Show Windows 10’s new Ubuntu-based Bash shell doesn’t function like a normal program. To uninstall it or reset its state to get a fresh Linux environment, you’ll need to use a few special commands. Update: As of the Fall Creators Update, you can now uninstall Ubuntu or any other Linux distribution like a normal application. For example, to uninstall Ubuntu, just right-click the Ubuntu shortcut in your Start menu and click “Uninstall”. To reinstall a Linux distribution, download it from the Store once again. When you reinstall, you’ll get a fresh copy of the Linux environment. You can also run the RELATED: How to Install and Use the Linux Bash Shell on Windows 10 All of the below commands can either be run in a Command Prompt window or a PowerShell window. Right-click the Start button or press Windows+X on your keyboard and select “Command Prompt” to open a Command Prompt window. If you’d like to use PowerShell instead, you can launch PowerShell from the Start menu. How to Uninstall the Ubuntu Environment and Keep Your Home FolderUpdate: As
of the May 2019 Update, use the wsl --unregister DistributionName For example, to uninstall Ubuntu, you’d run: wsl --unregister Ubuntu You can run On older versions of Windows 10, to remove the downloaded Bash environment, open a Command Prompt window and run the following command. This will uninstall and delete the Ubuntu user environment from your system, including any Linux applications you downloaded and installed with apt-get or by compiling them from source. lxrun /uninstall Windows will ask you to confirm your choice. To automatically accept the confirmation–ideal if you want to use this command in a script, for example–run
the This command won’t delete your home folder and the files in it. If you’d like to completely wipe the Linux system, see the next section. How to Uninstall the Ubuntu Environment and Delete Your Home FolderThe above command won’t delete your Ubuntu user account’s home folder. The home folder contains user preferences and files. If you install a new Ubuntu user space image, the files in your home folder will be preserved and carried over. If you want to prevent this from happening, you’ll need to remove the downloaded Bash environment and completely wipe your home folder. To do so, run the following command: lxrun /uninstall /full You’ll be asked to confirm your choice. To automatically accept the confirmation, run the How to Reinstall the Ubuntu EnvironmentTo reinstall the Bash environment, you can just run the You can also run the following command yourself. This is the same command that bash.exe automatically runs if you launch it without a Ubuntu user space image installed. lxrun /install Whether you run To skip this process, you can run the following command instead. This command will automatically agree to the prompts, setting the “root” account as the default user account without a password. This is helpful if you want to automate the process of installing Bash in a script. lxrun /install /y How to Remove Windows 10’s Bash Tools CompletelyIf you’d like to remove the bash.exe tool and the Windows Subsystem for Linux from your computer completely, you’ll need to revisit the “Turn Windows Features On or Off” dialog in the Control Panel. To find it, open the Control Panel and head to Programs > Turn Windows Features On or Off. Uncheck the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” option here and click OK. Windows will uninstall the Windows Subsystem for Linux, bash.exe, and lxrun.exe commands. You can always revisit the Windows Features dialog to reinstall them in the future. READ NEXT
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