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Veysel Karani TEKGÖZ
Veysel Karani TEKGÖZ

Reputation: 71

WSL install invalid command line option

I want to install an Ubuntu image in WSL.

But, I get a error when running wsl --install:

Invalid command line option: --install

I am using windows 10 education, version 20H2 OS Build 19042.867.

Upvotes: 5

Views: 35581

Answers (3)

Sercan
Sercan

Reputation: 5091

First of all, the linux distributions that can be installed are listed in Windows PowerShell:

wsl --list --online

This command returns a list of linux distributions that can be installed as follows:

NAME                                   FRIENDLY NAME
Ubuntu                                 Ubuntu
Debian                                 Debian GNU/Linux
kali-linux                             Kali Linux Rolling
Ubuntu-18.04                           Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubuntu-20.04                           Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
Ubuntu-22.04                           Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
OracleLinux_7_9                        Oracle Linux 7.9
OracleLinux_8_7                        Oracle Linux 8.7
OracleLinux_9_1                        Oracle Linux 9.1
openSUSE-Leap-15.5                     openSUSE Leap 15.5
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-Server-15-SP4    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP5           SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5
openSUSE-Tumbleweed                    openSUSE Tumbleweed

A version name to be installed is selected and the installation is done with the -d parameter:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04

Resources

Upvotes: 3

Gnnr
Gnnr

Reputation: 168

Make sure you follow the official instructions: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/install

Crucial is the Windows version: For Windows 10, it should be version 2004 or higher (Build 19041 or higher). Windows 11 should work with all versions.

Older versions need to follow the manual installation procedure: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual

Upvotes: 0

Mike Slinn
Mike Slinn

Reputation: 8407

You are attempting to work from Windows Insider documentation, which is not meant for the general public, and it says so. WSL/WSL2 is a fast-moving target.

Most people should use the Microsoft Store to install WSL / WSL2. Search for Ubuntu. Several choices will be displayed. Pick the one simply called Ubuntu, not Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or whatever. The Ubuntu package is kept current.

VSCode has current instructions for installing Ubuntu, then VSCode. You don't have to install VSCode.

Upvotes: 3

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