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Ubuntu 26.10 can be installed from PowerShell as a separate WSL 2 distribution using the official .wsl image. This example is for an x64 Windows machine with WSL 2 already working.

When I checked the available distributions, Ubuntu 26.10 was missing from wsl --list --online. The official Ubuntu release directory provides an AMD64 WSL image that can be installed directly.

Check WSL

Run these commands in PowerShell to check WSL and list the installed and available distributions:

wsl --status
wsl --list --verbose
wsl --list --online

My existing distribution was named UbuntuA and used WSL 2. The commands below install another distribution named Ubuntu-26.10. Choose a different name if that name is already in use.

The installed WSL version must support --from-file and --name; check wsl --help. If these options are missing, update WSL with wsl --update before continuing.

Download and install Ubuntu 26.10

Use the official AMD64 WSL image from Downloads if it is already present; otherwise, download it first, then install it:

$image = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE 'Downloads\ubuntu-26.10-wsl-amd64.wsl'

if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $image -PathType Leaf)) {
    Invoke-WebRequest `
        -Uri 'https://releases.ubuntu.com/26.10/ubuntu-26.10-wsl-amd64.wsl' `
        -OutFile $image `
        -ErrorAction Stop
}

wsl --install --from-file $image --name Ubuntu-26.10 --version 2

This image is for Intel and AMD x64 PCs. On an ARM64 Windows machine, select the corresponding ARM64 WSL image instead.

Follow the first-run prompts to create a Linux user and password. No characters appear while you type the password.

Update packages and check the Ubuntu version

Inside the new Ubuntu shell, run:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
cat /etc/os-release

The VERSION_ID value should be 26.10. Use exit to return to PowerShell.

Start the new distribution

To launch Ubuntu 26.10 later from PowerShell:

wsl -d Ubuntu-26.10

To check the installed distributions and their WSL versions:

wsl --list --verbose

The new distribution should appear with VERSION set to 2. This column identifies the WSL version; use /etc/os-release inside Linux to check the Ubuntu release. The existing UbuntuA distribution remains separate.

Optionally make Ubuntu 26.10 the default

To make a plain wsl command launch the new distribution:

wsl --set-default Ubuntu-26.10

Reset Ubuntu 26.10 to a clean state

Resetting permanently deletes all Linux files, installed packages, users, and settings in Ubuntu-26.10. Export a backup first if you need to keep anything. The separate UbuntuA distribution is unaffected. Save your work and run the following commands from PowerShell.

Check the installation image in Downloads before removing the existing distribution. Reuse the file if it exists; download it only if it is missing:

$image = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE 'Downloads\ubuntu-26.10-wsl-amd64.wsl'

if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $image -PathType Leaf)) {
    Invoke-WebRequest `
        -Uri 'https://releases.ubuntu.com/26.10/ubuntu-26.10-wsl-amd64.wsl' `
        -OutFile $image `
        -ErrorAction Stop
}

Once the image is available, stop the distribution, unregister it, and reinstall it from that image:

wsl --terminate Ubuntu-26.10
wsl --unregister Ubuntu-26.10
wsl --install --from-file $image --name Ubuntu-26.10 --version 2

Complete the first-run prompts to create your Linux user and password again. This returns the distribution to the state of the installation image.

Create a snapshot

Use wsl --export to save a full filesystem backup before experimenting with packages or configuration. Save your work first. These PowerShell commands stop only Ubuntu-26.10 and export it to a timestamped TAR archive in Downloads:

$backup = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ('Downloads\Ubuntu-26.10-{0}.tar' -f (Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss'))
wsl --terminate Ubuntu-26.10
wsl --export Ubuntu-26.10 $backup
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw 'WSL export failed.' }
Get-Item -LiteralPath $backup

The archive contains Linux files, installed packages, users, and configuration. Files on mounted Windows drives, such as /mnt/c, are not included. This is an export backup, not a live memory snapshot; running processes are not restored. Keep the archive until you no longer need that checkpoint.

Restore a snapshot

Import the archive as a separate distribution to try the saved state while keeping the current Ubuntu-26.10 installation. Set $backup to the actual archive path if you are using a new PowerShell session. Use an unused distribution name and installation directory:

$backup = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE 'Downloads\Ubuntu-26.10-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.tar'
$installDir = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA 'WSL\Ubuntu-26.10-Restored'

if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $backup -PathType Leaf)) {
    throw "Backup not found: $backup"
}

wsl --import Ubuntu-26.10-Restored $installDir $backup --version 2
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw 'WSL import failed.' }
wsl --manage Ubuntu-26.10-Restored --set-default-user dmitriano
wsl -d Ubuntu-26.10-Restored --cd ~

Replace dmitriano with the Linux username contained in your backup. To roll back under the original name instead, first ensure the backup is usable, then terminate and unregister Ubuntu-26.10 and import the archive with Ubuntu-26.10 as the distribution name and an unused installation directory. Unregistering permanently removes the current state.

See the Ubuntu installation guide and Microsoft WSL command reference for additional details.