Feature Request: System-Level (Machine-Wide) WSL Distribution Installation

[ScortYang]

Problem Statement

Currently, WSL distributions are installed per-user, with configurations stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER and VHD files in user-specific directories. This means each Windows user on the same machine must:

• Download and install their own copy of the same distribution
• Maintain separate VHD files, consuming additional disk space
• Individually configure and update their distributions

This is inefficient for enterprise and multi-user scenarios.

Proposed Solution

Implement a system-level installation option for WSL distributions, similar to VS Code's "System" install mode:

1. Shared Base Image: A single read-only distribution stored in a system-wide location (e.g., C:\ProgramData\WSL\Distributions\)

2. Per-User Writable Layer: Each user gets a copy-on-write overlay for their modifications

3. New CLI Options:

   wsl --install <distro> --system
   wsl --import <name> <path> <file> --system

Use Cases

• Enterprise Deployment: IT admins deploy pre-configured Linux environments to all workstations
• Educational Labs: Multiple students sharing the same machine
• Disk Space Optimization: Avoid duplicating large distribution images across user profiles

Additional Context

This feature would significantly improve WSL adoption in enterprise and multi-user environments. Happy to provide additional details if needed.

[github-actions]

Logs are required for review from WSL team

If this a feature request, please reply with '/feature'. If this is a question, reply with '/question'.
Otherwise, please attach logs by following the instructions below, your issue will not be reviewed unless they are added. These logs will help us understand what is going on in your machine.

How to collect WSL logs

Download and execute collect-wsl-logs.ps1 in an administrative powershell prompt:

Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/WSL/master/diagnostics/collect-wsl-logs.ps1" -OutFile collect-wsl-logs.ps1
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
.\collect-wsl-logs.ps1

The script will output the path of the log file once done.

If this is a networking issue, please use collect-networking-logs.ps1, following the instructions in Collect WSL logs for networking issues

Once completed please upload the output files to this GitHub issue.

See Collect WSL logs (recommended method).

If you choose to email these logs instead of attaching them to the bug, please send them to wsl-gh-logs@microsoft.com with the GitHub issue number in the subject, and include a link to your GitHub issue comment in the message body, and reply with '/emailed-logs'.

[ScortYang]

/feature

[github-actions]

Diagnostic information

Found '/feature', adding tag 'feature'