WSL 3 will finally let Linux apps use your GPU and NPU without the performance tax
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WSL 3, announced at Build 2026, replaces the Hyper-V VM backend with a lighter paravirtualized machine that gives Linux apps near-native GPU and NPU access via DirectML 2.0. This removes the performance overhead that plagued WSL 2, enabling tools like Ollama, llama.cpp, and PyTorch to use hardware accelerators directly from Linux. It remains a free, standalone Microsoft Store package decoupled from Windows updates. The catch: at launch it's limited to Copilot+ machines with Intel/Qualcomm NPUs — AMD support is deferred. Broader hardware support is expected to follow the same gradual rollout pattern WSL 2 used.
Table of contents
WSL 3 changes quite a bit under the hoodIt's still free and not bolted to a Windows update you don't wantNot everyone can run WSL 3WSL 3 will be worth waiting for843.5K Impressions22 Comments