Steps to install WSL distribution

1. Verify WSL installation:

   PowerShell

   wsl --list --online #(1)!
   

   1. NAME	FRIENDLY NAME
      Ubuntu	Ubuntu
      Debian	Debian GNU/Linux
      kali-linux	Kali Linux Rolling
      Ubuntu-18.04	Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
      Ubuntu-20.04	Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
      Ubuntu-22.04	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
      Ubuntu-24.04	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
      OracleLinux_7_9	Oracle Linux 7.9
      OracleLinux_8_7	Oracle Linux 8.7
      OracleLinux_9_1	Oracle Linux 9.1
      openSUSE-Leap-15.6	openSUSE Leap 15.6
      SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP5	SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5
      SUSE-Linux-Enterprise-15-SP6	SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP6
      openSUSE-Tumbleweed	openSUSE Tumbleweed

2. Update the Linux kernel:

   PowerShell

   wsl --update
   

3. Set WSL default version

   PowerShell

   wsl --set-default-version 2
   

4. Install WSL distribution:

   PowerShell

   wsl --install --distribution Ubuntu-22.04
   

   Note

   Once the distribution is installed you'll be prompted to add a new user.

   Warning

   The naming convention doesn't allow capital letters.

   Warning

   An error will show if you don't follow this naming convention:

   Error

   adduser: Please enter a username matching the regular expression configured via the NAME_REGEX[_SYSTEM] configuration variable. Use the `--force-badname' option to relax this check or reconfigure NAME_REGEX.

Fork dotfiles repo

1. Fork this repo mlasalmo/dotfiles-xps.

   Fork Repository

2. Clone <GITHUB_USER>/dotfiles repo in your personal space.

   git clone https://github.com/<GITHUB_USER>/dotfiles ~/.dotfiles
   

3. SSH Keys:

   Generate Github SSH keys

   Add generated SSH keys to your GitHub account

4. GPG Keys:

   Generate GPG key

   Add generated GPG key to your GitHub account

5. Install KeePassXC:

   Open a PowerShell terminal and run:

   PowerShell

   winget install KeePassXCTeam.KeePassXC
   

   Bug

   Note from KeePassXC Download page

   We have received some reports of silent crashing starting with 2.7.9.

   This is immediately fixed by reinstalling the MSVC Redistributable.

   To fix this bug open a PowerShell terminal and run:

   PowerShell

   winget install Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64
   

6. Save all the keys in KeePassXC

Tip - Connect USB devices to WSL

Optional, in case you have a Yubikey and want to add extra layer of security.

Microsoft Learn Documentation