Starting from Windows 10 build 14316 you will be able to use Bash from Windows, with the Ubuntu flavor without running a VM.

Bash will run natively on the OS without virtualization. It is implemented as new Windows subsystem.

In this article I will show you all the required steps to get Bash up and running in Windows 10!

Join the Windows Insider Program

Are you part of the Windows 10 Insider program?

If not, then go ahead and become part of it. All you need is a Live ID account and in return, you get access to the latest builds of Windows 10.

Alternatively, to become part of the Windows Insider Program, you can do that from the Windows Update settings. Simply press the “Start” button, click the “Settings” button and search for “Windows Update Settings”.

The following screen will appear:

Enroll in the insider program and move the slider so it reads “Fast”. This will give you all the latest features as they become available to insiders.

Enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux

After becoming an insider, verify that you have the required Windows build or newer builds. Just open a command prompt and type “ver” to verify the build number:

Once you have the right build, the next step is to enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux. To do that, press the Windows key (or click on the “Start menu”) and type: “Control Panel” to open the control panel and search for “Program and Features”.

You should see something like the following:

Click on the “Turn Windows features on or off”. Scroll down until you see the “Windows Subsystem for Linux (Beta)” in the list. Click the checkbox to enable that feature:

A reboot is required after this step!

Installing Bash

After you have enabled the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” and rebooted your machine, you should be able to go to the command prompt and type “bash”.

On the first run, Bash will get itself properly installed. It will show you a license agreement prompt:

After you agree to the license terms, more files will be downloaded from the internet. When the downloads are complete you will have the Bash prompt ready:

At the prompt, type the following command to see your kernel’s version:

uname -a

You will observe output similar to the following:

Installing packages

It is very easy to install packages under Bash. Just type:

 apt-get install <package-name>

Similarly, to remove a package type:

apt-get remove <package-name>

Essentially, you can use “apt-get” as you normally do under Ubuntu.

In the following screenshot, I show you how to install the Emacs editor:

Vim comes pre-installed, here’s a screenshot showing it running from the Bash command prompt:

Troubleshooting

If you are having issues with Bash or any other installed packages, you can always clean everything out and start all over again.

All the Windows Subsystem for Linux files are located in “%localappdata%\lxss” as shown in the screenshot below:

If you are facing any issues with Bash, then simply delete the “lxss” folder and start over again. See the “Installing Bash” section above!

You might also like:

• Amazon Echo Review
• Windows 10 TP – a 2 minutes review
• Resetting NTFS files permission in Windows – Graphical Utility
• Free WifiShare Tool – Turning your laptop into a hotspot and internet connection sharing station