Bash On Ubuntu On Windows
This is a collaborative document where we help new bash users get the basics things working in Bash. It's especially targeted for the users of Bash On Ubuntu On Windows - where the bash environment is fairly new.
In other words: Here we share resources, tips, known issues etc for Bash On Ubuntu On Windows.
1. How to Install Bash on Ubuntu in Windows 10 (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
- Install the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
- Go to "Turn Windows features on or off"
- Scroll down to "Windows subsystem for Linux (Beta)"
(video: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/VIDEOHowToRunLinuxAndBashOnWindows10AnniversaryUpdate.aspx)
2. Start an bash ssh-agent on launch
2.1: Open the config
`$ nano ~/.bashrc`
2.2: Add the following somewhere:
#!/bin/bash
# Set up ssh-agent
SSH_ENV="$HOME/.ssh/environment"
function start_agent {
echo "Initializing new SSH agent..."
touch $SSH_ENV
chmod 600 "${SSH_ENV}"
/usr/bin/ssh-agent | sed 's/^echo/#echo/' >> "${SSH_ENV}"
. "${SSH_ENV}" > /dev/null
/usr/bin/ssh-add
}
# Source SSH settings, if applicable
if [ -f "${SSH_ENV}" ]; then
. "${SSH_ENV}" > /dev/null
kill -0 $SSH_AGENT_PID 2>/dev/null || {
start_agent
}
else
start_agent
fi
2.3: Then run source ~/.bashrc to reload your config.
3. Troubleshoot ssh-agent forwarding
Connect with ssh and check if you forward your keys by running echo "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK". If you get no output, that means it's not working. Make sure it's running (above script should work) and that your ~/.ssh/config is configured to run ForwardAgent, for example:
Host 123.456.123.45
ForwardAgent yes
4. Use Windows 10 Virtual desktop to have your own workspace
Create a new virtual desktop from Win+Tab and setup your ubuntu workspace. Or run 4 terminals on that screen, for different ssh sessions for example. Switch desktops easily and fast by either Win+Ctrl+left / Win+Ctrl+right or win+tab tab enter
5. How to access the filesystem from Windows / Ubuntu
In Ubuntu, you can find your entire C drive under /mnt/c. (You have the same permissions as the User you launched Ubuntu with)
In Windows, you can find your entire Ubuntu installation under %LocalAppData%\lxss. (C:/Users/YOURUSERNAME/AppData/Local/lxss)
Note: Your ubuntu installation might end up on different paths depending on installation method, check this guide to find yours
6. Make full use of Interop
With interoperability, you can open Windows programs from WSL. Here are some ways to use to your advantage:
6.1: Set a Default Windows Browser
Some commands, such as Heroku CLI's heroku open, need to open a browser. There's no default browser in WSL by default, but one easy way to set this up is by adding the following to ~/.bashrc:
# replace with relevant browser
export BROWSER=/mnt/c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe
6.2: Use Symlinks to open Windows Programs
One use case is to open your text editor to the current directory. Interop + symlinks make this possible. For example:
ln -s /mnt/c/Program\ Files/Microsoft\ VS\ Code/Code.exe /usr/local/bin/code
Now in any directory, type code and your text editor opens. Even better, type code . and it opens that directory, ready for editing.
6.3: wslview command
If you are used to using the open command in a terminal on macOS, the equivalent command for WSL is wslview. If you wish to use open in the same way, you can add the following to the end of your ~/.bashrc:
# open to match macOS-style use
alias open=/usr/bin/wslview
Now you can use open like you would in macOS.
7. Disable ding/beep/bell sound when tabbing
You know that annoying bell sound you get when you try to autocomplete something and it doesn't exist? It's super loud and annoying, so lets mute it. Run this command and restart your shell to give peace to your ears:
echo 'set bell-style none' >> ~/.inputrc
Restart your shell and it's quiet :)
8. How to configure proxy settings in apt
If your network uses a proxy-server, services like apt-get, git, wget, and curl, etc. would not be able to access internet directly.
There is an open source tool : ProxyMan, which lets you easily configure system-wide proxy settings from the command-line in one go. Download latest release. As of now, ProxyMan is capable of managing GNOME desktop, /etc/environment, .bashrc, apt.conf, git, npm, and Dropbox proxy settings
However, you can also manually modify the configuration file.
To add prox in apt, modify /etc/apt/apt.conf and add the following:
Acquire::http::Proxy "http://username:[email protected]:port";
Acquire::https::Proxy "https://username:[email protected]:port";
Acquire::ftp::Proxy "ftp://username:[email protected]:port";
Acquire::socks::Proxy "socks://username:[email protected]:port";
Do a sudo apt-get update afterwards to update repository infromation
Example:
username: johnwick password password proxy-server proxy.foobar.com port 8080
Acquire::http::Proxy "http://johnwick:[email protected]:8080";
To add system wide proxy settings, go to /etc/environment and add the following:
export http_proxy="http://username:[email protected]:port"
export https_proxy="https://username:[email protected]:port"
export ftp_proxy="ftp://username:[email protected]:port"
export socks_proxy="socks://username:[email protected]:port"
Example:
export http_proxy="http://johnwick:[email protected]:8080";
Use source /etc/environment to load the new environment variables.
To make git work behind proxy use the following commands
git config --global http.proxy http://johnwick:[email protected]:8080`
git config --global https.proxy https://johnwick:[email protected]:8080
9. Program compatibility - What works, what doesn't?
This crowdsourced list of programs and their compatibility gives you a searchable list for compatibility. Want to know if apt works 100%? Just check the list. Also worth a mention, the Official repository contains a full list of all issues reported.
10. Mapping a Driver Letter to your linux root folder
Open a Windows Terminal (cmd) and:
subst l: c:\Users\path\to\your\rootfs
Now you can access the root linux folder typing l: in the Windows Command, or Explorer.
Your rootfs might be located in different paths: Check this guide on askubuntu to find your linux folder on windows