Welcome to MSL
Real Linux on your Mac, as close to native as one project could get it.
MSL — the Mac Subsystem for Linux — runs real Linux distributions on your Mac. Not an emulator and not a compatibility layer: an actual Linux kernel with an actual Linux userland, running on Apple's own Virtualization framework, so there's no emulation in the way and no virtual-machine window to look after.
You get a real Linux shell in about a second, and — experimentally — Linux apps with windows of their own, each with its own Dock tile, its own icon and its own name in the menu bar. ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ
What you can do with it#
Open a Linux shell
A real login shell with job control, colours and line editing, inside the app or in Terminal.app.
Run Linux apps
Linux GUI programs open as ordinary Mac windows, each with its own Dock tile.
Share files both ways
Your Mac home folder appears inside Linux at /mnt/mac, and MSL Files browses both sides.
Size each machine
Choose CPUs, a fixed or dynamic amount of memory, and how big each disk may grow.
Save and roll back
Snapshots, hibernation, and disk check-and-repair tools with automatic backups.
Cut things off
Sandbox switches that detach the network, the home share, graphics or input.
Where to go next#
- New here? The two-minute tour walks the whole app from left to right.
- Ready to go? Install a distro, then create an instance.
- Curious how it works? Under the hood explains the moving parts in plain words.
- Want to know what's solid and what's still experimental? What's ready is honest about it.