WSL mounts your Windows file system under the /mnt directory.
compare WSL and docker
feature
| Feature | WSL | Docker |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Runs a real Linux kernel (in WSL2) on Windows via Hyper-V | Uses Linux containers on a host OS |
| Isolation | Less isolated — acts more like a Linux distro installed on Windows | Fully isolated environments per container |
| File System | Has access to the Windows file system (/mnt/c) | Containers have isolated file systems |
| Aspect | WSL | Docker |
|---|---|---|
| Code Editing | Use VS Code (Remote WSL), or edit directly in Linux paths | Typically mount code from host or build images with code |
| Dependency Management | Installed normally using apt/pip/etc. | Installed inside Dockerfile or with docker exec |
| Portability | Less portable — code tied to your WSL setup | Highly portable — run same container on any platform |
| Build Environment Isolation | Shared environment with your Linux setup | Fully isolated per container, easy to create clean slates |
| Use Case | Prefer WSL | Prefer Docker |
|---|---|---|
| CI/CD pipelines | ❌ Not used directly | ✅ Widely used in DevOps pipelines |
| Performance-sensitive dev (I/O heavy) | 🟡 WSL2 has performance overhead | 🟡 Docker on Windows uses WSL2 backend (similar perf) |
GUI
Starting from Windows 11, WSL2 includes WSLg, which natively supports Linux GUI apps.
On Windows 10 (without WSLg): You need to install a third-party X server, such as VcXsrv, Xming. Set the DISPLAY variable in WSL: export DISPLAY=$(cat /etc/resolv.conf | grep nameserver | awk '{print $2}'):0
| Feature | WSL (with WSLg) | Docker on Windows |
| Native GUI Support | ✅ Yes (Windows 11+) | ❌ No native GUI |
| Qt/OpenCV/Matplotlib GUI | ✅ Works out of the box | ⚠️ Needs complex setup |
| X Server Required | ❌ (if WSLg), ✅ (Win10) | ✅ Always (e.g., VcXsrv or VNC workaround) |
| Performance | 🟢 Smooth | 🔴 Often slower, higher latency |
| Best for GUI App Development | ✅ Recommended | ❌ Not ideal |
QA
01
code:
matplotlib.pyplot.show()
error:
Matplotlib is currently using agg, which is a non-GUI backend, so cannot show the figure.
solution
- Use a GUI Backend with an X Server (Recommended for Visualizing) such as
VcXsrv,X410,Xming. - In WSL2 terminal, set the DISPLAY environment variable:
export DISPLAY=$(cat /etc/resolv.conf | grep nameserver | awk '{print $2}'):0. Or you can add it into~/.bashrcor~/.zshrc. - (Optional) enable access to the X server:
export LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=1 - Install GUI backend dependencies if not already present:
sudo apt install python3-tk python3-pyqt5 - run code. Matplotlib should use a GUI backend like TkAgg or Qt5Agg and open a window.
You can switch backend manually if you have GUI support.