NSpawn Subsystem for Linux (nsl) gives a Linux host persistent Linux machines, similar to WSL for Windows. Each machine is a whole distro with its own packages and services, running as a systemd-nspawn container in one small VM. It starts when you use it and works within your files.

Key features include: any distro one command away, with your $HOME, username, UID, GID, and passwordless sudo accessible at /mnt/host. Ports are reachable on host 127.0.0.1, and Wayland applications open windows on your desktop. Seven signed distros are available: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS Stream, Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed, and Leap.

Isolation is provided via the --isolated flag, giving a machine its own VM with no access to host files or desktop. nsl runs as your user, installing no host packages and changing no device permissions.

Pre-release: v0.4.0 is the first release of this design, tested on Snow Linux 13 with systemd 261.2, QEMU 10.0.13, virtiofsd 1.13.2, and GNOME Wayland.