WSL2 – Adding distro not in store

What if you wanted to add an older linux distro to your WSL2 bullpen? Visiting https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual#installing-your-distro will show you a large number of options where you can download the appropriate .appx file.

This will cause the <distro>.appx packages to download to a folder of your choosing. Follow the installation instructions to install your downloaded distro(s).

If you’re using Windows 10 you can install your distro with PowerShell. Simply navigate to folder containing the distro downloaded from above, and in that directory run the following command where app_name is the name of your distro .appx file.PowershellCopy

Add-AppxPackage .\app_name.appx

If that doesn’t work as expected, you could try any of these links that will get the distro from the Microsoft Store

he following links will open the Microsoft store page for each distribution:

Upgrade powershell

If you sign into PowerShell and you get this message:

A new PowerShell stable release is available: v7.0.3
Upgrade now, or check out the release page at:
https://aka.ms/PowerShell-Release?tag=v7.0.3

Here’s what you’ll want to do to install the upgrade

Invoke-Expression "& { $(irm https://aka.ms/install-powershell.ps1) } -UseMSI"

After downloading for a while, you should get the PowerShell Setup Wizard.

Hit the Next button a few times, checking the options as you go along, then click the Install button., and continue w/ the install process. I had a problem with a running ‘pwsh’ so I chose the option to: “Do not close applications. A reboot will be required.”