---
title: "WSL Setup"
id: "375"
type: "page"
slug: "wsl"
published_at: "2026-05-24T17:55:46+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-06-10T10:46:36+00:00"
url: "https://xedant.com/code/wsl"
markdown_url: "https://xedant.com/code/wsl.md"
excerpt: "WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) lets you run a Linux environment directly on Windows without…"
---

# WSL Setup

[https://xedant.com/code/wsl.md](https://xedant.com/code/wsl.md)

Don’t want to read through all this? Just point any AI chat (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) to [this page in Markdown](https://xedant.com/code/wsl.md)
 or to the [llms.txt](/llms.txt)
 index, and ask it to generate the config files and commands for you. It’ll read the docs, ask you a few questions about your setup, and give you ready-to-use configuration. Save your time — let the model do the reading.

 You could also contact me via Telegram — I’m always eager to help. I’m not being just polite here — I really like to chat with like-minded people, especially if you love coding as much as I do.

 WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) lets you run a Linux environment directly on Windows without a virtual machine. This makes it a great way to run Xedant Code in a Docker container on Windows — you get the full isolation of Docker with native Linux performance.

## Windows 11

Windows 11 includes WSL 2 support out of the box. Open a terminal (PowerShell or Command Prompt) and run:

```
wsl --install
```

This installs WSL 2 with Ubuntu as the default distribution. Restart your computer when prompted. After restart, Ubuntu opens automatically — set your username and password for the Linux environment.

## Installing Docker

In your WSL terminal, install Docker:

```
# Install prerequisites
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl

# Add Docker's GPG key and repository
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

# Start Docker
sudo service docker start

# Add your user to the docker group (so you don't need sudo)
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
```

After adding your user to the docker group, close and reopen the WSL terminal for the change to take effect. Verify Docker works:

```
docker --version
docker compose version
```

## Running Xedant Code

Create a directory for your project and follow the [Docker Setup Guide](/code/docker)
 to configure and launch Xedant Code. Your project files are accessible from both Windows (via `\\wsl$\Ubuntu\` in File Explorer) and the WSL terminal.

## Windows 10

WSL 2 requires an additional step on Windows 10 — enabling the Virtual Machine Platform feature. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

```
# Enable WSL
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

# Enable Virtual Machine Platform (required for WSL 2)
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
```

Restart your computer, then open PowerShell again and set WSL 2 as the default:

```
wsl --set-default-version 2
```

Install Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store (search for “Ubuntu”) or run:

```
wsl --install -d Ubuntu
```

After installation, open Ubuntu and set your username and password. Then follow the same Docker installation steps from the Windows 11 section above.

## Accessing the App

Once Xedant Code is running in Docker, open your Windows browser and navigate to `http://localhost:5001` (or whatever port you configured). WSL 2 automatically forwards ports to Windows, so you don’t need any extra network configuration.

If for some reason the port isn’t accessible, find the WSL IP address:

```
# In WSL terminal
hostname -I
```

Then open `http://<that-ip>:5001` in your Windows browser.

## Tips

- **File access** — Your Windows drives are mounted under `/mnt/c/`, `/mnt/d/`, etc. inside WSL. However, for best Docker performance, keep your project files inside the WSL filesystem (e.g., `~/projects/`) rather than on Windows drives.
- **Auto-start Docker** — To have Docker start automatically when you open WSL, add `sudo service docker start` to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc`.
- **Docker Desktop alternative** — If you prefer a graphical Docker interface, see the [Windows Docker Desktop Guide](/code/windows-docker-desktop) for setting up Docker Desktop with WSL 2 backend. Docker Desktop integrates with WSL 2 automatically, so you can skip the manual Docker installation.

For Docker configuration details (compose files, environment variables, credentials), see the [Docker Setup Guide](/code/docker)
. For the native Windows installer, see the [Windows Setup Guide](/code/windows)
.