# WSL Manager: a GUI for WSL2 distros on Windows and native VMs on macOS > WSL Manager (bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager) puts install, backup, move and .wslconfig editing behind a Dart and Flutter GUI, adds an MCP server for agents, and on macOS manages virtual machines through Apple's Virtualization framework. It is a good fit if wsl.exe flags are the friction; it is the wrong tool if you want a scriptable CLI. **bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager** — GUI for the Windows Subsystem for Linux — and native Linux/macOS VMs on Mac. Install, back up, move and configure distros without CLI flags; AI assistant with tools, MCP server for agents, remote WSL over SSH. - Repository: https://github.com/bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager - Website: https://wslmanager.com - Stars: 4,006 · Forks: 178 - Language: Dart - License: NOASSERTION - Published: 2026-09-09 · Updated: 2026-09-09 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/bostrot-wsl2-distro-manager ## The wsl.exe flag problem WSL Manager targets Installing a distro, moving it to another drive, compacting its virtual disk and editing memory or networking settings are four different surfaces in WSL: `wsl --install`, `wsl --export` and `wsl --import`, `wsl --manage` for sparse disks, and a hand-edited `.wslconfig` file in your user profile. WSL Manager puts all of them in one Flutter window. The README describes the app as a way to "Install, copy, rename, move, back up and delete WSL distros without memorising a single `wsl.exe` flag." That is the whole pitch, and it is aimed at developers who use WSL daily but touch its configuration a few times a year, which is exactly when flags get forgotten. It is not aimed at CI pipelines or provisioning scripts; nothing in the README suggests a headless mode. ## How the app drives WSL, SSH and Apple's Virtualization framework On Windows the app is a front end over the WSL APIs and `wsl.exe`, so the distros it lists are the ones WSL itself knows about. On top of that it layers its own artefacts: a built-in distro catalogue, support for your own rootfs images, Docker images used as distros without Docker installed, and `.wsl` files, which the README describes as a configured distro packaged as a portable file that installs on any machine. Templates are deprecated in favour of those. Two features break out of the local machine: remote WSL over SSH, for managing WSL on a different Windows host, and syncing a distro between two machines on your network. On macOS the same codebase switches target entirely and manages virtual machines through Apple's Virtualization framework, a beta path that can create Linux VMs from an ISO or cloud image and macOS guests from a restore image on Apple Silicon, with commands run inside the guest over auto-provisioned SSH. The MCP server is the other outward-facing piece: it exposes the environment to AI agents, and the README also mentions an in-app AI assistant with tools. ## Installing WSL Manager and running a first distro The README does not spell out install commands. It points to the website and to GitHub builds, and states that those builds "download and install new releases themselves", while Microsoft Store installs are updated by the Store. So the first step is to get the app from one of those channels rather than from a package manager command. The current release line is 2.0.x, with v2.0.2 published on 2026-09-08. Once the app is open, the workflow the README describes is catalogue-first: pick a distro from the built-in catalogue, or point the app at your own repository of rootfs images, and let it install. The same catalogue covers Ubuntu, Debian, Alpine, Kali Linux, openSUSE and SLES, and the README says anything else WSL accepts works too. For macOS, the README gives a build script rather than a download: ```bash scripts/build_macos.sh ``` That script is described as bundling the signed `vmctl` helper, which is the piece that talks to the Virtualization framework. If you build from source instead of taking a release, the repository is a Flutter project, so the usual Dart and Flutter toolchain applies, but the README does not document that path and the Windows and macOS folders at the top level are the platform shells. After install, the first useful action is creating a `.wsl` file from a configured distro. That gives you a portable artefact you can reinstall elsewhere, and it is the feature the README promotes over the older template mechanism. ## Where WSL Manager stops being the right tool Everything here is GUI-first. If your team provisions WSL through Ansible, a PowerShell script or a dotfiles installer, WSL Manager adds a window you will not open, and the README documents no CLI or config-file-driven mode for the app itself. The remote and sync features assume an interactive session, not an unattended one. The macOS side is labelled beta in the README, and the VM features depend on Apple's Virtualization framework, so treat them as a separate maturity tier from the Windows features. There is also a licensing boundary: the README marks a set of features as Pro, described as a one-time purchase through the Microsoft Store on Windows or a licence key from wslmanager.com/buy. The repository LICENSE file is present but the licence identifier is NOASSERTION, meaning GitHub could not classify it automatically. Anyone