microsoft / microsoft/WSL

Automatically build and deploy a WSL Kernel Installer on each release/tag

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#7,752 1 comment 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature
Dominant language
C++
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Forks
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Avg merge
3d 17h
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
At the current stage in order to update the WSL2 Kernel, we always have to wait for "someone" in Microsoft to build the kernel and release an MSI package that could be used to install the new update. This although has no clear timetable, and additionally it doesn't help in order to keep the Linux environment secure.

Describe the solution you'd like
Would be nice if the Github project that hosts the Kernel code ( https://github.com/microsoft/WSL2-Linux-Kernel/releases ) could have a CI pipeline that automatically builds the kernel and prepares a setup package that could be installed by end users willing to adopt each new release, on each tag ( actually, release ).

Describe alternatives you've considered
As I'm using Arch Linux personally, I've considered building the kernel using this AUR package ( https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/linux-wsl/ ) and then manually copy-pasting the kernel file somewhere outside in my Windows env, and finally adapting my own .wslconfig file as stated here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/wsl-config#configure-settings-with-wslconfig-and-wslconf

This process although eats too much time and creates a lot of useless overhead. Having a CI job that prepares the same MSI we can download from the Microsoft Update Catalog, would reduce the friction required to adopt new releases, as well as made much easier for everyone to update the kernel.

Additional context
N/A

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reviewing the repository's existing release and tag automation, then determine how the current MSI package is produced and what inputs the WSL2 kernel build requires. The work is done when each kernel release or tag produces an installable MSI that is available for end users through the project's release process.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
github-actions, linux
Domain
build-system, devops, operating-systems, release
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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