● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 neutral
Microsoft releases WSL Containers for running Linux containers on Windows
Key points
- WSL Containers are now generally available.
- Introduces `wslc.exe` command-line tool and API.
- Integrates with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Intune.
- Future plans include Docker Compose-style support.
WSL Containers General Availability
Microsoft has announced the general availability of WSL Containers, extending the capabilities of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to include direct support for running Linux containers. Users can access this feature by updating WSL via `wsl --update`.
New Tools and API
The release introduces `wslc.exe` as a new command-line tool for building, running, and deploying Linux containers on Windows, with `container.exe` serving as an alias. Additionally, a WSL Containers API is available, allowing Windows applications to programmatically launch and interact with Linux containers. This API supports scenarios such as running local AI workloads or cloud-based containerized applications locally.
Feature Enhancements and Enterprise Integration
The general availability version includes features not present in preview, such as container restarting, file copying, health checks, network commands, real-time events, mount support, and configurable storage. For businesses, WSL Containers integrates with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for security monitoring and Microsoft Intune for management, allowing administrators to disable the feature or restrict container image sources.
Developer Ecosystem Support and Future Plans
WSL Containers supports the broader developer ecosystem, with VS Code Dev Containers able to use `wslc` as their default driver, and Aspire along with the VS Code Containers extension now supporting the feature. Microsoft is also working on adding Docker Compose-style support, aiming for existing `compose.yaml` files to work without modification. Performance improvements are also noted, with WSL Containers delivering up to 2x faster performance when accessing Windows files from Linux environments.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Microsoft has made WSL Containers generally available, allowing users to run Linux containers directly on Windows via the Windows Subsystem for Linux. This update introduces a new command-line tool and an API, enabling programmatic interaction with containers and offering performance improvements for accessing Windows files from Linux environments.