frostyard.github.io
Show HN: NSL – WSL for Linux
One of the things that Windows really got right is WSL2. I drive an atomic Linux distro for daily use, but wanted a way to develop with multiple different distros with that same WSL UX. NSL is my answer. It is a faithful reproduction of the developer experience, powered by a single VM that hosts one or more systemd-nspawn containers with your development instances. Host file edits and port sharing come along for the ride, just like WSL. Take a look and tell me what you think... It's yet another step in my long journey to keep my host installation free from all the changing and breaking dev dependencies that force a reinstall every few months.
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Yeah, I can see why you'd want this. Being able to cobble it together with other tools is one thing. Having it ready to go without a bunch of setup is still a win. Got a quick demo? Just opening an editor, running a dev server, and showing how you access the files would help me get a feel for it.
I have to say this is nice packaging. It is weirdly not obvious how nice it is to cleanly use a different “machine” inside your desktop. I never thought I’d prefer WSL to even my MacBook for working with remote servers and dev but somehow I do. I of course know the many ways to roll something like this for myself, yes dev containers are better for many things etc. but it’s wierd how good the ergonomics of a WSL like container are.
I have never heard of "Snow Linux" before. The homepage is minimal: https://snowlinux.org/ I submitted the Github page as a new story: https://github.com/frostyard/snowdesktop https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49907568
How does it differ from existing tools kinda do exactly same, like e.g. toolbx. (And to a slightly lesser degree flatpack, snap, etc.)? And what prevented adopting/supporting existing projects, instead of further tool ecosystem fragmentation? (kinda the same question, just differently phrased)
I'm confused why VM + systemd-nspawn? From my understaing WSL 2 runs a single VM + something like systemd-nspawn per "linux installation", but it runs a VM because it needs linux kernel. Why not just do systemd-nspawn if you alread on linux?