Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2)

WSL2（Windows 下的 Linux 子系统）WSL2Advanced

Microsoft's official way to run a full Linux environment inside Windows, without dual-booting.

WSL2 is the second version of the Linux subsystem Microsoft provides for Windows 10/11, running a real Linux kernel inside a lightweight virtual machine, which gives it better system-call compatibility and faster file and build performance than the first version. It solves the problem of having only a Windows laptop when almost all robotics software runs on Ubuntu: once installed, you can use apt, Conda, and Docker directly, train models on an NVIDIA GPU through CUDA on WSL, and even display graphical tools like RViz. Its downsides are that USB device access, real-time performance, and network configuration aren't as smooth as native Linux, so connecting to a real robot for debugging often needs extra workarounds.

ExampleRun wsl --install on a Windows laptop to set up Ubuntu 22.04, then install ROS 2 Humble inside it and try the classic turtlesim tutorial.

Also called: WSL 2, WSL
Related: Ubuntu Linux · Robot Operating System 2 · Docker · CUDA · Conda · Secure Shell (SSH)
Sources: What is Windows Subsystem for Linux (Microsoft Learn)
Comparing WSL Versions (Microsoft Learn)
CUDA on WSL User Guide (NVIDIA)