As part of the Build 2026 developer conference, Microsoft spent much of its time discussing AI agents, local AI models, and new hardware for developers. While those announcements grabbed the headlines, some of the most interesting news was much smaller in scope.
As someone who spends a lot of time covering the desktop version of the operating system and apps, four announcements stood out to me, including Coreutils, WSL Containers, Intelligent Terminal, and Windows Developer Configurations.
Warning: These tools are not flashy for home users. However, they show that the company is determined to make the operating system more capable and developer-friendly by reducing the friction that has traditionally pushed developers toward Linux or macOS.
I spend a lot of my time typing commands, and while I spend the most time using Command Prompt, I also use Linux, and sometimes I feel that some of the commands are better on Linux.
Windows 11 already includes some tools based on Linux, such as sudo, curl, and tar, but one of the more surprising announcements from Build 2026 was the general availability of Coreutils.
The Coreutils for Windows is based on the open-source uutils project, and it brings Linux-style command-line utilities directly to Windows 11. For developers who regularly switch between Linux servers, cloud environments, containers, and local Windows 11 machines, this means many familiar commands (such as ls, cp, touch, mkdir, and pwd) can work natively without relying on third-party ports or workarounds.
This may not sound like a major feature, but it addresses a long-standing pain point that Microsoft is trying to fix with the Windows K2 initiative. Consistency counts when you’re switching between operating systems throughout the day. The less time spent remembering platform-specific differences, the more time you can spend actually building software.
You can install Coreutils from GitHub or by using Windows Package Manager with the “winget install Microsoft.Coreutils” command.
WSL Containers could make Docker optional for many developers
At Build 2026, the company also announced WSL Containers, which is a huge deal. In the past, if you wanted to run Linux containers on Windows 11, you had to install third-party platforms like Docker Desktop, Podman, or Rancher Desktop. However, WSL Containers introduces a built-in container runtime that replaces the dependency on third-party solutions in the operating system, using a new command-line tool called “wslc.exe” and an API.
According to the company, the WSL CLI uses a new binary that works out of the box for building, running, and deploying Linux containers.
The API for the container feature provides access to run “Linux containers programmatically” on native apps for Windows 11.
Behind the scenes, instead of requiring a complex, heavy third-party VM setup, WSLC spins up OCI-compatible Linux containers inside a dedicated, highly optimized Hyper-V utility VM managed natively by Windows 11. This virtual machine is completely isolated from your standard Linux distributions (like Ubuntu or Debian) and communicates with Windows via high-speed Hyper-V sockets.
The good news is that if you already know Docker, you know how to use WSLC, since the commands are pretty much identical. For example, to run a container, you’d need to run a command like: “wslc run -d -p 8080:80 –name web nginx”. In Docker, you would have run the “docker run -d -p 8080:80 –name web nginx” command.
Although anyone can use containers, Microsoft is adding policies to manage the feature using familiar controls.
Containers for WSL are not yet available, but the company will release this support in the coming months through regular updates for the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Intelligent Terminal is one of the more practical AI features Microsoft announced
Build 2026 included no shortage of AI announcements, but Intelligent Terminal was one of the few that immediately felt interesting.
The feature integrates AI agents directly into the terminal experience. Instead of copying error messages into a browser, searching for solutions, and manually applying fixes, developers can receive context-aware assistance without leaving the command line.
In other words, to avoid another AI backlash, the company forked a separate version of the Windows Terminal and added support for connecting AI agents, such as GitHub Copilot, rather than integrating Copilot into the Windows Terminal.
Microsoft says the feature can surface relevant context when commands fail, suggest solutions, and help complete multi-step tasks directly in the terminal.
Whether it’ll become an essential developer tool remains to be seen, but unlike many AI demonstrations that focus on future possibilities, Intelligent Terminal addresses a workflow problem developers encounter every day.
On Windows 11, you can install the Intelligent Terminal via the Microsoft Store, directly from Command Prompt (as an admin) using the “winget install Microsoft.IntelligentTerminal” command, and you can download the tool from GitHub.
Windows Developer Configurations solves a problem every developer has experienced
Setting up a new development or testing machine is rarely anyone’s favorite task, as it takes time and a very long list of steps.
Windows Developer Configurations aims to make that process dramatically easier through the Windows Package Manager (winget) configuration file (dev-config.winget), which installs common developer tools, applies recommended settings, and prepares a machine for development or testing with a single command.
The configuration includes tools such as Visual Studio Code, GitHub Copilot, PowerShell 7, WSL, Git, Python, and more. It can also apply developer-focused settings for the operating system, including showing file extensions and enabling Git integration in File Explorer.
This is not a tool that you need to install. Instead, it’s a configuration file with the “.winget” extension, where you can specify how you want to configure a particular setup. Microsoft has published a README file listing everything you can install and configure on the project’s official GitHub page.
What I like most about this announcement is that it focuses on reducing setup time. Whether you’re replacing a device, configuring multiple systems, or preparing computers for new developers, getting from a clean installation to a productive environment becomes much faster.
Windows Central’s Take
I found these announcements more interesting than some of the bigger Build 2026 reveals. New AI hardware and ambitious agent platforms are important, but they’re also aimed at a relatively small audience. Coreutils, WSL Containers, Intelligent Terminal, and Windows Developer Configurations focus on something much more practical, making Windows 11 easier to develop on.
Microsoft has spent years making its operating system a more welcoming platform for developers, and these announcements continue that effort. Instead of pushing Windows-specific approaches, the company is increasingly embracing the tools, workflows, and technologies developers already use. They’re not flashy features, but they’re the type of improvements that can save time every day.
A lot of people will never use any of these tools, but developers build the apps we use every day. If Microsoft can make its operating system a better platform for developers, the benefits eventually reach far beyond developers themselves.
What are your thoughts on Microsoft’s latest developer tools for Windows 11? Let me know in the comments!
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