microsoft / microsoft/WSL

Install more than one instance of a distribution

Open
#11,116 1 comment 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
feature
Dominant language
C++
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

**Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.**
I need to install a second instance of Ubuntu-22.04, as the first one is used for some projects and I don't want to mess up the development environment

**Describe the solution you'd like**
It would be great to have a _--name_ switch to name the installed distribution
eg:
wsl --install --web-download **--name ubuntu1** Ubuntu-22.04
wsl --install --web-download **--name ubuntu2** Ubuntu-22.04

**Describe alternatives you've considered**
I could import a custom Ubuntu22.04 image, but it would be great to have this feature.

**Additional context**
![image](https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/assets/38118285/aaae49e2-aa7b-427e-a5dd-4f57a28fb238)
The command returns "Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is already installed"

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start with the `wsl --install` entry point and review how the command detects an already-installed distribution. Define how `--name` should identify multiple instances, including validation and interaction with existing installation and import behavior. Done means separate Ubuntu-22.04 instances can be installed and addressed by their assigned names.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
cli, operating-systems
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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