Bash on Windows Install and Resources

The biggest applause during the Day 2 keynote at Microsoft's Build 2016 conference in San Francisco was for Xamarin going free and open source.

The second biggest applause was when Microsoft announced Bash would be available on Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update due this July.

I must admit it has been a very long time since I have used Bash or a true command line interface, well beyond the Command Prompt in Windows, in my daily activities.

When I was in the Navy, the command I was stationed at during the early 90's had received email capabilities but it was all accessed through a Bash prompt and the Command Line Interface. It was a learning experience but a skill you must use on a regular basis to remain proficient.

If you are running Windows 10 (Build 14316) from the Windows Insider Program you can go ahead and get started with Bash on Windows. In this article you will see the install/set-up process to get Bash installed and then I will list some resources that will help us all get up to speed as necessary with the new feature.

First, let's get Bash installed on Windows 10 (Build 14316).

1. Go to Settings > Update & security > For developersand make sure you click the radial button for Developer mode.

2. Open up the Turn Windows features on or off  Control Panel applet and click the checkbox next to Windows Subsystem for Linux (Beta) and click OK to verify the setting and then follow the prompts to restart your system.

3. Once the system has rebooted open the Bash on Ubuntu on Windows desktop app to access the Bash prompt.

4. When you open this window up for the first time you will need to accept the licensing agreement and then Linux subsystem will be downloaded from the Windows Store.

5. You now have Bash on Windows fully installed on Windows 10 (Build 14316).

6. One command that I did not lose over the years was help. Looking at those commands might just refresh your memory a bit.

Here is a very important message from the Bash on Windows team about this implementation:

First, this is the first time we’re releasing this technology – it’s marked as beta for a reason: We know that there are some rough edges and that some things will break! Do not expect every Bash script and tool that you run will work perfectly – there will be gaps. But by trying out this feature, you’ll help us figure out what we need to work on in order to greatly improve our reliability, coverage, and reach.

Second, while you’ll be able to run native Bash and many Linux command-line tools on Windows, it’s important to note that this is a developer toolset to help you write and build all your code for all your scenarios and platforms. This is not a server platform upon which you will host websites, run server infrastructure, etc.

Now, during Build 2016, Kevin Gallo provided some demos of Bash on Windows during the Day 2 keynote however, there are more in depth sessions available for on-demand viewing that occured during the remainder of Build 2016.

Running Bash on Ubuntu on Windows by Rich Turner and Russ Alexander:

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