Remove Wsl From Windows 11 [verified]

Before uninstalling WSL, make sure you have backed up any important files or data stored in your Linux distribution. Removing WSL will also remove the Linux distribution itself, so be sure to save any files or projects you need to keep.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Linux distributions on Windows 11. While WSL can be a powerful tool for developers and Linux enthusiasts, you may want to remove it from your system for various reasons. In this article, we'll walk you through the steps to completely remove WSL from Windows 11. remove wsl from windows 11

Once all distributions are purged, attention turns to the WSL platform itself. Here, Windows 11 presents two distinct uninstallation paths depending on how WSL was originally installed. For systems where WSL was enabled via the classic "Windows Features" dialog—accessible by typing "Turn Windows features on or off" into the Start menu—one simply scrolls to find "Windows Subsystem for Linux" and unchecks the box. After a mandatory system restart, the core subsystem binaries are removed from the operating system. However, for users who installed the modern, updateable WSL version from the Microsoft Store (or via wsl --install on recent builds), the removal is handled like any other Store application: right-click the WSL entry in the Start menu, select "Uninstall," or navigate to , find "Windows Subsystem for Linux," and click the three-dot menu to uninstall. Notably, this Store-based removal does not require a reboot, but it also does not remove the optional virtual machine platform (Virtual Machine Platform feature) that WSL often relies upon for full performance. Before uninstalling WSL, make sure you have backed

If you want to confirm that WSL is truly gone, you can check via PowerShell. While WSL can be a powerful tool for

If you want to completely remove the WSL kernel, follow these steps:

wsl --install

Finally, restart your system to ensure that all changes take effect.