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https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2

Notes on setup of Windows Subsystem for Linux (version 2)
https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2

gnome-terminal gui gui-apps linux pengwin-setup vcxsrv windows windows-subsystem wsl2

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Notes on setup of Windows Subsystem for Linux (version 2)

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# Latest



For setup of WSL2 Ubuntu version and running a Qt for Python application, read:



https://github.com/eliranwong/UniqueBible/wiki/Install-UBA-on-Windows-via-WSL2-Ubuntu



# wsl2

Notes on setup of Windows Subsystem for Linux (version 2)



Notes in this repository mainly describe the setup of pengwin version 1.3.4 in WSL2



# Disclaimer



We write these notes for personal use.  Please use at your own risk.



# Use Latest Network Drivers



In our testings, micrsoft "Windows Update" app does not detect newer version of wifi driver on one of our devices.  The old driver did cause an issue under WSL2 [e.g. a link here, another link here].



If you use Intel hardware, to make sure you get the latest drivers, go to the following link and install "Intel Driver & Support Assistant":



https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/intel-driver-support-assistant.html



Do a scan with the assistant and install the latest network drivers if newer versions are found.



# Notes on enabling WSL



https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10



# Notes on conversion between WSL1 & WSL2



https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual



# Connect USB Drive



https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/connect-usb



# Setup X410 (PAID)



DPI Scaling > High Quality (Windowed Apps Only)



Shared Clipboard > Enable



Miscellaneous Options > Capture Windows Key



To work with WSL2, select "Allow Public Access"



Remarks: Set Windows firewall according to your needs.



# Alternative to X410 - VCXSRV (FREE)



You may consider VCXSRV as an alternative to X410.



We do not recommended installing VCXSRV via pengwin-setup.



Instead, we recommend installing VCXSRV via Windows PowerShell (Admin):

[Reason: It is easier to use XLaunch from start menu for configuration.]



> choco install vcxsrv



To make "vcxsrv" to work with google web engine or QtWebEngine, select from XLaunch "Native OpenGL".



To make "vcxsrv" to work with WSL2, select from XLaunch "Disable Access Control".



Comment:



In our testing, windowed apps work better and look nicer in X410, as it offers a feature "DPI Scaling > High Qaulity".  You don't need to install VCXSRV if you have X410 installed.



# Autostart Display Server



It is better to start display server before launching a GUI app.  To start a display server automatically, for example, X410



Open Windows "Run" app, 



to open apps folder



> shell:appsfolder



to open startup folder



> shell:startup



To create link in startup, drag X410 from apps folder to startup folder



# Update Installed Packages



> sudo apt update


> sudo apt dist-upgrade



# Edit 00-pengwin.sh



> sudo nano /etc/profile.d/00-pengwin.sh



Change from:



> alias ll='ls -al'



To:



> alias ll='ls -alh'



# Setup with pengwin-setup



RECOMMENDED:



GUI > GUILIB



GUI > SYNAPTIC



PROGRAMMING > GO



PROGRAMMING > PYTHONPI



SETTINGS > EXPLORER



SETTINGS > COLORTOOL



NOT RECOMMENDED:



GUI > FCITX [It breaks in many GUI apps under WSL2]



GUI > HIDPI [instead, use X410 > DPI Scaling > High Quality (Windowed Apps Only)]



EDITORS > CODE [read: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/programming/vs_code.md]



# Settings for Launching Linux GUI Apps



There were mutliple issues about running GUI apps with pengwin version earlier than 1.3.4 under WSL2.  Most know issues had been fixed with pengwin version 1.3.4.



Two suggestions here:



1) Add the following line to "~/.profile", if you need to work with .Xresources, e.g. https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/terminal/urxvt.md#to-customise:



> xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources



2) To assign QStandardPaths for running Qt applications, app the following lines to file "~/.profile":



> mkdir -p /tmp/runtime-$USER


> chmod 7700 /tmp/runtime-$USER


> export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/tmp/runtime-$USER



# Setup Common Tools



> sudo apt install apt-utils build-essential cmake tree wget curl git zip unzip xz-utils nano lib32stdc++6 sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev libasound2 libnss3 libncurses5 libncurses5-dev libgl1-mesa-dev mesa-utils lsb-release binutils dbus-x11 youtube-dl ffmpeg gawk translate-shell opencc rar unrar mlocate



# Examples on Command-line Tools



* Useful tools



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/cli_tools/Readme.md



* Download Youtube Video / Audio



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/multimedia/youtube-dl.md



* video conversion:



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/multimedia/ffmpeg.md



# Setup Input Method



"fcitx", bundled with pengwin, is not working in WSL2 at the time of writing.



