Getting started on Linux / WSL2
This page provides instructions for installing the necessary dependencies to build OpenVMM or OpenHCL on Linux / WSL2.
[WSL2] Installing WSL2
To install Windows Subsystem for Linux, run the following command in an elevated Powershell window:
PS> wsl --install
This should install WSL2 using the default Ubuntu linux distribution. You can check that the installation completed successfully by running the following command in a Powershell window.
PS> wsl -l -v
NAME STATE VERSION
* Ubuntu Running 2
Once that command has completed, you will need to open WSL to complete the
installation and set your password. You can open WSL by typing wsl or bash
into Command Prompt or Powershell, or by opening the "Ubuntu" Windows Terminal
profile that should have been created.
If you intend to cross-compile OpenVMM for Windows, please ensure you are running a recent version of Windows 11. Windows 10 is no longer supported as a development platform, due to needed WHP APIs.
All subsequent commands on this page must be run within WSL2.
Installing Rust
To build OpenVMM or OpenHCL, you first need to install Rust.
The OpenVMM project actively tracks the latest stable release of Rust, though it may take a week or two after a new stable is released until OpenVMM switches over to it.
Please follow the official instructions to do so.
Cloning the OpenVMM source
If using WSL2: Do NOT clone the repo into Windows then try to access said clone from Linux. It will result in serious performance issues.
$ cd path/to/where/you/clone/repos
$ git clone https://github.com/microsoft/openvmm.git