Microsoft just announced that graphical Linux apps can now be run in Windows Subsystem for linux which allows developers to test their apps that they develop for windows and linux on a single operating system. The apps installed can be launched from the windows start menu.

This feature is mainly intended to be used by developers who wish to test and develop linux GUI apps but also want to develop their app for windows and don’t want to worry about swappping operating systems in order to test and develop for both platforms.

Microsoft released a blog post that says the following:

To support our developers who build on Windows, we are excited to announce new features in our developer tool offerings that provide increased satisfaction and productivity. You can now use GUI app support on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) so that all the tools and workflows of Linux run on your developer machine. Windows allows you to work with seamless integrations with any workflow with GUI apps, Linux and GPU-accelerated ML training.

The Windows Subsystem for Linux has eliminated the need for dual-booting Windows and Linux for a majority of developers and should allow developers to easily develop programs for both Windows and Linux.