Windows 10 gets integration of Linux files in File Explorer

Microsoft previously shipped a full Linux kernel in Windows 10, and now the company plans to fully integrate Linux file access into the built-in file explorer. A new Linux icon will be available in the left navigation pane in File Explorer, giving access to the root file system for all distributions installed in Windows 10.

The icon that will appear in File Explorer is the famous Tux, the penguin mascot for the Linux kernel. Microsoft is testing the integration of Linux File Explorer in a new build of Windows 10 available today for testers.

All of this is powered by the Windows subsystem of Linux for Linux, a system that the company has gradually improved with Bash shell integration, native OpenSSH in Windows 10, and even Ubuntu, SUSE Linux, and Fedora in the Windows Store. Microsoft also launched a new Windows Terminal command line tool last year.

If you have WSL enabled, the Tux will appear in File Explorer and Microsoft will now ask for feedback on the integration before completing it as part of a future Windows 10 update. The software maker will be shipping this update to all Windows 10 users later this year.