I have used Linux for my development environment for years. It’s easy to use, easy to fix, lightweight, and lets me focus at the task on hand instead of random notifications and distractions. The system works perfectly for a development environment where you’re constantly testing and breaking new things.
However, I could never get rid of Windows. Despite some thinking that Linux is actually the better OS for gaming, compatibility issues with anti-cheat programs and program unavailability have kept me tied to Microsoft’s OS. So instead of managing two different OSes for different tasks, I decided to ditch Linux for Windows as my development environment—and it’s much better than I expected.
Why I started developing on Windows again
After years in Linux land, I wanted to see if Windows could finally keep up
When I first got into programming, I actually did start with Windows. After all, it was the OS I was already using as a kid. However, I realized very quickly that installing developer dependencies, setting up files and servers were all a hassle on Windows. On Linux, you could install anything with a single command, find troubleshooting or configuration steps easily, and it just worked better in development environment.
The idea of a development OS sounds great, especially if you consider just how easy it is to mess Windows up. Using a Linux distro to work on my projects was the ideal way of keeping my Windows installation clean, and avoid any issues I’d run into when installing and uninstalling tons of random tools, servers, and other programs.
But all of my games, and a ton of other frequently used programs didn’t have Linux equivalents. That’s not to say you find alternatives that are equally good or even better than the Windows-exclusive programs you’re using, but you’ll have to spend time and effort to relearn them again. It’s one of the biggest surprises that caught me off guard when I switched to Linux.
This left me with a dual-boot setup running Windows and Linux Mint side-by-side. Dual-booting is easier than you think and it’s a great way of running multiple OSes on the same PC. However, if you run into a situation where you need to use a program that’s on your second OS, in my case, Photoshop and Illustrator on Windows, I had to pause my development work, and switch over to Windows.
Needless to say, this is an extremely frustrating downside and a huge productivity killer. I tried using programs like Wine and Winboat, even tried a couple of gaming Linux distros to get my games to play nicely with Linux. I also tried using VMs (Virtual Machines) to run Linux alongside Windows—one of the reasons why I always have a VM handy.
Some of these solutions worked quite well, especially VMs. However, having two separate OSes in the mix never felt natural to me. In the end, I decided to give development on Windows another shot, and was pleasantly surprised.
Windows Terminal is actually good now
Tabs, themes, and WSL make it feel less like 2003 and more like a real dev tool
When I moved away from Windows for coding, the command-line interface was a joke. Now, the Windows terminal supports multiple tabs, split panes, and can run PowerShell, Command Prompt, and WSL distros all in one surprisingly customizable interface.
You can split the terminal horizontally or vertically, navigate between panes, and even enable transparency to reference data behind the terminal. If you’ve got WSL 2 installed, you can run your favorite Linux terminal tools, spin up Docker containers, and use all the Linux command line utilities you’re familiar with. Then there are apps that are productivity game changers for anyone using the Windows terminal.
In fact, WSL2 was how I could run this colorful CLI app for Windows that’s better than Task Manager. It also let me switch to a text-based calendar and it was shockingly efficient. The Windows terminal is a lot more powerful, useable, and in no way lacking for features, at least for my requirements.
The terminal also has a feature called quake mode that deserves special mention—hit a keyboard shortcut and your terminal drops down from the top of your screen, stays visible while you work on other tasks, and gets out of the way when you don’t need it.
The Windows ecosystem is quietly nailing productivity
I’ve noticed a steady rise in excellent productivity tools for Windows over the years that makes working in the OS a breeze. One of the most important ones that you should know about is Microsoft PowerToys. It’s got tons of features Microsoft should ship as default in Windows 11.
In fact, PowerToys Run has replaced my Start menu and I can’t imagine going back. It’s spiritual successor, the Command Palette, renders Windows Search irrelevant—solving a big pain point for me. And as great as PowerToys is, there are Windows apps that beat its individual features. I have an entire list of Windows utilities that go on every machine I set up.
Windows now also has winget, a legitimate package manager that works from the command line, much like apt from Linux. You can install 20 Windows apps with one command now. I can even rebuild my entire Windows setup in minutes using winget.
Windows still has its quirks
Yes, updates still suck. But they’re easier to live with than you think
I’m not pretending that Windows is perfect. It requires way more system resources to run than a lean Linux Mint setup, and there are hiccups from time to time. And depending on your development work, it might make sense to stay on Linux in the first place. For example, you’ll have a much better time working on Linux if you’re doing server-side development that mirrors production Linux environments.
Windows Updates can still break your system out of nowhere, which can seriously affect work. Programs act up sometimes, and you still get the somewhat-broken-but-still-functional Windows experience that we’ve all become familiar with over the years.
The Windows 11 developer experience isn’t bad at all
Windows 11 is finally dev-friendly
For mixed-stack development—especially if you need Windows-only tools, and use the same machine as your everyday computer—Windows has become remarkably capable. Windows has finally stopped feeling like a compromise when it comes to development workloads.
So, unless you have a specific requirement or reason to stay on Linux and are okay with handling the quirks of using two OSes, code your next project on Windows. You might be surprised by what you’ve been missing.