WSL2 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS - Basic Configuration

Automated setup script for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2).

🚀 Quick Start

Run directly from GitHub without cloning:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/solarekm/wsl2/master/wsl2-setup.sh)

Or download and run locally:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/solarekm/wsl2/master/wsl2-setup.sh -o wsl2-setup.sh
chmod +x wsl2-setup.sh
./wsl2-setup.sh

📋 Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• What the Script Does
• Manual Installation Steps
• Files Included
• Post-Installation
• Troubleshooting

🔧 Prerequisites

1. Enable WSL2

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

# Enable WSL feature
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

# Enable Virtual Machine Platform
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart

Restart your computer after running these commands.

2. Install WSL2 Kernel Update

Download and install: WSL2 Linux kernel update package

3. Set WSL2 as Default

wsl --set-default-version 2

4. Install Ubuntu 24.04

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
wsl --set-default Ubuntu-24.04

🎯 What the Script Does

The wsl2-setup.sh script automatically:

✅ Updates system packages

• Runs apt-get update and apt-get upgrade
• Installs essential tools: unzip, jq, git, curl, keychain, wslu (WSL utilities)

✅ Configures custom bash environment (.bashrc_extra)

• Colored prompt with git branch display
• Timestamp in prompt
• AWS CLI completion
• SSH key management (optional)

✅ Installs AWS CLI v2

• Downloads and installs latest AWS CLI
• Skips if already installed

✅ Installs AWS Session Manager Plugin

• Enables SSM connectivity to AWS instances
• Skips if already installed

✅ Installs Docker

• Adds Docker official repository
• Installs Docker Engine, CLI, containerd
• Installs Docker Compose and Buildx plugins
• Configures Docker to start on boot
• Adds user to docker group
• Skips if already installed

✅ Installs GitHub CLI (gh)

• Command-line tool for GitHub repositories
• Manage PRs, issues, and GitHub Actions workflows
• Skips if already installed

✅ Installs Terraform Version Manager (tfenv)

• Clones tfenv for managing multiple Terraform versions
• Automatically installs latest stable Terraform 1.x
• Configures PATH for immediate availability
• Skips if already installed

✅ Installs tflint

• Terraform linter for static code analysis
• Helps maintain best practices and catch errors
• Skips if already installed

📦 Manual Installation Steps

If you prefer to clone the repository:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/solarekm/wsl2.git
cd wsl2

# Make script executable
chmod +x wsl2-setup.sh

# Run the script
./wsl2-setup.sh

📁 Files Included

• wsl2-setup.sh - Main installation script
• .bashrc_extra - Custom bash configuration
• README.md - This documentation

🔄 Post-Installation

After the script completes:

1. Restart WSL2:

   wsl --shutdown

2. Log out and back in to activate docker group membership:

   exit
   # Then open a new WSL terminal

3. Verify installations:

   aws --version
   docker --version
   gh --version
   terraform --version  # Installed automatically with tfenv
   tflint --version

🔍 Script Features

Error Handling

• Strict error handling (set -euo pipefail)
• Clear error messages with color coding
• Graceful handling of already-installed components

Idempotency

• Safe to run multiple times
• Checks if tools are already installed
• Only installs what's missing

Security

• Uses temporary directories with automatic cleanup
• Validates downloads
• Proper file permissions

Logging

• Color-coded output:
  • 🟢 Green = Info
  • 🟡 Yellow = Warning
  • 🔴 Red = Error
  • 🔵 Blue = Success

🐛 Troubleshooting

Permission Denied

If you see Permission denied, add execute permissions:

chmod +x wsl2-setup.sh

Docker Permission Issues

If Docker commands fail with permission errors:

# Check if you're in the docker group
groups

# If not, restart WSL (no admin needed)
wsl --shutdown
# Then reopen WSL terminal

AWS CLI Not Found

Add to your PATH:

echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

📝 Customization

Disable SSH Key Management

Edit .bashrc_extra and keep the manage_ssh_keys function commented out (default).

Change Prompt

Edit the PS1 variable in .bashrc_extra to customize your prompt.

Custom CDPATH

Modify the CDPATH variable in .bashrc_extra to add your frequently used directories.

🤝 Contributing

Feel free to submit issues or pull requests to improve this script.

📄 License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

🔗 Useful Links

Official Documentation

• WSL Documentation - Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS - Official Ubuntu releases

Installed Tools

• AWS CLI v2 - AWS Command Line Interface
• AWS Session Manager Plugin - SSM Plugin for secure shell access
• Docker - Container platform installation for Ubuntu
• Docker Compose - Multi-container Docker applications
• GitHub CLI - GitHub command-line tool for Debian/Ubuntu
• Terraform - Infrastructure as Code
• tfenv - Terraform version manager
• tflint - Terraform linter

📮 Support

For issues related to:

• WSL itself: Check Microsoft WSL Issues
• This script: Open an issue in this repository

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Made with ❤️ for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS on WSL2