ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script

Script to enable systemd support on current Ubuntu WSL2 images from the Windows store. Tested on 18.04, 20.04, 20.10 versions of Ubuntu from the Windows Store. Script is unsupported and will no longer be maintained, but will be up here because it is used by quite some people. I am not responsible for broken installations, fights with your roommates and police ringing your door ;-).

Instructions from the snapcraft forum turned into a script. Thanks to Daniel on the Snapcraft forum!

Usage

You need git to be installed for the commands below to work. Use

sudo apt install git

to do so.

Run the script and commands

git clone https://github.com/wackyblackie/ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script.git
cd ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script/
bash ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script.sh
# Enter your password and wait until the script has finished

Then restart the Ubuntu shell and try running systemctl

systemctl

If you don't get an error and see a list of units, the script worked.

Disabling from a broken shell

To disable this script (in any case), just press Win + R and type wsl.exe -u root and press Enter. Then, continue the steps in the Uninstalling section

Uninstalling

To uninstall open your distro and type:

git clone https://github.com/wackyblackie/ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script.git
cd ubuntu-wsl2-systemd-script
bash uninstall.sh
# Enter your [sudo] password to uninstall.

Have fun using systemd on your Ubuntu WSL2 image.