Windows Subsystem for Linux
E195480
Windows Subsystem for Linux is a compatibility layer in Windows that enables users to run native Linux command-line tools and applications directly on Windows without a traditional virtual machine or dual-boot setup.
All labels observed (8)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| WSL | 3 |
| Windows Subsystem for Linux canonical | 3 |
| Bash on Ubuntu on Windows | 1 |
| Fedora Remix for WSL | 1 |
| Ubuntu for WSL | 1 |
| WSL 1 | 1 |
| WSL 2 | 1 |
| Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) preview | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1761973 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Windows Subsystem for Linux Context triple: [Windows 10, feature, Windows Subsystem for Linux]
-
A.
WSL
WSL is a Swiss research institute specializing in the sustainable use and protection of terrestrial environments such as forests, landscapes, and natural hazards.
-
B.
Linux
Linux is a widely used open-source Unix-like operating system kernel that powers servers, desktops, mobile devices, and embedded systems around the world.
-
C.
Cygwin
Cygwin is a compatibility layer that provides a Unix-like environment and command-line tools for Microsoft Windows, enabling users to run and build POSIX-compliant software on the Windows platform.
-
D.
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a popular, user-friendly Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (and sometimes Debian), known for its traditional desktop interface and ease of use for newcomers.
-
E.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a popular, user-friendly Linux distribution widely used on desktops, servers, and in cloud environments.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Windows Subsystem for Linux Target entity description: Windows Subsystem for Linux is a compatibility layer in Windows that enables users to run native Linux command-line tools and applications directly on Windows without a traditional virtual machine or dual-boot setup.
-
A.
WSL
WSL is a Swiss research institute specializing in the sustainable use and protection of terrestrial environments such as forests, landscapes, and natural hazards.
-
B.
Linux
Linux is a widely used open-source Unix-like operating system kernel that powers servers, desktops, mobile devices, and embedded systems around the world.
-
C.
Cygwin
Cygwin is a compatibility layer that provides a Unix-like environment and command-line tools for Microsoft Windows, enabling users to run and build POSIX-compliant software on the Windows platform.
-
D.
Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a popular, user-friendly Linux distribution based on Ubuntu (and sometimes Debian), known for its traditional desktop interface and ease of use for newcomers.
-
E.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a popular, user-friendly Linux distribution widely used on desktops, servers, and in cloud environments.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (53)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Microsoft software component
ⓘ
compatibility layer ⓘ subsystem ⓘ |
| allows | running native Linux binaries on Windows ⓘ |
| architecture | user-mode subsystem ⓘ |
| category | Windows component ⓘ |
| commandLineTool | wsl.exe ⓘ |
| componentOf |
Windows Features dialog
ⓘ
surface form:
Windows features
|
| developer | Microsoft ⓘ |
| distributionChannel |
Microsoft Store
ⓘ
Windows Features dialog ⓘ
surface form:
Windows Features control panel
|
| doesNotRequire |
dual-boot setup
ⓘ
traditional virtual machine ⓘ |
| fileSystemIntegration |
access to Linux file system from Windows
ⓘ
access to Windows file system from Linux environment ⓘ |
| initialAvailability |
Windows 10
ⓘ
surface form:
Windows 10 Anniversary Update
|
| initialReleaseYear | 2016 ⓘ |
| license | proprietary with open-source components ⓘ |
| operatingSystem |
Windows 10
ⓘ
Windows 11 ⓘ |
| runsOn | Windows ⓘ |
| shortName |
Windows Subsystem for Linux
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
WSL
|
| supports |
Bash shell
ⓘ
GNU userland ⓘ
surface form:
GNU userland tools
Linux applications ⓘ Linux command-line tools ⓘ Linux distributions ⓘ Linux networking tools ⓘ development toolchains ⓘ interoperability between Windows and Linux commands ⓘ package managers of Linux distributions ⓘ running multiple Linux distributions side by side ⓘ |
| supportsDistribution |
AlmaLinux
ⓘ
Debian ⓘ Windows Subsystem for Linux self-linksurface differs ⓘ
surface form:
Fedora Remix for WSL
Kali Linux ⓘ Oracle Linux ⓘ Rocky Linux ⓘ SUSE ⓘ
surface form:
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Ubuntu ⓘ openSUSE ⓘ |
| targetUser |
developers
ⓘ
power users ⓘ system administrators ⓘ |
| useCase |
DevOps workflows
ⓘ
education and learning Linux ⓘ software development ⓘ system administration ⓘ |
| version |
Windows Subsystem for Linux
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
WSL 1
Windows Subsystem for Linux self-linksurface differs ⓘ
surface form:
WSL 2
|
| WSL1Architecture | translation layer between Linux system calls and Windows NT kernel ⓘ |
| WSL2Architecture | lightweight virtual machine with real Linux kernel ⓘ |
| WSL2Kernel | Microsoft-built Linux kernel ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Windows Subsystem for Linux Description of subject: Windows Subsystem for Linux is a compatibility layer in Windows that enables users to run native Linux command-line tools and applications directly on Windows without a traditional virtual machine or dual-boot setup.
Referenced by (12)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
WSL
Windows Subsystem for Linux
→
supportsDistribution
→
Windows Subsystem for Linux
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
this entity surface form:
Fedora Remix for WSL
this entity surface form:
WSL 1
this entity surface form:
WSL 2
this entity surface form:
Bash on Ubuntu on Windows
this entity surface form:
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) preview
subject surface form:
Windows 10 May 2020 Update
this entity surface form:
WSL