Coreutils Replaces WSL for Eight Essential Commands

A tech writer recently switched from using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) to Microsoft's Coreutils on their Windows machine. The reason was not a dislike of WSL, but rather the discovery that he only used it for eight specific commands: ls, grep, find, cat, and others.

The writer's experience is significant because it shows how Microsoft's Coreutils can replace a Linux subsystem for file management, log filtering, and small scripts on Windows. The commands worked seamlessly in the native terminal, including recursive find operations that were faster than running from WSL.

What made the biggest impact was the elimination of context switching between terminals. With WSL, the writer had to mentally prepare to switch between their main window and the Linux terminal. This is no longer necessary with Coreutils.