X Linux for WSL

X Linux is an Arch-based Linux distribution. This repository is the WSL side of the distro: it builds and hosts the minimal, importable root filesystem for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), ships the WSL configuration templates and provides the Windows-side importer and the import documentation.

The delivered system is headless: no GUI, no Hyprland/compositor, no desktop packages. It boots systemd under WSL and is meant to be used from the terminal, either as-is or as the base that xlnux/wsl-scripts turns into a provisioned X Linux user environment.

Flow

The build, the import and the first-run setup are handled by two repositories used in order:

xlnux/wsl                     xlnux/wsl-scripts
--------------                --------------------
build-rootfs.sh      ->       import on Windows (install.ps1)
(minimal Arch rootfs)         then, inside the distro:
                              1. ./install.sh as root  (system stage)
                              2. exit, relaunch
                              3. ./install.sh as user  (user stage)

See docs/en/architecture.md (or docs/es/architecture.md) for the full picture and for how wsl.conf / .wslconfig / systemd map to the official WSL documentation.

Repository split

Repository	Role
xlnux/wsl	This repo: minimal importable Arch rootfs for WSL (build-rootfs.sh), wsl.conf/.wslconfig templates, install.ps1 (Windows importer) and import docs.
xlnux/wsl-scripts	User setup and provisioning on top of the imported rootfs (default user, packages, shell, environment).
xlnux/x	The distro itself: archiso profile, ISO and install flow.
xlnux/scripts	Provisioning payload and x CLI of the full system.

The build intentionally stops at a bootable, systemd-managed root filesystem. User creation and configuration live in xlnux/wsl-scripts, which consumes this rootfs; the initial [user] default of /etc/wsl.conf is root because an imported distribution always boots as root until a real user is provisioned.

Repository layout

build-rootfs.sh     builds <name>-wsl-rootfs.tar.gz with pacstrap on an Arch
                    host (requires root). WSL provides its own kernel, so no
                    linux package is installed. X_DRY=1 previews the plan.
install.ps1         Windows-side importer: checks WSL (Store), imports the
                    rootfs as WSL 2, sets the default distribution and prints
                    the host .wslconfig guidance and the next steps.
templates/wsl.conf  per-distribution WSL config installed into the rootfs
                    ([boot] systemd, [user], [interop], [network], [time]).
templates/.wslconfig
                    host-side global WSL 2 config example (memory, processors,
                    guiApplications, autoMemoryReclaim, sparseVhd).
docs/en|es/         architecture, import and run guides (English/Spanish).
out/                build output, git-ignored.

Quick start

Build the rootfs tarball on an Arch Linux (or Arch-based) host:

sudo ./build-rootfs.sh

Then, on Windows, import the generated out/x-wsl-rootfs.tar.gz with the provided importer (recommended) from a PowerShell prompt in this repository:

.\install.ps1 -Rootfs .\out\x-wsl-rootfs.tar.gz

If PowerShell blocks script execution, use an explicit bypass: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1 -Rootfs .\out\x-wsl-rootfs.tar.gz.

The equivalent manual commands are:

wsl --import x C:\WSL\x .\x-wsl-rootfs.tar.gz --version 2
wsl --set-default x
wsl -d x

After the import, finish the setup with xlnux/wsl-scripts (run ./install.sh as root, relaunch, then run it again as your user). See docs/en/import.md for the full walkthrough and requirements.

Requirements

To build

• Arch Linux or Arch-based host with arch-install-scripts (pacstrap, arch-chroot), tar, gzip and coreutils.
• Root privileges (the build mounts chroot filesystems, so it cannot run inside a restricted container).
• Network access to the Arch mirrors configured on the host.

To run (Windows)

• WSL 2 from the Microsoft Store (the inbox version cannot run systemd). Check with wsl --version and update with wsl --update.
• Windows 11 (or Server 2022) for the [boot] systemd support that the rootfs enables. On Windows 10 the rootfs imports and boots, but without systemd.
• The rootfs tarball from this repository (or a published out/ artifact).

Validation

• bash -n build-rootfs.sh (shell syntax).
• X_DRY=1 ./build-rootfs.sh prints the full command plan and exits 0 without touching the system.
• install.ps1 is PowerShell; its syntax cannot be exercised in this Linux build environment, so it is kept deliberately simple and must be reviewed on a Windows host before first use (see its header comment).

Status

Under active development. The importable rootfs, the configuration templates, the Windows importer and the documentation are in place; user provisioning and the friendly first-run setup live in xlnux/wsl-scripts. Progress and decisions for the WSL initiative live in the workspace ROADMAP.md / DECISIONS.md.