We recommend "ibus" instead.  For setup of ibus, read:



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/input_method/ibus.md



# Setup Terminal Apps



For issues with official pengwin terminal window and alternatives, you may read:



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/terminal/Readme.md



# Setup Linux GUI File Manager



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/file_manager/thunar.md



# Open a File on WSL with Default Windows Application



For example to open a file, say "my_word_document.docx", located on WSL, with Microsoft Word installed on Windows:



> powershell.exe start "my_word_document.doc"



Remarks: Use double quote "" for file names, which contain space characters.



* To create an alias:



> echo "alias start='powershell.exe start'" >> ~/.bashrc



* To create a custom action in Thunar:



Name & Description:


> Open with Default Windows Application



Command:


> powershell.exe start "%n"



Appearance Conditions:


> Text Files, Audio Files, Video Files, Image Files, Other Files



For more about Thunar: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/file_manager/thunar.md



# Open Windows Explorer via Linux Shell



> explorer.exe .



# Open Windows Explorer via Thunar File Manager



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/file_manager/thunar.md#open-a-folder-with-windows-explorer






# Launch Thunar File Manager from Windows Explorer



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/file_manager/thunar.md#launch-thunar-from-windows-context-menu



# Lanuch Gnome Terminal from Windows Explorer



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/terminal/gnome-terminal.md






# Launch Windows Linux Shell from Windows Explorer



On Windows Explorer,



Enter "wsl" on address bar


or


right-click and select "Open with Pengwin"


or


shift & right-click and select "Open with Pengwin"


or


shift & right-click and select "Open Linux shell here"



# Launch Linux GUI app from Windows PowerShell



e.g.



> pengwin.exe run "bash -l -c google-chrome"



# WSL Utilities 



WSL Utilities are bundled with pengwin.  Read more about these utilities at https://github.com/wslutilities/wslu.



For example, to open a website, say https://github.com, using Windows default web browser, run



> wslview https://github.com



* To WSL2 Users, wslusc, bundled with pengwin version 1.3.4 does not work with WSL2.



Use /usr/local/pengwin-setup.d/generate-shortcut.sh instead.  For example: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/desktop.md#create-a-windows-shortcut-recommended-for-pengwin-version-134



Alternatively, you can create a Windows shrotcut directly with Windows GUI.  For example: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/desktop.md#create-a-windows-shortcut-directly-on-windows



# Setup Bible Apps



Command line version of UniqueBible.app:



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/command_line.md



Desktop version of UniqueBible.app:



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/desktop.md



# Setup Other GUI Apps



To install available packages:



> sudo apt install gedit geany geany-plugins rxvt-unicode gnome-terminal thunar thunar-archive-plugin thunar-media-tags-plugin sqlitebrowser firefox-esr flashplugin-nonfree falkon gnome-keyring libsecret* libreoffice gthumb gimp



[Remarks: ibus works with all the above GUI apps tested in both WSL1 & WSL2 whereas fcitx works only in some applications in WSL1.  At the time of writing, fcitx is broken in WSL2.]


[Remarks: Some of GUI apps above, e.g. falkon, work only in version 2 of WSL.]


[Remarks: gnome-keyring & libsecret* are required for running mailspring.]



* Office


wps office [https://www.wps.com/download] shows better compatibilities with ms files than libreoffice.  You can also open an office file located on WSL with Microsoft Office installed on Windows.  Read: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2#open-a-file-on-wsl-with-default-windows-application



* mail client


mailspring is available for download at https://getmailspring.com/. Mailspring works with gmail signin whereas thunderbird doesn't.

To verify gmail signin with mailspring, use Linux browser installed in WSL2 instead of using browser installed in Windows directory. Use Firefox / Chrome / Opera instead of falkon for gmail signin verification.



