Microsoft is rolling out Linux container support to WSL

Summary

Microsoft has announced the general availability of WSL Containers, a feature that allows Windows users to run Linux containers directly on their Windows machines. This new capability integrates with security tools like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Intune, offering enhanced visibility and control for IT administrators. The company is also working on adding Docker Compose support and improving performance for WSL containers.

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Microsoft is rolling out Linux container support to WSL By Mayank Parmar September 29, 2026 08:40 PM 0 Microsoft is taking Windows Subsystem for Linux beyond just running Linux distributions, as WSL Containers is now generally available. You can get the feature by running wsl --update, and once installed, there's a new wslc.exe command-line tool. Microsoft also includes container.exe as an alias, so you can use more familiar container commands. "WSL containers CLI: wslc.exe to directly build, run and deploy Linux containers on Windows, or use its built-in alias container.exe to run the same familiar container commands," Microsoft explained. There's also a WSL Containers API, which allows Windows apps to programmatically launch and interact with Linux containers. "Access functions to run Linux containers programmatically in your native Windows apps – unlocking scenarios like running local AI workloads or using cloud-based containerized applications locally," Microsoft noted. The general availability release adds several features that were missing during preview, including restarting containers, copying files in and out, health checks, network connect and disconnect commands, real-time container events, mount support, and configurable storage locations. Microsoft is also bringing WSL containers to businesses WSL Containers now integrates with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, so security teams can see process, file, and network activity inside containers and relate it back to the Windows host. Microsoft Intune can also disable WSL Containers entirely or restrict developers to images from approved container registries. "With container registry allow lists, administrators can define approved registries and help ensure developers only pull container images from that list, that meet organizational security and compliance requirements," Microsoft noted. Microsoft is also working with the broader developer ecosystem. VS Code Dev Containers can use wslc as their default driver, while Aspire and the VS Code Containers extension now support WSL Containers. wsl compose up is coming next The most requested missing feature is Docker Compose-style support, and Microsoft says it's already working on it. "Our aim is for wsl compose up to work with your existing compose.yaml files, unchanged," Microsoft said. "We've started on this and hope to share more soon." Microsoft is also working on WSL's underlying networking and cross-OS file performance. The company says WSL Containers can already deliver up to 2x faster performance when accessing Windows files from Linux environments. Build your security blueprint for AI-powered attacks Join Mikko Hyppönen and security leaders from the NFL, CHANEL, and Atlassian for a two-hour digital summit on what AI-speed attacks change, what defenders should stop doing, and how to validate, decide, fix, and re-validate at machine speed. Save your seat Related Articles: Windows 11 KB5124010 update released with 46 changes and fixesMicrosoft: Recent Windows updates cause desktop loading issuesMicrosoft fixes bug that broke Windows File History backup featureMicrosoft: September Windows updates break Always On VPN connectionsMicrosoft to retire Microsoft 365 Companion apps in December

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