How do I boot into opensuse from the Windows Subsystem for Linux command line?

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

Hi
I added Windows Subsystem for Linux feature to my Windows 10 PC. I installed OpenSuse Leap from the Windows Store. I launched Opensuse Leap which prompted me to create a user account and password which I did. Then Opensuse launches again with a command line with my user name, which I assume means I am logged in. Opensuse does not boot into Desktop. What is the command to boot into the desktop as its not listed in the Windows Store?

Kind Regards

FiftyFour

#2

You can’t. This is it. Here’s a page whit instructions https://devtidbits.com/2017/11/10/opensuse-linux-on-windows-10-how-to/ but from what I read from your post I think it works like it should. The page gives some examples.

But, if you want to run a vitrualized linux desktop, you can download VirtualBox and create an openSUSE Virtual Machine in it, by downloading openSUSE from our website, it’s an iso file, and VirtualBox can use that as a virtual optical station.

#3

Thank you for your prompt response and the dev link relating to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). The Opensuse Description in the Microsoft Store said Opensuse Leap is suitable for beginners and users. I would think most beginners would expect to see an opensuse desktop. I think opensuse should update their Microsoft Store description.

Still, thank you for confirming there is no desktop option - I can stop chasing my tail on that one. Its also appreciated that you advised me that I can use virtualbox to run an opensuse image. I was not aware such an image existed.

Take Care

#4

I may be wrong, but I do not think openSUSE (the project) has much to do with the contents of what is in the Microsoft Store. Let alone how it is described.

and when you want to know more about openSUSE, you better start at the openSUSE website(s) like https://en.opensuse.org/Main_Page and not at Microsoft.

#5

If you had chosen to install and run OpenSUSE then of course you would have an OpenSUSE desktop, but you chose Microsoft Windows, so you have a Microsoft desktop, albeit with a bash shell.

WSL is essentially Redmond’s replacement for its “Unix Tools”, that were introduced with Windows NT to provide some essential Posix file management tools. Microsoft is just using several gigabytes of Linux distribution iso image to supply a few megabytes of Gnu utility programs without having to maintain them itself.

#6

WSL is the first awesome feature in Windows 10. lol!

#7

Wasn’t aware of WSL so I decided to put an hour into looking at this…

Just installed it and the “openSUSE 42.2” on to a Win10.
This is <not> anything like previous Linux Tools for Windows, this is a windowed Linux environment and not simply Linux accessibility tools.

First look areound,
By default, the windowed openSUSE looks like a fairly standard “Server” text-mode openSUSE 42.3 (yes, it’s already set to 42.3 since 42.2 is no longer supported).

All openSUSE commands seem to work as expected.
First things I checked were configured repositories and installed patterns and it looks like the repository cache is empty so it’s likely the installed openSUSE is a bare image.
Initial check is that it only has two patterns installed, Base and Minimal Base.

You can and probably should run “zypper up” to update the system image.
When I did so, I ran into a quirk… If you cancel, the zypper process continues to run and prevents you from running the same command immediately so I had to close the window and wait a few seconds (for the WSL process to properly die), re-open and try again.

It’s not really a full Linux system, for instance you can’t install and run whatever you want and your Linux doesn’t “boot up”…
It’s only a BASH shell with some limited functionality.
I was able to run yast, but yast software manager is only the “Search” and doesn’t support all the other ways you can display patterns and packages.

And, you can’t install a Desktop, although the x11 pattern can be installed, a number of other packages like the MinimalX for IceWM is missing.

See the following Microsoft FAQ that describes what you can and can’t do in WSL.
It seems that MS is suggesting you can run a full subsystem… for instance a Ruby (their example). I assume this applies to everything else that’s similar, so this might be a great way to run Python on Windows (a notoriously awkward and limited thing to do)

The Microsoft WSL FAQ (and quick links to everything else about WSL including installation)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/faq

tSU