The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) lets you virtualize Linux distributions within the Windows desktop environment. It's a near-native solution—zero emulation here, folks—and it doesn't bog ...

The other component that will remain closed source are the P9rdr.sys and p9np.dll files that make it possible to use “\wsl.localhost” for filesystem redirection from Windows to Linux.

May 21, 2025 at 7:06 a.m. PT HJBC/Getty Images It took Microsoft long enough, but the company has finally open-sourced its Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) code.

Microsoft closes 9-year-old feature request, open-sources Windows Subsystem for Linux WSL has also recently added official support for both Fedora and Arch distros.

It didn’t, however, make Lxcore.sys, P9rdr.sys, or p9np.dll open source, as they are part of Windows. If you want to download the source code for version 2.5.7, GitHub is the place to go.

Microsoft has open-sourced the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), making its source code available on GitHub, except for a few components that are part of Windows.

In February, It's Foss News reported that a WSL image for Arch Linux was on its way, and as of now, it has become official-- Arch Linux is available. Windows Subsystem for Linux is a compatibility ...