Microsoft's new developer-optimized Windows is much more accepting of Linux.

Microsoft launches its Build developer conference today with a commitment to make Windows a trusted platform for development. The company continues to focus on performance and stability fixes for Windows 11, bundling many useful tools and apps, and creating an optimized environment for developers that is more inclusive of Linux.

Microsoft's new developer-optimized Windows further embraces Linux.

Microsoft is embracing Linux-like command line utilities and further integrating the Linux subsystem into Windows.

“We've optimized the Windows 11 experience for developers by providing frequently used command-line utilities, a familiar and convenient shell, a faster setup experience, built-in ways to create and interact with Linux containers on Windows, and a new experimental Intelligent Terminal,” explains Pavan Davuluri, Head of Windows.

Microsoft created Coreutils for Windows from the uutils open source project, a cross-platform reimplementation of GNU coreutils in Rust. “It’s a Linux-like command-line utility that runs natively on Windows,” says Davuluri. "Whether you move between Linux, macOS, WSL, containers, or cloud environments, the commands and workflows you've built over the years will work just as well in your Windows environment."

After open sourcing the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) at Build last year, Microsoft is now integrating WSL more tightly into Windows with the new WSL container. As the name suggests, WSL containers are a built-in way to create, run, and interact with Linux containers on Windows. Microsoft has built both a command line interface and an API for WSL containers, allowing developers to run Linux containers within native Windows apps as well. WSL containers will be available in public preview in the coming months.

Microsoft is also building on the success of the existing Windows Terminal experience with a new experimental Intelligent Terminal for developers. “Intelligent Terminals provide context to your favorite agents through Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), so you can query, debug, or complete whatever task is currently in progress while remaining in the terminal,” explains Davuluri. “It’s based on the existing Windows terminal environment, so you get everything available in the Agent window (tabs, profiles, themes, settings, shell) plus native Agent CLI integration.”

Developer-friendly changes to Windows also include the general availability of Windows Developer Configurations, which allows you to quickly set up new systems with developer-optimized settings. Microsoft has been experimenting with this idea for several years, and the developer configuration installs tools like WSL, PowerShell 7, and Visual Studio Code, while also enabling Git version control and showing hidden files in File Explorer.