Ask the Expert: Windows as a Dev Box

Join Craig Loewen, PM for Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Kayla Cinnamon, PM for Windows Terminal, as they talk about how to get the most out of your developer box on Windows. Learn about the newest tools from Microsoft and get your questions answered.

Jump to"
00:00 - Introduction
01:31 - What is Windows Terminal?
02:13 - What is ""WSL""?
03:13 - Is Linux worth learning?
04:26 - What are some new features coming for WSL?
06:37 - Will WSL override files on my current Windows system or is it a separate virtual machine?
07:36 - How dows someone access the file system or WSL from within File Explorer?
08:13 - Why is it called GUI Apps?
08:48 - What's new for Windows Terminal?
11:00 - How can I ask for a feature in the next release?
13:25 - Does Windows have an SSH client?
14:10 - Are uncommon distros like Arch supported?
15:22 - What's your favorite WSL feature?
16:39 - What's your favorite Windows Terminal feature?
18:28 - Does a .bat file open on a Windows terminal by default on Windows 11?
19:18 - How do you get GUI apps working in WSL?
20:40 - Where to get started learning about Windows Terminal?
21:42 - Workaround for getting SSH working when optional components are disabled?
22:34 - What is our favorite Windows 11 feature?
24:29 - Is there a buffer search feature for Windows Terminal?
26:05 - Where can a first timer get started?
27:51 - Can Windows 11 run both WSL 2 and VirtualBox?
28:13 - Closing Notes

[LoftwahTheBeatsmiff]

I use Windows to dev and it is fantastic. I think the only ever issue I've ran into is a strange issue that was happening when running a symfony project on Windows vs actual Linux that we could never figure out. I don't have the issue any more and it was many months ago.

[iamworstgamer]

i am using wsl and now wsl2 for main development with nodejs python and pretty much everything.