/WSL2

WSL2

Windows Subsystem for Linux WSL - Windows Subsystem for Linux We could easily configure linux distributions and use them in parallel to Windows OS. Let's see how do we setup WSL2 for Windows

Open Windows Powershell in Administrator mode Enter the below command to install wsl2 wsl.exe --install

For older versions

  1. Check requirements for running WSL 2 Windows 10 or 11 - Version 1903 or later, with Build 18362.1049 or later

  2. Enable the Virtual Machine Platform dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

  3. Enable Virtual Machine Feature dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

  4. Install wsl2 wsl.exe --install To update wsl.exe --update We could also install wsl2 through microsoft store Go to Microsoft Store and search for Windows Subsystem for Linux

  5. Set wsl2 as the default version wsl.exe --set-default-version 2

  6. Choose the linux distribution wsl.exe --list --online Install Kali Linux wsl.exe --install kali-linux Set the default distribution to Kali Linux wsl.exe -d kali-linux

It is also available as an application Go to Microsoft Store and search for "Kali Linux" Install the application and run it Create a new Username and a Password You are ready to go with the Kali Linux WSL2

Update all the packages sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

For further documentation, visit https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/

For GUI

Win-KeX provides a GUI desktop experience for Kali Linux in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) with the following features:

Window mode

Start a Kali Linux desktop in a dedicated window

Seamless mode

Share the Windows desktop between Windows and Kali application and menus

Enhanced session mode

Similar to Hyper-V, uses RDP for a more feature rich experience

  • Sound support
  • Shared clipboard for cut and paste support between Kali Linux and Windows
  • Root & unprivileged session support
  • Multi-session support: root window & non-privileged window & seamless sessions concurrently
  • Fully compatible with WSLg

Installing win-kex sudo apt install kali-win-kex -y

To start Win-Kex in window mode kex --win -s

To start Win-Kex in Seamless mode kex --sl -s

To start Win-Kex in Enhanced Session Mode kex --esm --ip -s

If there is any issue in the usage of Win-Kex Remove the package and re-install it sudo apt remove kali-win-kex -y sudo apt install kali-win-kex -y

For further documentation, visit https://www.kali.org/docs/wsl/win-kex/