# Run the workshops under Windows with WSL

**URL:** <https://ask.igwn.org/t/run-the-workshops-under-windows-with-wsl/84>\
**Category:** Data Analysis\
**Created:** [April 9, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://ask.igwn.org/t/run-the-workshops-under-windows-with-wsl/84 "2022-04-09T13:30:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![felix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@felix](https://ask.igwn.org/u/felix)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://ask.igwn.org/t/run-the-workshops-under-windows-with-wsl/84/1 "2022-04-09T13:30:36Z")

</div>

## Linux install on Windows with WSL (only Windows 10 or 11)

Install a Linux distribution on your Windows system. We suggest you install Debian GNU/Linux, which is the closest distribution to what is used currently by LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA.

This subsystem is a virtual machine installed in a partitioned area of your disk, so you need at least 10 Gigabytes of space available on your disk.

- Install a windows subsystem for linux: see instructions [here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10) (Windows 10) or alternatively [here](https://www.howtogeek.com/744328/how-to-install-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux-on-windows-11/) (Windows 11).

- Once the distribution is set up, you still need a few key elements:

1. A display X-server: a good option is [VcXsrv](https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/). It is a bit tricky to make it work on WSL, but following all of [these steps](https://skeptric.com/wsl2-xserver/) should work. You will have to launch an X-server session every time you switch on your computer.

2. A web browser, in order to run the Jupyter notebooks. [Google Chrome](https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-install-google-chrome-web-browser-on-debian-10/) is a safe option.

Once you have all that installed, follow the [instructions](https://ask.igwn.org/t/install-igwn-software-stack/32/2) for the IGWN software setup.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![datmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@datmin](https://ask.igwn.org/u/datmin)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://ask.igwn.org/t/run-the-workshops-under-windows-with-wsl/84/2 "2026-08-13T19:20:55Z")

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I think this is a bit outdated due to

- WSL 2 now supporting Linux GUI applications (no need for VcXsrv),

- and there is a more lightweight Conda environment odw-py312 maintained for the course (no need to download the IGWN software which takes a lot of space).

This is what worked for me:

1. [Install WSL](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install).
2. Make sure it is version 2.
3. Make sure the GPU drivers are installed and updated.
4. Follow the steps for Linux [here](https://github.com/gw-odw/odw/blob/main/setup.md#option-3-you-have-a-linux-or-applemac-computer----use-conda) to download odw-py312.
5. Before opening the notebooks, use these commands each time:  
`cd ~/odw`  
`conda activate odw-py312`  
`jupyter notebook`
6. Paste this to your browser to open the notebooks:  
`http://localhost:8888/tree/`

(Sorry, I am not able to link more than 2 links per post as I am a new user. I can provide more helpful links if someone needs them.)