Pengwin May Update with Windows Terminal theme

May 21, 2021 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Pengwin 21.5.4:

Automatically creates an entry with logo in Windows Terminal
Add default background and colors to Windows Terminal (you can change them in Settings)

If you have Windows Terminal 1.7 or newer when you run Pengwin, you will see a very nice color scheme, background, and menu logo without taking any action. The new built-in theme has the following defaults:

Starts in the Linux home directory instead of the Windows one.
Has default icon for the tab title and menu
Acrylic opacity for the background of 90%
Default background image with the pengwin logo aligned to the bottom right and with an opacity of 20%
An improved color scheme with a dark violet background.
Cursor type like Windows Console
Font face Cascadia Code with ligatures

It includes another logo for the background. Simply in Settings change the Background image from background1.png to background2.png

If you don’t like the defaults or part of them, you can simply change them in the Settings screen and they will be preserved.

Other changes in Pengwin includes

In-App Settings, it is possible to set Pengwin launch at startup

Now that x410 fixed the cropped cursors in the latest version and that WSLg doesn’t have this problem, now if the display scale factor is 200% or more now the mouse cursor will be 64px wide when HIGHDPI is configured in pengwin-setup
Improved motd to show some variables related to WSLg
Updated CMake to version 3.19.1
Updated pyenv python to version 3.9.4
Fixed a hang with fish and dbus
Improved Poetry installer
Added Prezto support ZSH installer
Do not override DISPLAY variable if it is already defined
Include the latest packages in the image.
Improved again the compatibility of SDKMan and IntelliJ 2021.1 enabling Maven installed via SDKMan
Included out of the box full GUI support with mesa and dbus, just install your GUI app via apt
Increased GO version to 1.15.8
Fix issue with ss -a in WSL2 limiting the version of iproute2 to 5.8

Existing users can update immediately by running $ pengwin-setup update.

Report bugs here.

Huge thanks to Andrew Fehr, Hoàng, WSLUser, all contributors, and issue reporters.

-Carlos

GUI app support has arrived for the Windows Subsystem for Linux on the latest Windows Insiders Preview build 21362+ and Pengwin supports it out of the box

April 21, 2021 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Today is a historic day. Microsoft unveiled official GUI support for WSL without installing an X Server and also comes with GPU accelerated OpenGL support. With Pengwin, this support comes already built-in.

The announcement was made via the official WSL blog: The Initial Preview of GUI app support is now available for the Windows Subsystem for Linux | Windows Command Line (microsoft.com)

Let’s follow some steps so you can squeeze the best of this technology.

WSLg installation

Once you have upgraded your Windows Insider to at least build 21362, you will need to upgrade your WSL installation.

Be sure that Pengwin is already running in WSL 2. If not, first switch it with wsl --set-version WLinux 2. Then run wsl --shutdown
Upgrade WSL running wsl --update from an elevated command prompt or PowerShell. And restart WSL with wsl --shutdown.

Installing the graphic driver in Windows

It recommended running WSLg on a system with virtual GPU (vGPU) enabled for WSL so you can benefit from hardware-accelerated OpenGL rendering. You can find a preview driver supporting WSL from each of our partners below.

For more information: GitHub - microsoft/wslg: Enabling the Windows Subsystem for Linux to include support for Wayland and X server related scenarios

Tune Pengwin

Upgrade Pengwin

If you are installing a fresh version of Pengwin, you have GUI and GPU support out of the box. If not, you need to update it. Run:

pengwin-setup update
pengwin-setup install GUI GUILIB

Enable D-Bus

Many Linux apps rely on D-Bus to work properly. This support is installed in Pengwin running:

pengwin-setup install GUI GUILIB

Enable High DPI

If your DPI is more than 100%, you will need to adjust it with:

pengwin-setup install GUI HIDPI

Install GUI apps

You can install some terminal applications directly on the GUI menu. Also, you can install any GUI app just using the apt command. Install what you need and then create the start menu options:

pengwin-setup startmenu

WSLg comes built-in with Start Menu shortcuts, but we still recommend the ones generated by Pengwin to take advantage of the High DPI settings. The WSLg generated ones will say (WLinux) at the end of the name, whereas the Pengwin ones will end with (WSL)

Uninstall automatic X Server launch

If you already installed VcXSvr via pengwin-setup or automatic X410 server launch, it is time to uninstall them:

pengwin-setup uninstall X410
pengwin-setup uninstall VCXSRV

Some screenshots

glxinfo showing OpenGL GPU Accelerated

glxgears from Terminator with High DPI

Linux version of Blender

Ongoing support

We will work to give the best experience with WSLg but without lowering the support for other use cases like WSL1, x servers, or full desktop experience. We try that the experience is very similar to use one or another depending on your needs.

Enjoy It !!!

