GoKawiilNSL brings WSL-style nested Linux distros to Linux
NSL is a new command-line tool that lets Linux users launch a login shell into any of seven prebuilt distros—Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS Stream, Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap—with a single command. The tool mounts the host's home directory, keeps the user's UID, GID and passwordless sudo, forwards network ports, and passes through Wayland windows to the desktop. An --isolated flag can instead run a distro in its own VM with no access to host files or desktop actions.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
By mirroring the user's identity and desktop into a guest distro, NSL could make it easier to test software across different Linux distributions without maintaining separate machines or containers. The isolated mode suggests an attempt to balance convenience with safety, letting untrusted software run without touching the host system, though how robust that isolation is in practice is not detailed.
- NSL supports seven signed, weekly-rebuilt Linux distros as nested environments.
- Default mode shares host files, ports, UID/GID and Wayland windows for seamless integration.
- An --isolated flag runs a distro in a separate VM with no host access for untrusted software.
Source: frostyard.github.io, 2026-09-29
Published there as: “Show HN: NSL – WSL for Linux”
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