Bash on Ubuntu on Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Posted on behalf of Russ Alexander.

It was just three months ago that we announced Bash on Ubuntu on Windows at Build 2016. After working in secret on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) for so long it was incredible to see everyone just excited as us for this project. A week later we released the subsystem to the Windows Insider community. Since then we have been overwhelmed with the response that we have received. News articles, blog posts and social media have fueled the excitement for WSL leading to new developer communities that have helped guide and refine our development priorities. It is the support and enthusiasm of our users which has helped us get to where we are today. We are very appreciative of all the bug reports, suggestions, critiques, and ideas which have been submitted. Thank you so much for your help. We look forward to your continued support.

Our original plan was to keep WSL only within the Windows Insider program for the upcoming Windows update with the goal of gauging community feedback and refining quality. However, we have heard a strong and clear message that you would like us to ship WSL with the next Windows release. As a result, we plan to include Bash on Ubuntu on Windows as a beta feature in the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Doing this will allow even more people to try WSL and we are excited to see what this new group of users will do.

Moving forward we will be investigating new areas of interest while continuing to support the following scenarios:

  1. GNU command line tools such as grep, sed, and awk
  2. File system and symlink support within the WSL environment
  3. Ability to run apt / apt-get for installs, updates, and package testing
  4. Basic functionality for languages such as NodeJS/npm, Python, Perl
  5. Command line tools such as Vim, Emacs, Git, and SSH

This official beta will be nearly identical to what is in the hands of Insiders today. After release, the beta will be serviced like any other Windows component. New enhancements and fixes will continue to roll out via our Windows Insider program which will remain the best place for the most recent builds and continuous updates. Users should continue voicing feature requests at the WSL User Voice page for prioritization, and report any issues to our Github page. As we continue to develop, new features and fixes we will be reflected on our MSDN documentation.

There is still much work to be done and we have a lot of excitement for the journey ahead. We look forward to seeing all of the great things you will do and make with WSL.