I'm struggling to understand how exactly WSL works.
The training that I'm doing requires nvm so I can manage my node versions in my project, located in my hard drive that is running with Windows.
So, in order to use nvm I need WSL, but I cannot comprehend where it is located. As far as I understood (and I'm pretty sure that I'm wrong) the WSL that I installed is like a Linux VM, completely independent from my Windows, and I operate it through the Ubuntu Terminal that came with WSL. If that's the case, how can nvm in WSL be useful if my project is in my Windows directory and the WSL controls node versions from my Linux VM?
How do I make nvm useful for my project running from my C:\ drive and how does WSL work with nvm in my Windows?
Thank you!
A few options, but each has advantages and disadvantages:
If your Node/JavaScript files are on your Windows C:\ drive, then you do have the ability to access that from WSL. Windows paths are automatically mounted and accessible in WSL via /mnt/c, /mnt/d, etc.
So if you have your JS source in, for example:
C:\Users\<myusername>\Documents\Projects\JS_class\project1\
Then that would be accessible under Ubuntu in WSL via:
/mnt/Users/<myusername>/Documents/Projects/JS_class/project1/
The disadvantage here is performance, as mentioned in this question.
Alternatively, you can store your project files inside WSL. You can access the WSL path from Windows by using \\wsl$\Ubuntu\home\<yourusername>\ (or similar). You can use this to copy from your existing Windows drive to your WSL distribution.
Advantage: Faster. Disadvantage: Unknown -- You seem to want the files to be in Windows, but I'm not sure why.
Or you can use WSL1 for most Node/JS tasks. See the previously mentioned answer for details on how to convert.
Advantage: Speed
Disadvantage: WSL1 hasn't been updated in a while, and is started to run into some compatibility issues. It's still popular enough and stable enough at the moment for me to continue to recommend it, though.
There's also a Windows version of nvm as well as a replacement project that the repo there mentions. I cannot personally speak for the quality of it, but it does have 23k stars on Github. Note that it is not affiliated with the original (Linux-based) nvm project.
So, I've been trying to build a MEAN (MongoDB Express Angular NodeJS) stack server to use for academic teaching purposes, as a student sandbox/training environment. I can install all packages fine, the problems appear when trying to generate a new project inside my Linux box. It always halts towards the end, with an error about "Busy File" or something along those lines, and thus the project is missing crucial files to run with the command 'ng serve'.
Another problem is the sync between host and guest, I am running Windows 10 as host, and using Debian 9 as the guest, and when editing and saving files on the host, NodeJS compiler is not triggering nor synchronizing my changes to the server.
I've tried some Vagrant plugins, such as FS-Notify and WinNFSD, but to no luck. I remember reading something about Nodewatch being the culprit, but I am not sure and I don't have much experience around Angular, Node and Vagrant together.
I've browsed the Github repository Vagrant Plugins, https://github.com/hashicorp/vagrant/wiki/Available-Vagrant-Plugins, but can't seem to find an appropriate solution to run an isolated MEAN stack Debian with only Vagrant and VirtualBox on a Windows host.
I am using Windows 10 as host, Debian 9 as the guest. Windows host is using Vagrant 2.1.4, and VirtualBox version 5.2.18. (I've tried using Docker, but it requires and consumes too many resources, unfortunately.)
I've noticed that there seem to be quite a few people with similar issues.
I would greatly appreciate any help or input on what to do. Thank you in advance.
https://blog.entrostat.com/vagrant-ubuntu-docker-windows/
Following this article worked just fine for me.
Don’t forget to start a second PowerShell and run
vagrant fsnotify
The only issue I’m currently trying to resolve is tslint going crazy in VS. Code and WebStorm due to the host system not containing node_modules.
I’ll get back here when I find a solution.
I am trying to use bash on Windows 10, but I'm getting this message when tried to run bash:
Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions.
Distributions can be installed by visiting the Windows Store:
https://aka.ms/wslstore Press any key to continue...
When I go to that url which opens the Windows Store app, there no sign of any Linux distribution there.
My windows version is(as in my right bottom corner of the screen):
Windows 10 Enterprise Insider Preview. Evaluation copy.Build
16215.rs_prerelease.170603-1840
I follow the instructions in this guide Installation Guide and also was watching this video Editing code and files on Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 from Scott Hanselman, but they didn't get the message of no installed distribution.
Any Help?
When the Windows Store opened, there was no Distro to choose, then I found this command lxrun /install and worked for me as well.
You will get something like this as an output:
C:\WINDOWS\system32>lxrun /install
Warning: lxrun.exe is only used to configure the legacy Windows Subsystem for Linux distribution.