Raft WSL March update - Open distro home in File Explorer

March 12, 2021 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Raft WSL 21.3.0 has been released

Changelog

A new command button allows opening the distro home directory in File Explorer.
Improved the Windows Terminal Synchronization when the custom distros are renamed.
For Custom distros in Windows Terminal will now start with the home directory.
Added KDE Neon definition

Pengwin February Update. See what's new.

February 12, 2021 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Pengwin 21.2.1:

Improved Java installation via SDKMan and now it is compatible with IntelliJ IDEA 2021.1 EAP 3. You can now have your entire Java project on Pengwin, compile and execute everything from IntelliJ in Windows.
Upgraded to Homebrew 3
Upgraded the embedded VCXsrv to 1.20.9.0
Fixed a problem with the AWS CLI installer. We are working to bring the AWS CLI version 2 soon.
Ported the integration for CLion to every JetBrains tool. A new pengwin-setup item was added to support it. If you face problems with JetBrains tools, especially 2020 and older, run this command.

Fixed a leftover of the Cassandra installer. If you see an error message about “proc” please reinstall Cassandra or uninstall it if you are not using it anymore.
Upgraded Ruby on pengwin-setup and added compatibility with RubyMine
Adjust pinning rules to enable regular PPAs
Now Pengwin shows a helpful Message of the day giving information about the WSL environment.
Improved the winhome link creation with non-standard Windows Home Folder, like the ones that are in H:

Existing users can update immediately by running $ pengwin-setup update.

Report bugs here.

Huge thanks to Andrew Fehr, Javier Santos, Sascha Manns, all contributors, and issue reporters.

-Carlos

Raft WSL first 2021 version has released with the anticipated custom distros support

February 02, 2021 by Carlos Ramirez in news

We released Raft about one year ago. During this time, we have received feedback, and we understood better our users' needs. Bringing proper custom distros support required us to rethink the user interface. Thinking in after you install your favorite distro, Raft's focus should be the installed ones; we made a UI redesign that allows you to accommodate your custom distros and allows you to concentrate on your installed ones. We also took advantage of this change to incorporate the most recent Fluent Design controls.

Here is the result; we hope that you enjoy the changes.

Changelog

Now, the Available and Installed distros are separated, giving more relevance to the installed ones.
The installed distributions are now grouped by distribution name and grouping; for example, all Ubuntus below the same icon.
Clicking the distro name or icon shows a short command bar with the most used commands.
The right-click menu was redesigned to be more intuitive.
Now, the default WSL version can be selected from the toolbar with one click.
The main screen now is responsive, reducing the icons and titles to give you more information even if the window is small.
Added some acrylic effects on the title bar to give a more fluent feeling.

Custom distributions support

Every distribution you manually imported with wsl --import is now visible and administered from Raft.
You can rename the imported distros in Raft
If you synchronize with Windows Terminal, the logos and labels of the custom distros will be migrated as well.
Now, when restoring a snapshot, a new option will be presented, allowing you to create a new custom distro instead of restoring in place.
Now, you can specify the default directory for all your newly created custom distros in the settings.

(New) Create custom distro from snapshot.png

Miscellaneous

Added SLES 15.1 and SLES 15.2
Now, in ARM64, the available distros shown are restricted to the ones available for the ARM64 platform.
For Custom distros in Windows Terminal will now start with the home directory.
Added KDE Neon definition

Pengwin December Update. See what's new.

December 23, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Pengwin 20.12.1 features:

Improved the Homebrew installer and added fish support
Increased the Python version to 3.9.1
Improved the Python installation menu in pengwin-setup
pengwin-setup now installs .NET SDK 5.0
Upgrade node.js to 15
Added Poetry package manager as an option in the Python installer.
Now, if you backup your distro using wsl --export, when you restore it, the default user will be kept instead of root.
The Go installer now plays nice with fish; also, it creates a default structure in the home directory. "pengwin-setup install PROGRAMMING GO" now works.
You can now call "pengwin-setup install XX YY" instead of autoinstall.
You can now call "pengwin-setup uninstall XX" instead of autoinstall UNINSTALL.

Existing users can update immediately by running $ pengwin-setup update.

Report bugs here.

Huge thanks to Javier Santos, Andrew Fehr, Sascha Manns, WSLUser, all contributors, and issue reporters.

-Carlos

Pengwin 20.10.1 released. See what's new.

October 13, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Pengwin 20.10.1 features:

Fix docker installer if Pengwin is switched from WSL2 to WSL1.
Now you can put in your home a file named .pengwinbackupignore to exclude files and folders from the home backup in pengwin-setup
Node.js was upgraded to version 14.
Fixed a problem with the fish installer.
Fix a problem with rc.local support
pengwin-setup now has the "update" command to update the packages
Add an "autoinstall" command to pengwin-setup to issue automated installations, for example, pengwin-setup autoinstall GUI HIGHDPI
Added a "startmenu" command to pengwin-setup to automatically regenerate the shortcuts added to Windows Start Menu.
Fix a problem with .NET Core and PowerShell installers.
The default apt sources now include Debian stable to help with installations made for Debian Buster
Upgrade WSLU to 3.2.1 with fixes in wslusc and wslview.
Now includes fonts from the Windows user local path.

