Install kitty on Ubuntu in WSL2

kitty-in-wsl2.md

How to Install kitty in Ubuntu in WSL2

These seteps have been tested on Windows 10 with WSL2 running Kali Linux.

1. Dependencies

First install the dependencies:

Install OpenGL

apt install mesa-utils libglu1-mesa-dev freeglut3-dev mesa-common-dev

There are more than we need, but also include GLut and Glu libraries to link against during compilation.

Check OpenGL version using glxinfo -B. kitty requires working OpenGL 3.3 drivers.

2. Window Server

Installing

Then, you will need to setup a window server. Windows 11 should have this built in and work out of the box (skip to step 3). Windows 10 you will need to install one VcXsrv is a popular option (also known as XLaunch).

Configuration

Once installed, then you will need to make a configuration. You want the following settings:

• First Screen: Multi-Window, Display=0

• Second Screen: Start No Client

• Third Screen: Clipboard=True, Primary Selection=True, Native OpenGL=False, Disable Access Control=True

I then recomend you save your configuration file somewhere so that each time you start you window server you can open it instead of rebuilding it. Then start your window server.

WSL Display

Once you have setup and started your Window server, you need to tell Ubuntu/WSL where your display is, we can do this by running the following command:

export DISPLAY=$(awk '/nameserver / {print $2; exit}' /etc/resolv.conf 2>/dev/null):0
export LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=0

You will need to do this for every new shell you open. Alternatively, you can add this to your .bashrc file to have your shell do it for you an start up.

3. Running a Test

After the following configuration you should be able to run the test application below and see some multi-colored gears spinning:

glxgears

4. Installing kitty

Install kitty via sudo apt install kitty

(Optional : If you want to display images in terminal) Install ImageMagick using sudo apt install imagemagick and verify it convert -version

start it via kitty

To display emojis in the terminal:

• Install an emoji font
• Create a file ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf and add the content to tell the preferred font for rendering emojis:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd">
<fontconfig>
  <alias>
    <family>serif</family>
    <prefer>
      <family>Noto Color Emoji</family>
    </prefer>
  </alias>
  <alias>
    <family>sans-serif</family>
    <prefer>
      <family>Noto Color Emoji</family>
    </prefer>
  </alias>
  <alias>
    <family>monospace</family>
    <prefer>
      <family>Noto Color Emoji</family>
    </prefer>
  </alias>
</fontconfig>

• To get the font family name use: fc-query -f '%{family[0]}\n' /path/to/font.ttf

im using an archlinux wsl and i get this:

➜ ~ glxgears
Error: couldn't open display 10.255.255.254:0

after

export DISPLAY=$(awk '/nameserver / {print $2; exit}' /etc/resolv.conf 2>/dev/null):0
export LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=0

i set DISPLAY=:0 and glxgears worked after that, but I still get this when trying to run kitty:

[059 15:56:58.646737] [glfw error 65544]: Wayland: Failed to connect to display
GLFW initialization failed

fixed it by deleting /lib/kitty/kitty/glfw-wayland.so

can i run kitty terminal by default instead of having to launch wsl and then type kitty