Distributions can be installed by visiting the Microsoft Store:
https://aka.ms/wslstore
This will install Ubuntu on Windows, distributed by Canonical and licensed under its terms available here:
https://aka.ms/uowterms
Type "y" to continue: y
Downloading from the Microsoft Store... 100%
Extracting filesystem, this will take a few minutes...
Would you like to set the Ubuntu locale to match the Windows locale (en-FI)?
The default locale is en_US.
Type "y" to continue: y
Please create a default UNIX user account. The username does not need to match your Windows username.
For more information visit: https://aka.ms/wslusers
Enter new UNIX username: <you type your login here>
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully
Installation successful!
Documentation is available at: https://aka.ms/wsldocs
I'm getting a similar bug after trying to uninstall and reinstall.
For me I had to open a cmd prompt as administrator and run lxrun /install
I get this when I have recently rebooted. If I wait 5 minutes, the problem fixes itself !
The top answers written for this question are more than enough. I just had trouble following them because lxrun command has been depreceated, so I get the error
'lxrun' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable
program or batch file.
when I try to run this command with cmd.
It has been replaced with wsl command. You can get more info on this issue here - https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/WSL/issues/425
When you run wsl /install, there is a chance you may still get the error that you had earlier posted in your question. In that case, simply go to the link https://aka.ms/wslstore as you had gone earlier. If you don't see anything coming up, simply search for Ubuntu and install the same. (If you search with the term wsl though, you will get to see other Linux flavors too and then you can download any of your choice)
It seems that the link given in the command doesn't work. Here's the actual link to the microsoft store for Ubuntu.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-nz/store/p/ubuntu/9nblggh4msv6?rtc=1
You have to go to https://aka.ms/wslstore this link and download ubuntu on windows. After that you can use bash on windows.
If you have any problems with running lxrun /install (for example on ltsb Windows version) try manual mode.
First, go to the folder with downloaded .appx file and run following commands (change filename if needed):
Rename-Item ~/Ubuntu.appx ~/Ubuntu.zip
Expand-Archive ~/Ubuntu.zip ~/Ubuntu
After finishing cd into new folder and run ubuntu.exe file. That's it.
If you get this error after installing a distribution using the windows store, and WSL was working previously, you may need to make sure that the LxssManager service is running, since it often stops after a Windows update or a reboot.
Go to services.msc, and search for LxssManager and start it; if it is running already, restart it.
For everyone who is getting
'lxrun' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
or
Windows Subsystem for Linux has no installed distributions.
Distributions can be installed by visiting the Microsoft Store:
https://aka.ms/wslstore
Open microsoft store, install 'Ubuntu' then open the app. This will install ubuntu and later you can use wsl command since lxrun is deprecated
Go to add or remove programs
Install Windows subsystem for Linux
Go to https://aka.ms/wslstore, which will take you to the Microsoft Store
Select and install a Linux distribution
lxrun /install
Works on a Administrator Command Prompt for Windows 10 Professional, Version 1803 Build 17134.165
This installs GNU/Linux by default whereas there is an option to select between:
Ubuntu
openSUSE Leap 42
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Debian GNU/Linux
Kali Linux
If the given link (https://aka.ms/wslstore) works, it openes the windows store for me with an error saying something is wrong on their side and to try again later.
It's actually easier to solve this problem that other solutions listed here. If you run wslconfig /l and if the output is:
Windows Subsystem for Linux Distributions:
Ubuntu (Default)
Just run wslconfig /s Ubuntu to set Ubuntu as default again. It should start working now.
Edit:
I've also found that if this problem occurs on a fresh boot, then you just wait for a few minutes (10 minutes max) and this error automatically disappears.
Edit 2:
I've also found that this error is sometimes also due to the corresponding service not running. Run CMD as administrator and run
net start LxssManager
For running bash on windows ubuntu is required to be installed.
As you've already added bash from programs and features, now you need to install Ubuntu. Contrary to what is seen in most of the installation guides on web, it does not gets installed by running 'bash.exe'.
You can simply go to Microsoft store in search for 'Bash' or 'Ubuntu'and install Ubuntu 18 LTS from there.
After installation you'll be able to use the terminal and all its commands.
Run the bash command in git bash windows. It worked !!
As of 2022, New Linux distributions are available for Windows 10 as well as Windows 11 like Kali Linux and Ubuntu. Both available from Microsoft Store. Someone watching this question now can visit Microsoft Store to Download them..
I had this same issue. But when you go to the windows store you can search for ubuntu and then install the ubuntu app and it works. I think most of the tutorials on the net are from the beta version and have afterwards never been updated.
https://insights.ubuntu.com/2017/07/11/windows-10-loves-ubuntu-loveislove/
Note: This is also old. You do not need to be on the insider builds. I'm not and it worked.
The only thing that worked for me is described here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual#downloading-distros
https://aka.ms/wsl-ubuntu-1804
manually install it or run Add-AppxPackage.\.appx from PowerShell
The link to the store appears to have a region lock in it, resulting in errors for many visitors.
