A GUI to quickly manage your WSL2 instances.
Publisher’s description
What is WSL Manager?
WSL Manager by Bostrot is open-source Windows software in the ai assistants & llms category. It ranks 9th by popularity among ai assistants & llms in this catalogue. It is written in Dart.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (Inno Setup) installers for 64-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. It needs Windows 10 1809 or newer. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 2.5.0.0, released on October 1, 2026. The version history goes back to November 15, 2021: 21 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 4.3 releases a year. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 14,024 times. The source code on GitHub (bostrot/wslmanager) has 4,032 stars. Similar programs include Claude Code, Codex CLI and ChatGPT.
Project description on GitHub: “GUI for the Windows Subsystem for Linux — and native Linux/macOS VMs on Mac. Install, back up, move and configure distros without CLI flags; AI assistant with tools, MCP server for agents, remote WSL over SSH.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Updated in the last two months
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: WSL Manager is an open-source ai assistants & llm tool for 64-bit PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is WSL Manager safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
59690DE6852AA3F5BF878D6657E177CF82C1D5F7EA49929E897951763C826927· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 21 versions ›21 versions over 5 years · about 4.3 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5.0.0Latest | October 1, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.4.1 | September 20, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 2.4.1.0 | September 20, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.3.0 | September 17, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 2.3.0.0 | September 17, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.2.0.0 | September 13, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.1.0 | September 12, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 2.0.4 | September 10, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Bostrot.WSLManager -echoco install wsl2-distro-manager -yscoop install extras/wsl2-distro-managerwsl2-distro-manager-v2.5.0-setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Bostrot
- Category
- AI assistants & LLMs
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/bostrot/wslmanager
- Written in
- Dart
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10 (Windows 10 1809+)
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Version
- 2.5.0.0
- Released
- October 1, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- November 15, 2021
- Versions listed
- 21
- Updates / year
- 4.3
- Chocolatey downloads
- 14,024
- GitHub stars
- 4,032
- GitHub forks
- 181
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- Bostrot.WSLManager
- Chocolatey package
- wsl2-distro-manager
- Scoop package
- extras/wsl2-distro-manager
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is WSL Manager free?
Yes. WSL Manager is open-source software under the GPL-3.0 licence.
Is WSL Manager safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install WSL Manager with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can WSL Manager be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Which Windows versions does WSL Manager support?
The installer requires Windows 10 1809 or newer and is available for 64-bit.
Does WSL Manager run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of WSL Manager?
The versions page lists all 21 versions with links to their official installer files, back to November 15, 2021.
What are alternatives to WSL Manager?
Claude Code, Codex CLI, ChatGPT, GPT4All and Jan. The alternatives page compares them.
