If you're a macOS user and looking for a way to run Ubuntu like WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), you're in luck. While macOS doesn’t have WSL natively, there are several great tools that can give you a very similar experience — lightweight, seamless, and developer-friendly.

Below are the best ways to run Ubuntu on macOS with a WSL-style workflow.

1. Multipass – Lightweight Ubuntu VM (WSL-like)

Multipass is a lightweight VM manager made by Canonical (the makers of Ubuntu), and it's one of the closest things to WSL on macOS.

🔧 Install via Homebrew: 

brew install --cask multipass

🚀 Launch Ubuntu: 

multipass launch --name ubuntu --mem 2G --disk 10G
multipass shell ubuntu

Boom! You're inside an Ubuntu shell — super fast, no GUI, just like WSL.

📁 Mount macOS folder into Ubuntu: 

multipass mount ~/Projects ubuntu:/home/ubuntu/Projects

This lets you share files between macOS and Ubuntu easily.

2. UTM – Full Ubuntu VM with GUI (WSL2-Like)

UTM is a virtual machine app for macOS that's easy to use and lets you run a full Ubuntu system, including GUI.

🔧 Steps:

  1. Download and install UTM.
  2. Download an Ubuntu ISO (use ARM64 for M1/M2 Macs).
  3. Create a new VM → Choose Ubuntu → Attach the ISO.
  4. Allocate RAM, CPU, and storage.
  5. Install Ubuntu like on a real machine.

UTM uses Apple’s virtualization framework on Apple Silicon, so it's pretty fast and responsive for a GUI-based VM.

3. Colima + Dockerized Ubuntu

If you're into container-based workflows, Colima is an awesome Docker runtime for macOS. Combine it with an Ubuntu container for a super lightweight experience.

🔧 Install: 

brew install colima
brew install docker
colima start

🐧 Run Ubuntu: 

docker run -it ubuntu

You'll be dropped into an Ubuntu shell instantly — perfect for scripting, dev tools, and testing.

🔍 Quick Comparison

Method WSL-Like Feel GUI Support Resource Usage Best For
Multipass ✅✅✅ ❌ Lightweight CLI, Dev, Folder Sharing
UTM ✅✅ ✅✅✅ Moderate Full Linux GUI Usage
Colima + Docker ✅✅ ❌ Super Light Containerized Workflows

✨ Conclusion

Even without official WSL support, macOS users can still get an excellent Ubuntu experience using tools like Multipass, UTM, or Colima. Whether you prefer a terminal-only setup or a full Linux desktop, these tools make it easy.

If you’ve got other tips or setups for running Linux on macOS, drop them in the comments. Happy hacking! 🚀