However there are different Ubuntu distributions to be downloaded. See image below, image is however in Dutch but it will show results.
So pick a version you desire and it will result in a working bash.
The actual answer to the question query is: The user exists with Ubuntu already installed. But WSL command does not find anything in CMD.exe "Command Line" "System does not find distribution."
You need to start the below WSL command from Windows Start Menu. And then the old Linux System will show up on WSL in the command line as found.
If this doesn't work for you? Just start up PowerShell with Administrator and:
WSL --help
WSL "only this command, will start the Linux default distro selected"
You can then start up using this command with CMD.exe Administrator in Windows:
lxrunoffline l "This will now list all your distros"
With an option to remove old distros copied to Windows folders are with perhaps Ubuntu18.04 such way that you will have to use Linux to remove older folders, do not try to copy or edit files in a distro with Windows Apps. You risk integrity problems as well as many errors followed by huge processing time. Use folder /mnt to find your drive with Linux and use commands there to further finish your work as perhaps copying the home directory into a new distro.
My solution to move "not copy" my distro then was: "to give space for C:"
lxrunoffline m -n Ubuntu-18.04 -d d:\wslinstalled\Ubuntu-18.04 "remember folder names"
"Remember folder name such as Ubuntu-18.04 for a specific movement. Unless you will overwrite everything on that folder name with also the lxrunoffline files and you risk losing older copies if you use one folder name. You might end up with a strange name to your project if you just use one directory."
Lxrunoffline has several other commands if you need help just run:
lxrunoffline
like beginner_ said in his answer you need to go to the store and look for the distros you want to install.
Please see the following link to understand what has changed and what you can excpect or what distros you can look for(the list is outdated so just try to find an updated list or just try your luck).
I am running on my machine without the developer mode Ubuntu, OpenSuse and Kali.
Access to Microsoft Store is blocked by my company. For me following worked in PowerShell (admin) -
lxrun /install
Go to cmd, and then run the following command:
lxrun /install
Typing lxrun /install in elevated command prompt works....
The solution to the error "WSL 2 installation is incomplete",
Execute the following steps:
wsl --install -d Ubuntu ## lxrun is no more, its now replaced with wsl,
enter image description here
wsl
enter image description here
I have easily installed Node.js before on Macs and other PCs, but the PC I have now at work restricts the running of .msi files.
Is there a way to manually install and configure node.js and npm on Windows 7? I have access to Powershell.
Installing nodejs (and npm) on a Windows 7 machine does not require any "magic" if you have Admin access on the target machine and do not care about setting up the expected "uninstall", various Windows performance counters, event tracing or Start menu entries.
To manually install from an existing installation on one machine to another machine, simply
Copy the entire contents of your "\Program Files\nodejs" and "\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\npm" directories as well as the "\Users\USERNAME\.npmrc" file to the same directories on target machine. (Replace USERNAME with your own Windows login name.)
Edit the "\Users\USERNAME\.npmrc" file to replace the source username with the username on the target machine.
Add "C:\Program Files\nodejs" and "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\npm" to your PATH.
If you'd like to manually install direct from the MSI (without an existing installation to work from), get Scott Willeke's excellent lessmsi program, which allows you to extract all the files from any msi archive and discover all the actions taken by the Windows Installer, such as required edits to the Register, etc. (Though for nodejs, you'll only need to edit the Registry to add the proper keys to uninstall it automagically.)
So, I've been using ubuntu linux for a few months and loved it for my web dev. Everything simply works!
But I switched back to windows because linux sadly doesn't run 90% of my apps :(
So now I have a question, how do you work with git, composer and ssh on windows?
Should I setup a linux virtualbox or is it possible to be able to work comfortably without it?
"TortoiseGit" is a nice extension if you prefer some graphical support, and this needs "msysgit" to give the git commands on windows - which also brings you "git bash" if you prefer the command line. "msysgit" could be installed standalone.
SSH under Windows is always Putty. Grab the newest release 0.63, it has security fixes. To work easily with git then, you need to setup the whole public key authentication with "pageant" running in the background. Putty does a bad job configuring it to convenient levels, you have to manually add it to autostart. Or you could either use KeePass with the KeeAgent plugin to get the same (I prefer it a lot: All authentication stuff in one location).
Executing composer is a question of having installed PHP >= 5.3. If PHP is installed, you execute the alternative install command (without curl) and are nearly ready to go. Having PHP and the composer.phar in the path or add their location to the path eases things a lot.
Caveat: I have no experience with Windows 8 so far, things might be different there. My suggestions are supposed to work on Win 7 at least.
The biggest drawback of Windows is that there is no decent shell support I'd like. Having a virtual machine still is a good idea, but you need your development tools within Windows as well.