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Notes on running NixOS on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL, WSL2) | Notes on running NixOS on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL, WSL2). | ||
== Setup == | == Setup == | ||
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== Usage == | == Usage == | ||
Start it with | Start it with PowerShellː | ||
<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"> | <syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"> | ||
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=== Run container on startup === | === Run container on startup === | ||
To run the distro <code>NixOS</code> on Windows startup or user login in the background, | To run the distro <code>NixOS</code> on Windows startup or user login in the background, use these commands in PowerShellː | ||
<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"> | <syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"> | ||
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</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
Inside the script we define <code>NixOS</code> as the distribution name, as imported in the setup step above | Inside the script we define <code>NixOS</code> as the distribution name, as imported in the setup step above. | ||
{{file|$HOME\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs|vbscript|<nowiki> | {{file|$HOME\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs|vbscript|<nowiki> | ||
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</nowiki>}} | </nowiki>}} | ||
Open the task schedulerː | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"> | <syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"> | ||
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</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
Click on <code>Create task</code> on the right pane, set name to <code>WSL</code>. On the tab "Triggers" click on "New ..." and select run task on user login in the dropdown menu. On the tab "Action" click on "New ..." and insert as command: <code>%USERPROFILE%\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs</code> | Click on <code>Create task</code> on the right pane, set name to <code>WSL</code>. On the tab "Triggers" click on "New ..." and select "run task on user login" in the dropdown menu. On the tab "Action" click on "New ..." and insert as command: <code>%USERPROFILE%\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs</code> | ||
[[Category:Container]] | [[Category:Container]] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:22, 8 August 2025
Notes on running NixOS on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL, WSL2).
Setup
Ensure that WSL is installed and up to date.
wsl --install
wsl --update
Sometimes you'll have to install WSL2 manually by downloading the msi-installation package.
NixOS is not yet packaged as a official WSL distribution or on the Microsoft store. Download the latest release of nixos-wsl.tar.gz from the NixOS-WSL Github page.
Import the WSL container using PowerShell
wsl --import NixOS .\NixOS\ nixos-wsl.tar.gz --version 2
Usage
Start it with PowerShellː
wsl -d NixOS
Tips and tricks
Run container on startup
To run the distro NixOS on Windows startup or user login in the background, use these commands in PowerShellː
echo "" > $HOME\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs
notepad $HOME\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs
Inside the script we define NixOS as the distribution name, as imported in the setup step above.
set object = createobject("wscript.shell")
object.run "wsl.exe --distribution NixOS", 0
Open the task schedulerː
taskschd.msc
Click on Create task on the right pane, set name to WSL. On the tab "Triggers" click on "New ..." and select "run task on user login" in the dropdown menu. On the tab "Action" click on "New ..." and insert as command: %USERPROFILE%\run_wsl2_at_startup.vbs