Windows 11 → Ansible = FULL WSL & VS Code Setup
Stop wasting system resources on heavy Virtual Machines! In this video, I show you how to install and setup Ansible on Windows 11 natively using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and VS Code. This is the fastest, most efficient way to run Ansible on a Windows machine in 2026.
(Windows Subsystem for Linux) — no virtual machines, no dual-boot, just pure simplicity!
Perfect for network engineers, DevOps practitioners, and automation enthusiasts who want to run Ansible on Windows without the overhead of VMs. This complete guide takes you from zero to running Ansible in minutes!
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📝 ALL COMMANDS USED:
🔍 STEP 1: CHECK AND ENABLE WSL
wsl --status
wsl -l -v
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart
⬆️ STEP 2: UPDATE AND CONFIGURE WSL 2
wsl --update
wsl --set-default-version 2
🐧 STEP 3: INSTALL UBUNTU LINUX
wsl --list --online
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04
(Launch Ubuntu and create user account)
📦 STEP 4: UPDATE LINUX AND CHECK SYSTEM
lsb_release -a
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
🐍 STEP 5: SETUP PYTHON ENVIRONMENT
python3 --version
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv -y
python3 -m venv ansible_v
source ansible_v/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip
⚡ STEP 6: INSTALL ANSIBLE
pip index versions ansible
pip install ansible
pip list
ansible --version
📚 STEP 7: EXPLORE ANSIBLE CAPABILITIES
ansible-galaxy collection path
ansible-doc -l
ansible-doc -l | grep cisco
ansible-doc ios_config
💡 WHY WSL?
Traditional: ❌ Heavy VMs ❌ Dual-boot ❌ Resource intensive
WSL: ✅ Native Linux ✅ Minimal resources ✅ Quick setup ✅ Perfect for labs
🎓 SKILL LEVEL: Beginner-Friendly
No prior Linux or Ansible experience required!
📚 USEFUL LINKS:
Ansible Docs: https://docs.ansible.com
WSL Docs: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wind...
Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com
Questions? Drop them in the comments!