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 to the list of font directories:

<dir>/mnt/c/Windows/Fonts</dir>

This tells Ubuntu to include Windows' TrueType fonts in its font cache.

Then we refresh the font cache:

fc-cache -fv

And finally start Emacs, and in the font selection popup, you should see all your favorite Windows fonts. I went with Consolas 14pt, and the transformation was instant. Crisp text, modern aesthetics, and no more squinting.