A number of times, I want to create a Window Subsystem for Linux instance out of a Docker container.

The main reason for doing something like this is when a particular Linux version is not available for WSL.

The steps to follow –

Install from Docker Hub

First run the container image from the Docker Hub image

docker run -it ubuntu:22.04 /bin/bash

This runs the container and gives a prompt. Add the necessary updates / software.

apt-get update -y

Export from Docker

Following command to be run while the docker container is running.

Get the container ID by running docker ps command, then –

docker export --output=<path to tar file>.tar <docker container id>

This exports the docker container to a export.tar file.

Once exported, the docker container can be stopped and removed.

Import into WSL

Import the exported tar file into WSL.

wsl --import <instance name> <wsl save directory> <path to tar file.tar>