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v2 Pro Version
WSL Manager is open source and free. Everything that manages WSL — creating, copying, moving, deleting, snippets, service recipes, distro packages, mounting, .wslconfig editing, sync, remote WSL — is in the free version and always will be. The same goes for managing virtual machines on macOS.
Pro adds the AI-related extras. It is a one-time purchase — not a subscription.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Manage WSL distros (Windows) / VMs (macOS) locally | ✅ | ✅ |
| Snippets, community snippets, service recipes, templates, packages, mount, sync | ✅ | ✅ |
| Remote WSL over SSH | ✅ | ✅ |
| AI Assistant with tools (AI Chat, Configuration Assistant, Script Generation, Error Diagnosis) * | — | ✅ |
| Sandboxed AI chats and the task queue * | — | ✅ |
| AI Workspace | — | ✅ |
| MCP Server | — | ✅ |
* There is no AI service behind this app. The starred features run on credentials you bring — your own OpenAI-compatible API key, or your Claude subscription via Sign in with Claude. Nothing is hosted on our side, there is no quota, and no requests pass through anyone else's servers. You pay your provider directly, or point the app at a local model and pay nothing at all.
Buying Pro unlocks the features in the app. It does not buy AI credits.
AI Workspace works differently again: it installs and runs agents (Hermes Agent, OpenClaw, Open WebUI) inside an isolated WSL distro or VM on your own machine. Whatever those tools need — a model, a key of their own — is configured in them, not here.
Buy the app once on the Microsoft Store. That's it — no key to enter, no account, no expiry. The Store version unlocks Pro automatically; free updates included.
The builds published on GitHub Releases, winget, Scoop and Chocolatey are the same code, free, with the Pro features gated.
There is no Store install to detect on a Mac, so Pro arrives as a licence key bought on wslmanager.com/buy:
| Plan | Price | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $19.99, one-time | Individual developers. A lifetime licence for one person, on as many of your own machines as you like. |
| Commercial | $99 per seat, one-time | Required for companies and individuals above $1M annual revenue. Everything in Pro, perpetual, invoice with VAT/Tax ID, priority issue triage. |
After checkout the success page hands the key to the app through a wslmanager://license?key=… link (Activate in WSL Manager). If that doesn't open the app, open License in the sidebar and paste the key under Already have a licence key? The key is checked once online, rechecked every 14 days, and keeps working offline for 60 days. A key can also be pasted into a Windows GitHub build.
The macOS build is in beta. The buy page goes live together with the first public macOS release — until then the Windows Store purchase is the only way to buy Pro.
If you purchased the app on the Microsoft Store before the Pro version existed, the Store install unlocks Pro automatically — there is nothing to claim and no email to enter. Open License in the sidebar and it will read Pro plan.
If it still says Free plan, you are most likely running a GitHub/winget/Scoop build rather than the Store one. Install it from the Store with the Microsoft account you bought it with, then press Check again on the License page.
Not interested in Pro but want to help? A ⭐ on the repo, a sponsorship, a bug report, or a translation all genuinely help.