Existing users can update immediately by running $ pengwin-setup update.

Report bugs here.

Huge thanks to Javier Santos, Andrew Fehr, all contributors, and issue reporters.

-Carlos

Raft WSL 20.8.4 support WSL2 in WIndows 1903 and 1909

August 25, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Recently Microsoft announced that WSL2 was ported to the Windows versions that were released in 2019. (WSL 2 Support is coming to Windows 10 Versions 1903 and 1909)

Be sure that you apply the update: KB4566116. Let’s now refresh what improvements you will see once you get WSL2 support:

Raft will show if your distribution is in WSL 1 or 2: A visual indicator over the distribution will indicate to you which version your distribution is installed.
Change the default WSL between versions 1 and 2: You can choose every time which version do you want to be used for new installations and for snapshot restoring.
Change the WSL version for any installed distribution: Your existing distributions can be switched to WSL 2 and switched back to WSL 1. Raft will offer to create a snapshot in case something goes bad.
Enable WSL 2 support in Windows if it is needed: When you receive your Windows Update, Raft WSL will help you enabling WSL 2 support upon your request.

This update will help you squeeze the best of WSL.

Cheers

Windows Terminal support comes to Raft WSL 20.8.1

August 04, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Hello,

After months of work and tests, we are proud to release Widows Terminal support in Raft WSL.

This version includes:

Run any installed distribution with Windows Terminal instead of the default console.
Update distro data in Windows Terminal like name and icon.
Make Windows Terminal the default when you double click a distro in Raft.
Added OpenSUSE Leap 15.2

For the next release, we are preparing more Windows Terminal tweaks and something new. Stay tuned!

-Carlos

Pengwin 20.7.0 released. See what's new.

July 29, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Pengwin 20.7.0 has been released, including pengwin-base build 615 and pengwin-setup build 1542.

Pengwin 20.7.0 features:

Solves an incompatibility between glibc 2.31 and WSL 1. Pengwin now provides a patched version 2.31-1.wsl. Thank you ChrisTX for the patch: https://gist.github.com/ChrisTX/391fe201b3d72d3b3dac17066100347d
Enable unattended installations with pengwin-setup. For example to enable high-dpi write: pengwin-setup --noupdate -y GUI HIDPI
Improve High DPI support for GTK, the feature is not experimental anymore and we recommend to use it with Qt and GTK apps with high-resolution displays.
Updated the C++ integration with IDEs to include newer versions of CLion (and other JetBrains IDEs). Just run the C++ option again in pengwin-setup.
Fixed the dbus configuration so the FIle Manager in XFCE runs. Run again GUILIB in pengwin-setup
Fixed a regression with the MariaDB installation in the LAMP installation.
pengwin-setup now installs Python 3.8.3

Existing users can update immediately by running $ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y.

Report bugs here.

Huge thanks to Patrick, all contributors, and issue reporters.

-Carlos

Raft WSL 20.4.3 released with full support for ARM64 and Ubuntu 20.04

April 24, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

Hello,

After dealing with a bug that prevented Raft to run in ARM64 devices, we could release a fix, and now every characteristic is available on devices like Surface Pro X.

This version includes:

Full support for ARM64.
Now Ubuntu 20.04 is listed and can be managed.

We made a small UI fix in the restore warning message.

For the next release, we are preparing Windows Terminal support. Stay tuned!

-Carlos

Raft is ready for WSL 2

January 30, 2020 by Carlos Ramirez in news

If you are in Windows Insider the wait is over, for you Raft will help you with your WSL 2 distributions. If you are in Windows stable you will be ready when you receive the update and Raft will help you in your migration process.

So what’s new in Raft WSL?

Full WSL 2 support:

Raft will show if your distribution is in WSL 1 or 2: A visual indicator over the distribution will indicate to you which version your distribution is installed.
Change the default WSL between versions 1 and 2: You can choose every time which version do you want to be used for new installations and for snapshot restoring.
Change the WSL version for any installed distribution: Your existing distributions can be switched to WSL 2 and switched back to WSL 1. Raft will offer to create a snapshot in case something goes bad.
Enable WSL 2 support in Windows if it is needed: When you receive your update to Windows 10 2004, Raft WSL will help you enabling WSL 2 support upon your request.

Running indicator: Now Raft put a green dot when your distro is running.

Either you are an insider or use stable versions of Windows this update will help you squeeze the best of WSL.

Cheers