WSL2 or dual boot for web development on Windows?

Question

I'm on Windows and many tutorials assume Linux or macOS. Should I install WSL2, dual boot Ubuntu, or just stay on Windows?

Accepted Answer

**WSL2** is the best of both for most people: a real Linux kernel and Ubuntu running alongside Windows, with near-native performance for dev work.

```powershell
wsl --install -d Ubuntu
```

Tips for a smooth setup:
- **Keep your projects inside the Linux filesystem** (`~/code`, not `/mnt/c/...`). File operations like `npm install` and git are many times faster there.
- **VS Code + the WSL extension**: run `code .` from the Ubuntu terminal and the editor runs Windows-side against Linux files.
- **Docker Desktop** integrates with WSL2, or install Docker Engine directly inside WSL.
- Install Node, Python and so on **inside** WSL with version managers (`nvm`/`fnm`, `uv`).

Dual boot is only worth it if you want Linux as your primary OS, or need direct hardware access (some GPU/ML setups, though WSL2 supports CUDA too). Staying on pure Windows works for .NET and many stacks, but you'll hit more friction with Linux-centric tooling and tutorials.

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