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Microsoft makes Windows Subsystem for Linux open source at last

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WSL has become open-source

Windows 10 button on a keyboard
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Wachiwit)
  • Build 2025 was all about AI, but Microsoft also made WSL open-source
  • The company knows just how valuable its community of contributors has been
  • Microsoft wants users to "engage in issue resolution and learn together as a community"

Microsoft has officially open-sourced Windows Subsystem for Linux at its annual software engineer and web developer conference, Microsoft Build 2025.

Most components are now open-source, with the exception of a few elements tied directly to Windows, with the source code available on GitHub.

By open-sourcing WSL, Microsoft has opened it up to direct contributions, feature development and bug fixes from the broader community, after acknowledging that the community has already contributed significantly prior to its open sourcing.

Windows Subsystem for Linux becomes an open-source project for the community

"As the community behind WSL grew, WSL gained more features such as GPU support, graphical applications support (via wslg) and support for systemd," Microsoft's Pierre Boulay explained. "It eventually became clear that to keep up with the growing community and feature requests, WSL had to move faster, and ship separately from Windows."

Boulay shared some of WSL's history, including its separation from Windows in 2021 when it became its own package, distributed via the Microsoft Store.

"WSL could never have been what it is today without its community. Even without access to WSL’s source code, people have been able to make major contributions that lead to what WSL is now," Boulay added.

Despite the significance of WSL becoming open-source, Chief Communications Officer Frank X Shaw only wrote a short note about it in the conference's Book of News. An extract reads: "It facilitates collaboration among WSL users, enabling them to engage in issue resolution and learn together as a community."

Unsurprisingly, the core announcements at Build centered around artificial intelligence, with numerous updates issued to the company's Copilot agents to boost productivity across Microsoft 365 apps.

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Craig Hale
Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!

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