wb6 / wsl-alpine-linux

how to install Alpine Linux on WSL

one line to install latest Alpine Linux on wsl

default Alpine instalation has root user only, no password.

wsl version 2

powershell -Command "$_file = ((Invoke-WebRequest 'https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/x86_64/latest-releases.yaml').RawContent | findstr /C:' file: alpine-miniroot').Trim(' ').Trim('file: ') ; $_uri = 'https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/x86_64/' ; $uri = $_uri + $_file; Invoke-WebRequest -outFile alpine.tar.gz -Uri $uri; wsl --import Alpine %UserProfile%\AlpineLinuxWsl alpine.tar.gz ; del alpine.tar.gz" && wsl -d Alpine

wsl version 1

powershell -Command "$_file = ((Invoke-WebRequest 'https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/x86_64/latest-releases.yaml').RawContent | findstr /C:' file: alpine-miniroot').Trim(' ').Trim('file: ') ; $_uri = 'https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/x86_64/' ; $uri = $_uri + $_file; Invoke-WebRequest -outFile alpine.tar.gz -Uri $uri; wsl --import Alpine %UserProfile%\AlpineLinuxWsl alpine.tar.gz --version 1; del alpine.tar.gz" && wsl -d Alpine

export file system and remove ( saves to users Downloads folder )

wsl --export Alpine %UserProfile%\Downloads\alpine.tar && wsl --unregister Alpine

remove without exporting file syste

wsl --unregister Alpine

how does it works?

download https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/x86_64/latest-releases.yaml
extract filename of latest miniroot
download latest miniroot tar.gz from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/latest-stable/releases/x86_64/
save as alpine.tar.gz
run wsl --import Alpine %UserProfile%\AlpineLinuxWsl alpine.tar.gz
run del alpine.tar.gz
run wsl -d Alpine

extras

setup wsl2 bridged network

install Hyper-V virtual switch

powershell -Command "Get-NetAdapter"

powershell -Command "New-VMSwitch -Name wsl-switch  -NetAdapterName <netadapter-name>"

.wslconfig

edit .wslconfig file in %UserProfile% folder and add

[wsl2]
networkingMode = bridged
vmSwitch = wsl-switch

install openrc

apk add openrc
touch /run/openrc/softlevel

install sshd

apk add openssh
ssh-keygen -A
rc-update add sshd
rc-service sshd restart

install docker

apk add docker
addgroup root docker
rc-update add docker default
rc-service docker restart

links

Alpine linux