Documentation for installation on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

[kindrowboat]

@jmercouris suggested here in #56, to create WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) installation instructions. I'd be happy to write this up and make a PR. The only issue is that there are a lot of variables when setting up GUI applications for WSL, and the actual installation of nyxt is the same as for whatever it would be in the native Linux distribution. For instance these were the steps I took:

1. Install WSL
2. Install Debian from the Windows app store (though you could install any Linux distribution)
3. (I then upgraded to Sid, which wouldn't be necessary or even relevant, except that the .deb may or may not work on Buster.)
4. Install x410 (though there are many other Windows X servers that work with WSL)
5. Configure WSL instance for x410 (configuration may be different on different Windows X servers)
6. install nyxt .deb file

[Ambrevar]

Looks good to me!

It's OK to keep the instructions generic and provide pointers to the relevant official documentation.

Feel free to send a pull request and I'll merge! Thanks again!

[alpox]

I got this to work also with Ubuntu Focal (From the Windows Store) together with VcXsrv. Minor catch: It only works with wgl set to false respectively adding the -wgl flag when starting VcXsrv. As I mentioned here.

[Ambrevar]

Thanks for the details! @alpox @motevets Would you like to open a pull request to update the installation instruction with these details?

[bradrn]

Using @motevets’s instructions, I have successfully managed to get Nyxt working on Ubuntu WSL. Admittedly, it’s working badly enough that it’s barely useable, but that’s at least an improvement over the last time I tried building it. Specifically, every couple of seconds, Nyxt becomes unresponsive; this appears to happen every time it prints a message ‘Failed to get the memory usage’.

Minor catch: It only works with wgl set to false respectively adding the -wgl flag when starting VcXsrv. As I mentioned here.

I’m also using VcXsrv, and I found this as well.

[jmercouris]

What does it mean to be barely usable? Is it very slow? crashes often? can you please elaborate?

[bradrn]

@jmercouris By ‘barely usable’ I meant what I said:

… every couple of seconds, Nyxt becomes unresponsive; this appears to happen every time it prints a message ‘Failed to get the memory usage’.

This problem is bad enough that I couldn’t even use Nyxt to e.g. log in to GitHub and comment here.

[jmercouris]

I am sorry, I should have specified. Becoming unresponsive means freezing, or crashing?

[bradrn]

I meant that it freezes.

[jmercouris]

OK, I see, thank you!

[jaynemo]

I got this to work also with Ubuntu Focal (From the Windows Store) together with VcXsrv. Minor catch: It only works with wgl set to false respectively adding the -wgl flag when starting VcXsrv.

1 note- with the style of command line arguments used by VcXsrv, '-wgl' actually enables the server to use the Windows WGL interface for accelerating OpenGL. '-nowgl' disables it.

[aadcg]

Thanks for these instructions.

Is anyone able to run Nyxt 3.0.0 on WSL? If so, would someone be kind enough to send us a PR with instructions? :)

[Johnnathansn]

Thanks for these instructions.

Is anyone able to run Nyxt 3.0.0 on WSL? If so, would someone be kind enough to send us a PR with instructions? :)

Yes.

on a fresh ubuntu WSL2 install I had to do the following:

1: sudo apt install make sbcl libwebkit2gtk-4.1 libfixposix3 libfixposix-dev build-essential ps: I didn't install everything at once, I was installing things as I was getting errors from 'make all'

2: installed quicklisp and tried to update it after (just in case)- https://lisp-lang.org/learn/getting-started/

$ curl -o /tmp/ql.lisp http://beta.quicklisp.org/quicklisp.lisp
$ sbcl --no-sysinit --no-userinit --load /tmp/ql.lisp \
       --eval '(quicklisp-quickstart:install :path "~/.quicklisp")' \
       --eval '(ql:add-to-init-file)' \
       --quit
$ sbcl --eval '(ql:update-dist "quicklisp")'

3: make all got an error: 1: not having .git folder - I just did a 'git init' and apparently solved the issue

4:make install got an error: 1: installation couldn't create folder /usr/local/share/applications - I just manually did it and still got an error. At this point I tried running 'sudo make install' and then it worked. ( might not be the solution you want lol )

I did this as my normal user, maybe I should have done with root/sudo for everything ( don't know ) After that I think it was ok, I still get some errors in the background

[aadcg]

@Johnnathansn thanks for sharing.

Note that to install Nyxt you don't need Quicklisp. You need to clone the git repository or to download the sources with all CL dependencies (source-with-submodules at https://github.com/atlas-engineer/nyxt/releases). Then make install DESTDIR=<dir> PREFIX=<dir> should do it.