Archlinux on WSL?

olive · 2019-09-29 08:32:12

Does anyone here know ArchWSL (to be installed in the Windows subsystem for Linux, on Windows 10) that we find on github (https://github.com/yuk7/ArchWSL)? Is there some sort of support for it in the Arch community? I have not really tried it, but I have extracted their root filesystem and examined it within a real ArchLinux. It seems to be a set of initial unconfigured packages that you have to configure yourself.

WorMzy · 2019-09-29 09:37:21

It isn't Arch, and it isn't supported by the community.

olive · 2019-09-29 09:48:55

OK, no plan to have some sort of official support? It seems that the only thing it really does is to extract an initial filesystem made of official packages and register it through Windows. Their mirrorlist just list the official ArchLinux mirror from where to retrieve the real Archlinux packages. Or is it maybe something unacceptable about it?

Last edited by olive (2019-09-29 09:49:12)

Lone_Wolf · 2019-09-29 10:38:10

Or is it maybe something unacceptable about it?

Correct, see http://archlinux.2023198.n4.nabble.com/ … l#a4718292

ewaller · 2019-09-29 14:58:27

I must say, however, I would be interested in such a project. I do use WSL/Debian at work where we are standardized on Windows 10. It actually works very well. This is in a similar vein to Arch Linux Arm, another project I enjoy and use. But, as WorMzy and Lone_Wolf point out, those implementations are different projects and should (if they are or become real) have their own support infrastructure, and would not be supported here.

Now, on the other hand, if one were able to use our install iso and perform the installation on WSL using our install guide (perhaps with a few tweeks), then it might be okay; not unlike installing Arch Linux in a VM.

Scimmia · 2019-09-29 15:50:21

ewaller wrote:

Now, on the other hand, if one were able to use our install iso and perform the installation on WSL using our install guide (perhaps with a few tweeks), then it might be okay; not unlike installing Arch Linux in a VM.

Not the install ISO, but the bootstrap image. The linked post was mine, I've done this and it works fine. Seems to be some issues with gpg hanging, though.

It also isn't much like a VM. It's not even really as much as a container, closer to a simple chroot. WSL2 sounds like it'll be a full-on VM, though.

Last edited by Scimmia (2019-09-29 16:05:46)

ewaller · 2019-09-29 16:12:48

Scimmia wrote:

WSL2 sounds like it'll be a full-on VM, though.

Not to much, I hope. I like the fact I can open a ssh session back to my home using the -D switch to do port forwarding for the entire host machine. I also like that I can open ports on the host machine and put services behind them from Linux.

Edit: Your project does look interesting; when I get some time at work I'll try it

Last edited by ewaller (2019-09-29 16:15:22)

dotmavriq · 2019-12-01 12:28:26

Does it even exist anymore? I can't seem to find it on my windows machine when I look for WSL Arch Linux in the Windows Store.

Jubijub · 2020-06-15 13:21:38

Is there any plan to revisit this in 2020 ? WSL2 is out and enables a much tighter integration.

I am aware of the discussion here : http://archlinux.2023198.n4.nabble.com/ … l#a4718292 but I am wondering if there are discussions to revisit.

I love Arch, this is the sole distro I use, but I also have to use Windows (games, content creation), and am currently using a dualboot.
WSL offer a neat value proposition by allowing to have the best of both worlds in one boot session. And right now it's dominated by debian-like distros, and it would be great to have an arch flavoured distro there. It would pain me a lot to have to leave Arch ecosystem, but I am seriously considering doing the jump.

eschwartz · 2020-06-15 17:44:49

Jubijub wrote:

Is there any plan to revisit this in 2020 ? WSL2 is out and enables a much tighter integration.
I am aware of the discussion here : http://archlinux.2023198.n4.nabble.com/ … l#a4718292 but I am wondering if there are discussions to revisit.

There's nothing stopping you from using it. If it works, great. If not, figure out why it isn't working.

What is it, exactly, that you want us to revisit?

Having some Arch team member submit an image to the Windows Store? This isn't a blocker for personally installing it.
Having the [core] maintainers respond to bug reports for Windows heisenbugs? If WSL2 is so great, it should probably work fine on its own, no help needed.
Letting it be discussed on the forums? Anything that is an issue for WSL will almost certainly be a WSL-specific issue, and very few people here use WSL, most likely you would not get any help anyway.

How would this solve some of the mentioned problems way back then? See discussion around e.g. https://lists.archlinux.org/pipermail/a … 29141.html

Jubijub wrote:

I love Arch, this is the sole distro I use, but I also have to use Windows (games, content creation), and am currently using a dualboot.
WSL offer a neat value proposition by allowing to have the best of both worlds in one boot session. And right now it's dominated by debian-like distros, and it would be great to have an arch flavoured distro there. It would pain me a lot to have to leave Arch ecosystem, but I am seriously considering doing the jump.

WSL2 still doesn't offer GUI support, how could it possibly be "the best of both worlds in one boot session"?

It is very definitively the best of Windows, due to being Windows, together with a partial implementation of Linux, in one boot session. This might not matter to the primary use case of WSL, which is "Windows developers want access to an actually decent command line and compiler toolchain"...

jasonwryan · 2020-06-15 17:51:23

Will it be supported here? No: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/WSL

Arch Linux

#1 2019-09-29 08:32:12

Archlinux on WSL?

#2 2019-09-29 09:37:21

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#3 2019-09-29 09:48:55

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#4 2019-09-29 10:38:10

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#5 2019-09-29 14:58:27

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#6 2019-09-29 15:50:21

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#7 2019-09-29 16:12:48

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#8 2019-12-01 12:28:26

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#9 2020-06-15 13:21:38

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#10 2020-06-15 17:44:49

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

#11 2020-06-15 17:51:23

Re: Archlinux on WSL?

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