For daily development and testing, many users want a convenient way to use Linux toolchains within a Windows environment. This is where WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) becomes the best choice.

What is WSL?

WSL is a feature provided by Microsoft that enables developers to run a GNU/Linux environment—including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications—directly on Windows without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine or dual-boot setup. With WSL, you get a near-native Linux experience.

A New Installation Experience

Microsoft recently updated its WSL ecosystem rules: distributing Linux distributions is no longer strictly tied to the Microsoft Store. This means developers and communities can package and distribute .wsl installation files directly. Users can simply double-click to deploy the Linux system, just like installing regular Windows software. The entire process supports full offline installation, significantly lowering the barrier caused by network restrictions.

Today, we'll walk you through this incredibly easy method to install the latest deepin 25 WSL release on Windows. We also want to give a special shoutout to community member @空木蓮華 for providing the WSL image support for this release.

I.Prerequisites

Before getting started, please ensure your Windows system meets the following requirements:

• You must be running Windows 10 version 2004 and higher (Build 19041 and higher), or Windows 11.

II.Enable and Install the WSL Base Environment

You can set up everything needed to run WSL with just a few simple commands.

1. Open the Terminal: Right-click the Start menu or use Windows Search to find PowerShell, then select "Run as administrator".
2. Execute Installation Commands: In the PowerShell window, enter the following commands one by one and press Enter:

wsl --install
wsl --update

Pro Tip: When you run wsl --install for the first time, the system will download and install Ubuntu by default. If you only want to install deepin, you can simply press Ctrl + C to stop the default Ubuntu installation when you see the console message saying "Installing: Windows Subsystem for Linux" or "Uncompressing and storing...". This will not affect the subsequent deepin installation.

3. Restart Your System: Once the commands finish executing, please restart your computer to apply the changes.

III.Download and Install deepin 25 WSL

With the environment ready, you can now install the dedicated deepin 25 image.

1. Visit deepin Download Page and find: deepin 25 WSL
   
2. Choose the Right Architecture: Download the .wsl installer that matches your computer's CPU architecture. The page offers both amd64 and arm64 versions, corresponding to Windows X64 and Windows ARM architectures respectively.
3. Install: Once the download is complete, simply double-click the .wsl file. The system will pop up an installation wizard; just follow the prompts to enter your deepin25 WSL username and password, and the installation will quickly complete in the background.

▲ Upgrade Advice for deepin 23 Users: Because deepin 25 introduces significant low-level upgrades and changes compared to deepin 23, direct in-place upgrades are not supported at this time. But don't worry, WSL supports multiple versions coexisting perfectly! Users who already have deepin 23 WSL installed can just double-click to install deepin 25 WSL without them interfering with each other. Once you're satisfied with the new experience, you can choose to keep the old v23 or uninstall it separately at any time.

IV.Common Commands and Management

After installation, you can launch and manage your deepin 25 subsystem via PowerShell or CMD.

Launch deepin 25

wsl -d deepin25

Stop/Shutdown deepin 25 (If you want to free up background resources, you can force-close a specific distribution)

enter the following commands one by one and press Enter:

exit
wsl -t deepin25

☑ Uninstall deepin 25 (Note: This will delete all data within this subsystem. Please proceed with caution or back up important files beforehand)

wsl --unregister deepin25

References

• Microsoft Official Documentation: Install Linux with Windows Subsystem for Linux