Project

WSL Container Manager

A Docker-Desktop-style Windows app for WSL containers. Every button maps to a real, documented CLI command, and it never fakes what it cannot do.

What it is

WSL Container Manager is a Docker-Desktop-style Windows application for managing WSL containers. It gives you the pages you would expect, containers, images, resources, deploy, and settings, in a native-feeling desktop app, without asking you to memorize another CLI.

Its design stance is unusual enough to be worth stating: the app never fakes what it cannot do. Every button maps to a real, documented CLI command against the actual wsl.exe and wslc.exe on your machine. Before a feature lights up, the app checks the host's own help output to prove the command exists there. If your installation does not support something, the button is disabled with an honest explanation, not hidden behind a spinner and a vague error.

The whole thing ships as a single compiled Windows executable. No runtime dependencies, no installer that drags in half an ecosystem. Download it, run it, manage your containers.

Who it is for

Windows developers who run containers in WSL and would like a trustworthy GUI over what is otherwise a command-line workflow.

What it does

Capability gating.

Features are enabled only when the host's own wslc --help output proves the underlying command exists.

Import from docker-compose and Kubernetes.

Bring existing definitions across instead of rewriting them.

Graceful degradation.

On hosts without wslc, the app still runs and clearly shows what is and is not available.

Under the hood

Deno and React inside WebView2, compiled into one Windows exe with no runtime dependencies. Backed by a 166-test suite, continuous integration, a release guide, and full Diátaxis documentation.

Interested?

We build desktop tools with the same honesty we put into everything else. If you need one, or just want this one, get in touch.

Talk to us

Build notes for WSL Container Manager