embedding or redistributing this project needs to read that file rather than assume a standard licence. Finally, the README contains a commented-out block for containers, Kubernetes and cloud deployment, with a note that those features are built but ship only in debug runs and that a release has none of them. Do not plan around them. ## WSL Manager against plain wsl.exe and other managers The obvious alternative is the WSL command line itself, which is free, scriptable and already installed. It covers install, export, import, terminate and unregister, but it does not give you a catalogue with one-click installs, a `.wsl` packaging format, snippets, disk mounting with partition control, or a GUI editor for `.wslconfig`. The second alternative is a terminal-based manager, which keeps you in the shell and stays scriptable but gives up the disk and `.wslconfig` surfaces. The third is running Linux in a full VM through Hyper-V or VMware, which isolates the guest from Windows more completely but costs you the WSL integration points the README leans on: Windows Terminal, VS Code and Explorer opened directly inside a distro. The genuine differentiator here is not the distro list, which WSL already provides. It is the packaging and configuration layer on top, plus the MCP server, which lets an agent operate the same environment the GUI shows. ## Maintenance, releases and what upgrades cost you The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-09. Three releases landed in the first week of September 2026: v2.0.0 on 2026-09-06, v2.0.1 on 2026-09-07 and v2.0.2 on 2026-09-08. That is a fast patch cadence on a young major version, which usually means breaking changes are still possible between minors. The README says the website and GitHub builds update themselves, so if you install that way you get new releases without asking, including the 2.0.x patches. If you install from the Microsoft Store, the Store controls the timing instead. For a tool that manipulates distro disks, self-updating is convenient but it also means the binary you audited is not necessarily the binary running next month. The Pro tier is a one-time purchase, so the upgrade cost there is a licence key rather than a subscription, but the README does not enumerate exactly which features sit behind the gate, so check before buying. On the licence side, NOASSERTION means the file needs reading; nothing here should be taken as legal advice. ## Who should install WSL Manager, and what to check first The fit is a Windows developer with two or more distros, at least one moved to another drive, who wants to compact a disk or change memory and networking without opening `.wslconfig`. If you also want an agent to run commands in those instances, the MCP server is the reason to pick this over a plain launcher. The mismatch is anyone whose WSL life is already expressed as scripts, and anyone on macOS who needs a stable VM manager today rather than a beta one. Before committing, verify three things: the LICENSE file, since GitHub reports NOASSERTION; which features the Pro licence actually unlocks; and that a `.wsl` export from one of your real distros reinstalls cleanly on a second machine, which is the feature most likely to matter six months in. ## Conclusion Adopt WSL Manager if you run several WSL distros on Windows and want install, backup, move and .wslconfig edits in one window, or if you want an MCP server so an agent can drive your instances. Skip it if your workflow is already scripted around wsl.exe, or if you need containers and Kubernetes, which the README keeps commented out and unreleased. Before relying on it, verify the licence text in the LICENSE file, confirm which features the Pro gate covers, and test one backup and one move on a throwaway distro. ## FAQ ### What is the purpose of WSL2? WSL2 is the Windows Subsystem for Linux, and WSL Manager is a GUI that installs, copies, renames, moves, backs up and deletes the distros running under it. The README frames the app as a way to do that without memorising `wsl.exe` flags. ### Can WSL2 be used with Windows 11? The README targets Windows and lists Windows 11 among the related topics for the project, and the app is distributed through the Microsoft Store on Windows as well as as a GitHub build. It does not draw a feature line between Windows 10 and Windows 11. ### Why is WSL on my PC? The README does not explain how WSL itself gets installed on a machine. It documents WSL Manager as a GUI that manages the distros WSL already knows about, so the presence of WSL is separate from the presence of this app. ### How do I delete the WSL2 distro? Deleting an instance is one of the operations the README lists alongside install, copy, rename, move and back up, so it is done from the app rather than from a `wsl --unregister` command. The README does not document a confirmation step or a recovery path for a deleted distro. ## Sources - [bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager on GitHub](https://github.com/bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager) - [Issues](https://github.com/bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager/issues) - [Project website](https://wslmanager.com) - [README](https://github.com/bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/bostrot/wsl2-distro-manager/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/bostrot-wsl2-distro-manager