---
title: Microsoft officially launches WSL Containers for Windows
url: https://www.dataloco.com/en/microsoft-officially-launches-wsl-containers-for-windows
published: 2026-10-02T19:21:51+00:00
language: en
section: Developers
source: https://www.publickey1.jp/blog/26/windowslinuxwsl_containersapi.html
organizations: microsoft, wsl
publisher: Dataloco
---

# Microsoft officially launches WSL Containers for Windows

Microsoft has announced the official release of ‘WSL Containers’, a new feature that enables the creation and execution of Linux containers on Windows. This release allows users to leverage container-based virtualization through the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) without the need for third-party software like Docker.

WSL Containers are now generally available for users. The WSL functionality allows for running a Linux operating system on Windows, developed as open-source software. Users can interact with WSL Containers via command line (wslc) or API.

This new feature integrates with Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE), facilitating centralized management by IT departments.

The announcement was initially made during Microsoft’s event, ‘Microsoft Build 2026’, in June 2026, with a public preview following in July. The public preview introduced a default file system optimized for speed, called ‘virtiofs’, and a default network mode called ‘consomme’, which allows for the same network environment, security policies, and enterprise integration as Windows applications.

In the official release, several new commands have been added, including ‘wslc container restart’ for restarting running containers, ‘wslc system info’ for referencing container environments, and ‘wslc network connect/disconnect’ for managing network connections to containers. Additionally, the ‘wslc compose’ command is reportedly under development, allowing users to define and operate multiple containers with a single configuration file.

To utilize WSL Containers, users must update WSL to the latest version by executing the ‘wsl --update’ command or by downloading the latest version from GitHub.

## This story in other languages

- [Italiano](https://www.dataloco.com/it/microsoft-annuncia-il-rilascio-ufficiale-di-wsl-containers-per-windows)
- [Português (Brasil)](https://www.dataloco.com/pt-br/microsoft-lanca-wsl-containers-para-linux-no-windows)