Microsoft Brings the Linux Command Line to Windows
Windows users will soon have native access to the Bash shell.
At the Build 2016 developer conference in San Francisco, Microsoft announced that Ubuntu's version of the classic Bash shell will soon be coming to Windows 10. Bash support on Windows will allow developers to run Linux command-line tools and utilities natively on the Windows platform.
Microsoft's Mike Harsh explains in a blog post, "...we built new infrastructure within Windows -- the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) -- upon which we run a genuine Ubuntu user-mode image provided by our great partners over at Canonical, creators of Ubuntu Linux."
Canonical created an image of Ubuntu, without the Linux kernel, to run Ubuntu user mode on WSL. As a result of this work, users can simply type bash in the Start menu of Windows 10, and the system will open the Bash shell in the Windows command prompt console.
Developers can now use Windows to run Bash scripts, as well as command-line tools like ssh, rsync, wget, sed, awk, grep and many more. You can install new command-line tools or utilities just by running apt-get in the Bash shell. Developers will also be able to access the filesystems for Ubuntu and Windows directly from the Bash shell and work on files using Linux command-line tools. Support for running command-line Ubuntu applications in Windows will arrive with the next major update, codenamed Redstone 1, slated for release this summer.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.