What does HackerNews think of wslg?

Enabling the Windows Subsystem for Linux to include support for Wayland and X server related scenarios

Language: C++

#48 in Hacktoberfest
FreeRDP: A remote desktop protocol implementation | Sep 2023
WSLg(Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI) uses RDP and FreeRDP to work: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hopeful the experience is better than last time I tried Hyper-V enhanced linux experience. I imagine this use case is getting FreeRDP way more attention.

For years I've developed in a Linux VM on a Windows host via VirtualBox. The typing lag on this, particularly in IDEs like VSCode and Rider, finally got to me. So, I moved over to WSL and have to say; the experience is amazing.

Edit: I should say that I haven't used the WSL GUI functionality yet. Been using VSCode's WSL support and it's been amazingly seamless so far. I get native Windows VSCode performance while my project and all its plugins are actually running in the Hyper-V backed WSL linux VM.

Wayland is pretty good | Jun 2023
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This is running in WSL?

Microsoft has some wayland stuff already for WSL, though I think internally there's RDP involved: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg
Ask HN: Windows 10-based devs, are you upgrading to Windows 11? | May 2023
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Apparently, WSLg does away with the need for a separate X server, making things easy to use:

https://github.com/microsoft/wslg

The "Apparently" is there because it's not something I've tried myself (I'm a Linux desktop user), instead it's something several of our users have tried and said works:

https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/sqlitebrowser/issues/2142#i...
VS Code Org Mode | Oct 2022
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Sorry about being stuck on Windows 10, but Windows 11 has WSLg[0], which gives you a reasonable X server out of the box. I liked X410, but WSLg is seamless. When combined with no fuss CUDA support and great docker integration, WSL2 on Windows 11 is almost a better Linux than Linux. Then you run into an edge case, spend hours digging at it, and leave curled up into a fetal position.

[0]: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg
Less Than 10% of Firefox Users on Linux Are Running Wayland | Feb 2022
The developer channel version of WSL2 comes with Wayland, which might help push adoption a bit. https://github.com/microsoft/wslg
Windows 11 Officially Shuts Down Firefox’s Default Browser Workaround | Dec 2021
The "wslg" version of WSL, which comes with a Wayland display server built-in, is perhaps a driver.

The github page still says it requires Windows 11: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg

Though I suppose it's possible they've also pushed it to the insider builds for Windows 10.

Major Linux Problems on the Desktop, 2021 edition | Oct 2021
Guys. Windows 11 runs linux desktop apps via WSLg. So how about nailing 2021 as year of Linux desktop? :)

Brought to you by Microsoft: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg

Harden and secure browsers in containers, with GUI | Oct 2021
I was just looking into various approaches to use process isolation for security on the desktop in Linux.

Containers within VMs are a norm for security in cloud-native [1]. Some lessons there could be applied to desktop.

One option is the approach of Spectrum OS [2]. They use crosvm (same as what Firecracker "micro VMs" uses) and virtio_wl [3][4].

Another approach might be x11docker [5] with Kata Containers [6].

Curiously, the work for WSLg (WSL with graphics) [7][8] to support graphical Linux guest VMs could also be applied on a Linux host.

  1: https://archive.fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/kernel_address_space_isolation/attachments/slides/3889/export/events/attachments/kernel_address_space_isolation/slides/3889/Address_Space_Isolation_in_the_Linux_Kernel.pdf
  2: https://spectrum-os.org/
  3: https://spectrum-os.org/design.html
  4: https://alyssa.is/using-virtio-wl/
  5: https://github.com/mviereck/x11docker
  6: https://katacontainers.io
  7: https://github.com/microsoft/wslg
  8: https://xdc2020.x.org/event/9/contributions/611/attachments/702/1298/XDC2020_-_X11_and_Wayland_applications_in_WSL.pdf
Harden and secure browsers in containers, with GUI | Oct 2021
Now that WSLg support (https://github.com/microsoft/wslg) has landed in a release version of windows, another approach to this is to create new WSL distros for specific tasks, and run browsers from them.

Whilst it's a VM, I've found start-up time for WSL instances to be pretty quick, and it's pretty easy to create and clone a template VM (one approach https://raesene.github.io/blog/2020/05/31/Custom_Pentest_Dis... )

Part of Windows 11 is a revamped Windows Subsystem for Linux | Oct 2021
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>You can only run command line programs, although I understand this could be different in Windows 11

WSLg solves this, apparently

https://github.com/microsoft/wslg