A real Linux kernel and userland running alongside Windows — architecture, integration, and daily use.
Each WSL2 distro's filesystem lives inside a dynamically-expanding .vhdx file on your Windows drive. It grows automatically as you use it — but deleting files inside WSL doesn't shrink it back down, and that's expected, not a bug.
Installing Ubuntu via the Microsoft Store feels like installing any other app. Underneath, WSL distros are root filesystem tarballs registered with a small platform layer — and that model is what makes import/export and custom distros possible.
Commands that worked fine yesterday suddenly fail with permission errors after a WSL or Windows update. Here's how to work through the specific, common causes rather than reflexively reaching for chmod 777.
The system clock inside WSL2 falls behind Windows' own clock, especially noticeably after your laptop sleeps and resumes. Here's why the VM's clock actually drifts, and how to force it back in sync.
A distro that hangs indefinitely on first launch, or refuses to start on a machine that's run WSL fine before, usually traces back to one of a handful of specific, diagnosable causes.
Docker Desktop configured to use the WSL2 backend suddenly can't see your distro, or containers fail to start with confusing errors. Here's how to work through the specific integration points that commonly break.
Task Manager shows vmmem consuming several gigabytes of RAM, even when you're not actively using WSL. Here's how to actually diagnose what's holding that memory, and how to cap it properly.
Ping works, but domain names won't resolve inside WSL2 — or the reverse. Here's how to actually diagnose whether the problem is DNS configuration, VPN interference, or the networking mode itself.
A project that runs fine natively feels sluggish the moment it's accessed from /mnt/c inside WSL2 — especially anything touching large numbers of small files. Here's why, and the actual fix.
You deleted gigabytes of files inside a WSL distro, but your Windows C: drive shows no space freed up at all. This is expected dynamic-VHD behavior, not a bug — and it has a specific, direct fix.