--- title: Microsoft Bakes Linux Container Support Directly into... description: Microsoft has released WSL containers (WSLc) into general availability, bringing native Linux OCI container support directly into Windows via the Windows... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Microsoft Bakes Linux Container Support Directly into Windows | daily.dev og:description: Microsoft has released WSL containers (WSLc) into general availability, bringing native Linux OCI container support directly into Windows via the Windows... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/2fkaekyQV.png og:image:alt: Microsoft Bakes Linux Container Support Directly into Windows og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Microsoft Bakes Linux Container Support Directly into Windows **[Cloud Native Now](https://daily.dev/sources/cloudnativenow)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Microsoft has released WSL containers (WSLc) into general availability, bringing native Linux OCI container support directly into Windows via the Windows Subsystem for Linux. WSLc ships with a CLI (wslc.exe/container.exe) and an API for programmatic control, and is fully open source. It integrates with Microsoft Intune and Defender for Endpoint for management and security, supports .NET Aspire as a container runtime, and works with VS Code dev containers, Lazywslc, and a WSL Container Desktop app. Architecturally, it uses native ext4 VHD volumes, VirtioFS bind mounts, a new Consommé networking model, and user-space container lifecycle operations for better security. Meanwhile Docker has also shipped Docker Cloud Sandboxes and partnered with CNCF on a Docker Sandbox Kit Spec. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is WSLc and how does it differ from Docker Desktop on Windows? WSLc (WSL containers) is a Windows Subsystem for Linux runtime, now generally available, for building and running native Linux OCI containers directly via a CLI (wslc.exe or container.exe) and an API, without requiring Docker Desktop. Unlike Docker Desktop, it integrates natively with Windows tools like Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, and is fully open source. _Developers evaluating Linux container options on Windows can follow WSLc and Docker updates on daily.dev._ ### How is WSLc different from the older Windows Containers feature? WSLc produces and manages fully native Linux containers, whereas Windows Containers, introduced about a decade earlier, were built for Windows-based containerized applications. WSLc runs inside a managed Linux environment via WSL, giving true Linux ext4 semantics and OCI compatibility rather than Windows-native container semantics. _Teams choosing between Windows Containers and Linux-based workflows can track these distinctions on daily.dev._ ### What networking and storage architecture does WSLc use under the hood? WSLc uses native ext4-formatted virtual hard drive volumes for full Linux ext4 semantics, plus VirtioFS bind mounts to share a Windows path with a container. For networking, it introduces a new model called Consommé, which gives fine-grained control over the Linux VM for port mapping and host loopback while staying compatible with the Windows networking stack. _Engineers digging into container runtime internals can keep up with architecture deep dives like this via daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [WSL container is now available for public preview](https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-container-is-now-available-for-public-preview-qszgs39xw) · Windows Command Line · 110 upvotes · 8 comments - [Windows is quietly becoming the easiest way to run Linux containers, and I don't know how to feel about it](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-is-quietly-becoming-the-easiest-way-to-run-linux-containers-and-i-don-t-know-how-to-feel-ab-iczv4vrzy) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Microsoft Announces Public Preview For Linux Containers On WSL](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-announces-public-preview-for-linux-containers-on-wsl-0kzbappo1) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#microsoft](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft), [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows), [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#containers](https://daily.dev/tags/containers) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Microsoft Bakes Linux Container Support Directly into Windows","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv"},"datePublished":"2026-10-02T15:55:45.611Z","dateModified":"2026-10-02T16:02:48.785Z","description":"Microsoft has released WSL containers (WSLc) into general availability, bringing native Linux OCI container support directly into Windows via the Windows...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b1e959c6e5776861ad26c7042b2cf350?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b1e959c6e5776861ad26c7042b2cf350?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Cloud Native Now","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloud Native Now","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/8acc1ecd93ce4299b615252f32d78de5","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/cloudnativenow"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"microsoft,windows,docker,containers","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cloud Native Now","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/cloudnativenow"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Microsoft Bakes Linux Container Support Directly into Windows"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-bakes-linux-container-support-directly-into-windows-2fkaekyqv#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is WSLc and how does it differ from Docker Desktop on Windows?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"WSLc (WSL containers) is a Windows Subsystem for Linux runtime, now generally available, for building and running native Linux OCI containers directly via a CLI (wslc.exe or container.exe) and an API, without requiring Docker Desktop. 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