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owu/wsl-dashboard

A lightweight, low-memory Windows GUI for managing WSL instances: install, start, stop, configure, and back up distros in one place.

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What is it?

WSL Dashboard is a native desktop app for Windows that lets you manage Windows Subsystem for Linux instances from a single window. You can install distributions from the Microsoft Store, GitHub, local RootFS or VHDX files, or online mirrors, then start, stop, terminate, unregister, and set the default distro.

Beyond basic lifecycle control, it covers disk and backup tasks: migrating a distro's VHDX to another drive, exporting or cloning instances to .tar or .tar.gz archives, and mounting VHDX disks to move files between Windows and WSL. It also includes port forwarding with automatic firewall rules, a global HTTP proxy setting, USB device binding and attaching through usbipd-win, a task scheduler for running commands inside instances, and auto-start with a system tray mode.

The app is built in Rust with the Slint UI toolkit and ships as a single portable executable. It is available in dozens of interface languages, and the project's documentation notes its tray mode uses about 10MB of RAM.

Key features

  • 01Install distros from Microsoft Store, GitHub, local files, or online mirrors.
  • 02Start, stop, terminate, unregister, and set default distributions.
  • 03Migrate VHDX files to other drives and export or clone instances to tar archives.
  • 04Mount WSL VHDX disks to transfer files between Windows and Linux.
  • 05Manage port forwarding with automatic firewall rule creation and a global HTTP proxy.
  • 06Bind and attach USB devices to WSL through usbipd-win.
  • 07Schedule commands or scripts to run inside WSL instances.

Use cases

  • Keeping several WSL distros organized and started or stopped from one window.
  • Moving a large WSL distro's virtual disk to a drive with more space.
  • Forwarding ports from WSL services so other machines or apps can reach them.
  • Passing a USB device such as a hardware programmer into a Linux environment on Windows.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Download the app from the official website download page

  2. 2

    Search for the package with winget

    winget search wsl-dashboard
  3. 3

    Install with winget

    winget install wsl-dashboard

Things to know

  • Windows only, requires Windows 10 or 11 with WSL enabled.
  • Licensed under GPL-3.0, which is copyleft and requires derivative works to be open source.
  • The README warns that unofficial copies named WSL Dashboard in the Microsoft Store may be counterfeit.

Topics

#wsl#windows#gui#rust#slint#virtualization#port-forwarding#usb#auto-start#dashboard

FAQ

What is wsl-dashboard?
A lightweight, low-memory Windows GUI for managing WSL instances: install, start, stop, configure, and back up distros in one place. WSL Dashboard is a native desktop app for Windows that lets you manage Windows Subsystem for Linux instances from a single window. You can install distributions from the Microsoft Store, GitHub, local RootFS or VHDX files, or online mirrors, then start, stop, terminate, unregister, and set the default distro.
Is wsl-dashboard free to use? What license does it have?
wsl-dashboard is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is wsl-dashboard still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to wsl-dashboard was on Oct 11, 2026.
What can I use wsl-dashboard for?
Keeping several WSL distros organized and started or stopped from one window. Moving a large WSL distro's virtual disk to a drive with more space. Forwarding ports from WSL services so other machines or apps can reach them. Passing a USB device such as a hardware programmer into a Linux environment on Windows.
How do I install wsl-dashboard?
Download the app from the official website download page Search for the package with winget: winget search wsl-dashboard Install with winget: winget install wsl-dashboard
Where can I get wsl-dashboard?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/owu/wsl-dashboard

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