* Web browser


In our testings, chrome and opera browsers work in WSL2, but not in WSL1


Chrome is available at: https://www.google.com/chrome/


Opera is available at: https://www.opera.com/


Chrome works the best with signin of mutliple gmail accounts.



# GUI for pacakage management



> sudo synaptic



# Fixing Windows Startmenu Shortcuts



For issues before pengwin version 1.3.4, you may read https://github.com/WhitewaterFoundry/Pengwin/issues/551.  Issues mentioned in the post had been fixed in pengwin version 1.3.4.



After installing multiple gui apps, run:



> pengwin-setup



select GUI > STARTMENU



The problem with creating shortcuts with pengwin-setup is that existing shortcuts are created again each time you run pengwin-setup > GUI > STARTMENU.  For examples, after installing 10 gui apps and run pengwin-setup > GUI > STARTMENU.  When you install one more gui app, running pengwin-setup > GUI > STARTMENU is ineffective because it creates shortcuts for all 11 gui apps.



A workaround is to use /usr/local/pengwin-setup.d/generate-shortcut.sh directly.  For example: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/desktop.md#create-a-windows-shortcut-recommended-for-pengwin-version-134



Alternatively, you can create a Windows shrotcut directly with Windows GUI.  For example: https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/desktop.md#create-a-windows-shortcut-directly-on-windows



# Use Windows Fonts



We find that we don't have to to add any fonts on Linux side, as with pengwin, our tested GUI applications can use fonts installed on Windows side directly.



For examples, we have fonts "NSimSun" and "Calibri" instalaled on Windows on our device.



We assign Windows font "NSimSun" to a Linux terminal app:


https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/terminal/urxvt.md#to-customise



We assign Windows font "Calibri" to a Linux GUI app:


https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/bible_apps/desktop.md#change-default-font



To build font information cache files:



> fc-cache -f -v



To check all available fonts:



> fc-list



# Additional Fonts



To install additional fonts, e.g. ubuntu fonts:



1) Download the latest version of Ubuntu Fonts from http://font.ubuntu.com/ or run:


> wget https://assets.ubuntu.com/v1/0cef8205-ubuntu-font-family-0.83.zip



2) Unzip font package:


> unzip 0cef8205-ubuntu-font-family-0.83.zip



3) Create user fonts directory:


> mkdir -p ~/.fonts



4) Copy ubuntu fonts to user fonts directory:


> cp -r ubuntu-font-family-0.83/ ~/.fonts



5) Build fonts information cache files:

> fc-cache -f -v



# Workaround to work with USB drive in WSL2



https://github.com/eliranwong/wsl2/blob/master/accessories/usb_drive.md



# Terminate a Distro



To check the name and version of a distro



> wsl.exe -l -v



To terminate a distro, e.g.



> wsl.exe -t WLinux



> wsl.exe -t Debian



> wsl.exe -t Ubuntu



Use $WSL_DISTRO_NAME:



> wsl.exe -t $WSL_DISTRO_NAME



To create an alias, e.g.



> echo 'alias shutdown="wsl.exe -t $WSL_DISTRO_NAME"' >> ~/.bashrc



# Fix Slow Download Speed on Windows 10



Open Control Panel > Networking and Internet > View network status and tasks and click on Change adapter settings on the left panel. Find the vEthernel (WSL) adapter, right click and select Properties. Click on Configure and open the Advanced tab. Search through each of the properties until you find Large Send Offload Version 2 (IPv4) and Large Send Offload Version 2 (IPv6). Disable both of these properties.



Read https://townsyio.medium.com/wsl2-how-to-fix-download-speed-3edb0c348e29



# Shutdown Everything



Immediately terminates all running distributions and the WSL 2 lightweight utility virtual machine.



> wsl.exe --shutdown



# Restart WSL Service



Run from Windows PowerShell (Admin):



> Get-Service LxssManager | Restart-Service



# Backup & Restore a WSL Distro



To backup, open Windows PowerShell and run, e.g.:



> wsl --export WLinux WLinux.tar



> wsl --export Ubuntu Ubuntu.tar



> wsl --export Debian Debian.tar



To restore, e.g.



> wsl --import WLinux C:\Users\Eliran\WLinux C:\Users\Eliran\WLinux.tar



To unregister, e.g.



> wsl --unregister WLinux



# Other References



https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/tutorials/gui-apps