The full form of WSL is Windows Subsystem for Linux. Microsoft has introduced the WSL on Windows 10 or 11 operating system. There are two different versions available such as WSL 1 and WSL 2. In this blog, we are talking about checking Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) version on your Windows 10 or 11 Operating system. Suppose you upgrade WSL 1 to the newest version and don’t know how to check whether the installation is completed or not. Follow our given steps to check the WSL version.
Before we do this, let’s talk about the WSL 1 version and WSL 2 version. Microsoft introduced the WSL 1st version, and it can run Linux distros natively alongside Windows 10. WSL 1 converts the Linus calls into Windows calls and executes them. On the other hand, WSL 2 is the successor of the WSL 1 version. The second-generation WSL an increase in performance and complete system compatibility. The WSL 2 version uses virtualisation to run the Linux kernel inside a lightweight virtual machine. This version has a better system performance than the previous version and supports call compatibility.
Check the WSL Version on Windows
For Windows 10: First of all, if you are using the WSL 1 version on windows 10 and want to upgrade to the latest version of WSL 2. First, we have to check whether WSL 2 version supports our system or not.
Open your Windows 10 version and check it. To do so, run the command prompt and type “ver”. Alternatively, you can search for ‘System Information’ in the windows search bar. If the build number exceeds “18917”, then WSL 2 will support your system.
For Windows 11: In the search bar, type Command Prompt and open it or right-click on the results and click on the Run as administrator option. Now, type wsl –list –verbose or wsl -l -v and Enter to check the WSL 2 or WSL 1.
Now, you can confirm which WSL version is on your Windows 11 PC.
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