WSL 2.0.14.0 Pre-release package it actually installs as a separate package (and thus seemingly duplicates the WSL entry I have in Settings --> Apps) due to the different kernels.

Thanks, I'm not longer confused nor worried about it . Great sleuthing on your part.

That's interesting. On mines, each WSL version seems to overwrite the existing version and shows the current installed version.

My current version is from the Store. The pre-release is an .MSI from their GitHub repository.

I thought it would still replace it similar to how my original Powershell 7 was from the Store and then I updated to newer version using the .msi.

That is what I thought too lol. But that whole mismatched kernel thing you found might be the issue.