How to list Installed WSL Distros in Windows 11

monitor gec
monitor gec

This article explains the steps you can take to list all installed Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distributions in Windows 11.

Windows Subsystem for Linux lets developers run a GNU/Linux environment directly in Windows without setting up a virtual machine or dual-boot, including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications.

When you want to quickly see or list all the installed WSL distros on Windows 11, the steps below will show you how. This should come in handy when you want to know what distros are currently installed and what available versions.

List all installed Windows Subsystem for Linux distros via File Explorer

As described above, when you want to quickly see a list of installed Linux distros with WSL, the steps below should help you.

The quickest way to know what distros are installed is to use Windows File Explorer.

To do that, open File Explorer or use the keyboard shortcut (Window key + R).

Once File Explorer opens, click the Linux folder on the left navigation pane.

Windows Subsystem for Linux list distros in File Explorer
Windows Subsystem for Linux lists distros in File Explorer

You should then see folders for all the install distros.

Windows Subsystem for Linux list distros in File Explorer list
Windows Subsystem for Linux list distros in File Explorer list

List installed WSL distros via Windows commands

Alternatively, one can use the Terminal app and open either the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell.

Then run the commands below to list all the installed Linux distros.

wsl --list --all

or

wsl -l

To list distros with other details, use the commands below.

wsl --list --verbose

or

wsl -l -v

Optionally, run the commands below to list running distros.

wsl --list --running

or

wsl -l --running
Windows Subsystem for Linux list distros in terminal
Windows Subsystem for Linux lists distros in Terminal

That should do it!

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to list installed WSL distros in Windows 11. Please use the comment form below if you find any errors above or have something to add.

Posted by
Richard W

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

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