WSL Best Practices

Proven strategies and best practices for optimal WSL development workflows.

✅ Do

  • Store projects in Linux file system for better performance
  • Use VS Code with Remote-WSL extension
  • Configure .wslconfig for resource limits
  • Use package managers (apt, npm, pip) within WSL
  • Enable systemd for better service management

❌ Don't

  • Run Linux tools on Windows files frequently
  • Edit Linux files from Windows apps
  • Install GUI applications without proper setup
  • Mix Windows and Linux PATH variables carelessly
  • Ignore memory and CPU limits

Development Workflow Recommendations

File Organization

Recommended Structure:

~/projects/web/my-react-app/
~/projects/python/my-django-app/
~/projects/go/my-api/
~/dotfiles/

Version Control

Configure Git with your credentials and use SSH keys for authentication:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com"