Security News > 2022 > September > Microsoft adds 'systemd' to the Windows Subsystem for Linux
Microsoft and Canonical have teamed up to add systemd support to the Windows Subsystem for Linux, allowing a larger number of compatible apps to be installed.
As systemd is responsible for launching all other services, it runs as the first process created by the Linux kernel on startup.
Yesterday, Microsoft and Canonical announced that the latest preview version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux in Windows 11 Insider builds now supports systemd, allowing you to install applications that require the service manager.
"Supporting systemd required changes to the WSL architecture. As systemd requires PID 1, the WSL init process started within the Linux distribution becomes a child process of the systemd," explained Microsoft's Craig Loewen in a new announcement.
"Because the WSL init process is responsible for providing the infrastructure for communication between the Linux and Windows components, changing this hierarchy required rethinking some of the assumptions made with the WSL init process."
You now need to enable systemd by launching your desired WSL Linux distribution and adding the following lines to /etc/wsl.
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