Windows 10 is adding support for graphical apps to the Windows Subsystem for Linux

Microsoft building in California

The Linux-supporting capabilities of Windows 10 are going to develop even further as Microsoft continues to improve Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Later this month, with the release of Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Microsoft is launching WSL2 which sees the arrival of a full Linux kernel and more.

Talking at Build yesterday, Microsoft revealed the impending arrival of not only GPU hardware acceleration in WSL2, but also GUI app support.

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Support for graphical Linux desktop applications is a major advancement for WSL and the integration between Windows and Linux. Direct GUI support means it will no longer be necessary to rely on third party X server tools which can result in poor performance when looking to step out of a text-based environment.

As well as eliminating the need for performance-reducing third party tools, Microsoft is also helping to speed things up by adding GPU hardware acceleration support to WSL2. While it is Windows 10 May 2020 Update that heralds the arrival of WSL2, the new support features will be added to future Insider builds.

WLS2 remains an optional component, but Microsoft is going to make it easier to install using the command wsl.exe -install

Image credit: Walter Cicchetti / Shutterstock

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