Skip to main content

WSL and X11 applications


I have been using the Windows Subsystem for Linux for a long time now and have been pretty pleased with it for text-based applications. When I need to use a graphical application, I fire up Hyper-V with a full Ubuntu install, and mount my local drives to access my directories and files. The heavy-handed solution worked well for a long time now, but over time I found I was installing the same set of programs I used frequently in both places. There must be a better solution. If only I could run graphical applications on WSL.

Turns out there is a way.  I searched for a free X11 server that I can install on Windows 10 and found a couple that were highly rated. I also remembered that when I used Cygwin long time ago, it came with its own X-server, and wondered if I can install that separately, since with WSL I did not need Cygwin as a whole. It did, and I installed Cygwin/X server and fonts.
After the install, I ran Xlaunch, which ran a configuration wizard to start the X-server. I passed the extra parameter

-listen tcp

to the server to allow for remote connections from WSL. In the bash prompt, I exported the display

Export DISPLAY=:0.0

and tested the install by running xterm. Viola, I can run graphical applications now on WSL, and I don’t need to duplicate Linux program installs between WSL and Hyper-V.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emacs on WSL2: From Monochrome Misery to Modern Elegance

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has come a long way—especially under Windows 11 . WSL2 now offers smooth integration for Linux graphical applications, making it feel less like a compatibility layer and more like a native experience. But if you're an Emacs user, you might have noticed something off. Launching Emacs under WSL can feel like stepping into a time machine. Tiny fonts, washed-out visuals, and a UI that evokes the green-and-amber glow of vintage terminals. Functional? Yes. Pleasant? Absolutely not. But here's the good news: it is easy to make Emacs under WSL2 look just as sharp and modern as it does on Mac OSX . The emacs-pgtk build is designed for better graphical integration under WSL. It uses the Pure GTK interface , which plays nicely with WSL’s GUI support. sudo apt install emacs-pgtk To make Emacs look great, we’ll use Windows’ rich font library. First, edit your font configuration: sudo emacs /etc/fonts/fonts.conf and add the Windows Font directory...
Post a Comment
Read more

MacOS Catalina, OneDrive, and case sensitive file systems

Over the weekend, I dusted off my old Macbook Air to search for some old family photos. I have not used the laptop for a long time, and it was completely out of charge. I plugged it in, and it quickly booted. Shortly after, I got bombarded with notifications that many of the applications needed updating, and that a new version of the OS was available.   I waited till I found the photos I was looking for, before attempting to upgrade anything. I also wanted to install OneDrive to get my old files to the cloud, so that I can access them from any of my devices, instead of dusting off old computers to get to them. The MacOS upgrade experience has always been fantastic, and this one was no different. The OS upgrade files downloaded quickly and after a restart and a quick install, the Macbook Air was ready to go.   Upgrading the installed applications was also a breeze, however in the process I discovered that a large majority of the applications installed were not compatible ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Randomized Algorithms: Polynomial equivalence

We are all accustomed to deterministic algorithms; we work with them every day, and feel comfortable in knowing that the results of running them are predictable, barring a coding error of course. The idea of randomized algorithms feels remote and uncomfortable, despite their usefulness and elegance.  There are a couple of great examples in the introductory chapters of the book " Probability and Computing " that are an eye opener. One is verifying polynomial identities: how can you tell that two different representations of polynomials are the same? For example, if we have two polynomials $P(x)$ and $Q(x)$, both of degree $d$ described by the following formulas: \[ P(x) = \Sigma_{i=0}^{i=d} a_i x^i \\ Q(x) = \Pi_{i=1}^{i=d} (x-b_i) \] how can we determine that they are the same polynomial? Intuitively we first check that the degrees are the same, then we could try to transform one form into the other, either by multiplying out the terms for $Q(x)$, collecting like t...
Post a Comment
Read more