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WSL Install

Currently, the Lunar environment only supports Unix operating systems. Therefore, Windows users will need to install the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to run Lunar in their local environment.

This guide will walk you through the steps to install and set up WSL on your Windows machine.

Pre-requisites​

You must be running Windows 10 version 2004 and higher (Build 19041 and higher) or Windows 11 to use the commands below. If you are on earlier versions, you will need to follow this manual install guide.

Step 1: Install WSL​

  1. Open PowerShell as Administrator:
    • Press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  2. Run the following command to install WSL and set up a default Linux distribution (Ubuntu):
    • wsl --install

For more information, check the Microsoft official documentation on how to install WSL on your local machine

Step 2: Setup your Linux Environment​

Create username and password:​

After installation, you’ll be prompted to create a Linux username and password. You’ll use this username for starting WSL sessions:

wsl -d Ubuntu -u <username>

Update and upgrade packages​

Once your username and password are set up, update and upgrade your Linux distribution packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Step 3: Install Lunar requirements on your distribution​

Even if you already have Python and Node.js on Windows, you’ll need to install them in your new WSL environment.

Install Node.js​

To install Node.js, run the following commands:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Python Install​

We recommend installing Python with pyenv for better version management in your WSL environment.

Install pip​

sudo apt install python3-pip

Install pyenv​

To install pyenv for managing Python versions:

curl https://pyenv.run | bash

Configure pyenv in your shell​

Add pyenv to your shell by updating your .bashrc or .zshrc:

export PYENV_ROOT="$HOME/.pyenv"
[[ -d $PYENV_ROOT/bin ]] && export PATH="$PYENV_ROOT/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(pyenv init -)"

Install pyenv dependencies​

Run the following commands to install the required dependencies for pyenv:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
  build-essential \
  libssl-dev \
  zlib1g-dev \
  libbz2-dev \
  libreadline-dev \
  libsqlite3-dev \
  libffi-dev \
  libgdbm-dev \
  liblzma-dev \
  libncurses5-dev \
  libncursesw5-dev \
  libgdbm-dev \
  liblzma-dev \
  libgdbm-compat-dev \
  curl \
  git

Install Python 3.9 with pyenv​

pyenv install 3.9.0

Set Python 3.9 as the Default Version​

pyenv global 3.9.0

Your WSL environment is now set up and ready for Lunar installation on your Windows machine.