Welcome to Ariadne

Your guide through the labyrinth of Linux on Windows

Ariadne helps Windows users set up a modern Linux environment using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Named after the mythological princess who gave Theseus a golden thread to navigate the labyrinth, this guide will help you navigate the sometimes confusing world of the command line.

Who is this for?

This guide is designed for Windows users new to Linux who want to:

  • Run AI tools like Claude Code, OpenCode, or Codex
  • Learn the basics of working in a terminal
  • Use powerful command-line tools
  • Automate tasks with scripts
No prior Linux experience required

Each chapter explains concepts from the ground up. If you can install software on Windows, you can follow this guide.

Chapters

Setup

Get WSL running with a beautiful, modern terminal

1. Install a Nerd Font 2. Install WSL 3. Configure Windows Terminal 4. Run the Bootstrap Script

Terminal Basics

Learn to navigate and work in the terminal

5. Your First Session 6. Filesystem Navigation 7. Working with Files

Tools

Master modern command-line utilities

8. Searching (ripgrep, fd, fzf) 9. Git & LazyGit

AI Coding

Install AI-powered coding assistants

10. AI Coding Tools

Reference

Customisation and problem-solving

11. Themes 12. Troubleshooting

Quick Start

If you're experienced with Linux and just want the bootstrap script, you can run this in an Ubuntu WSL terminal:

Ubuntu 
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomasrice/ariadne-wsl/master/bootstrap.sh | bash

For everyone else, start with installing a Nerd Font and work through the chapters in order.