Run Bash Scripts on Windows 10 Via Git Bash To Launch Linux GUI App

Git Bash Offers Integrity Options With Windows 10 Bash Making it Easy to Work on Both Windows & unix System. In old days, we used Git Bash with MinGW. Indeed, we have 5-7 years old guides on them. This Guide Will Help To Run Bash Scripts on Windows 10 Via Git Bash Almost Like The Way We Use Bash on Mac. We actually can run or update Mac GUI app from MacOS X bash. In the same way, we can launch Notepad or Nano from Windows Git Bash! This is a standalone shell, like PowerShell, Windows 10 Bash will be unaffected following this guide. Installing git on Windows Bash and installing git on windows in this way is different. There will not be any conflict. The environment variables are separate.

Then where is the integration? Git Bash and Windows Ubuntu Bash (wsl) are like two separate machines! We can actually execute command from each another. The output of the below command :

will be different on Git Bash and Windows Ubuntu Bash (wsl). Both of them can perform separate SSH. You can SSH from Git Bash to Windows Ubuntu Bash (wsl). It is not big deal, more about Linux server management. Unless your computer is server and port 22 is open to whole earth, slightly loose security setup will allow you to SSH.

You asked about where is the integration. SSH to localhost is integration. You’ll find lot of peoples trying to SSH to Windows Ubuntu Bash and failing. They forgot to set root’s password. After setting root password, thing will become somewhat like Mac! root by default not enabled in OS X. Apple’s software engineering part is beautiful. Microsoft’s just ugly.

What is the reason to do so much? Git Bash is allowed by package to open shell anywhere on Windows 10. You need not to fight with registry files, good looking window with True Type fonts.

How To Run Bash Scripts on Windows 10 Via Git Bash

First install Git Bash Windows GUI application :

Be super careful about installation options. You’ll select everything of UNIX system, including OpenSSL. After Git bash getting installed, open it. Tweak it to make it beautiful looking.

Now our peculiar work will start. Install XServer for Windows (recall we use it on Mac, this helps to run Linux GUI applications via bash) :

Now, open Ubuntu Bash. Open sshd_config config file, before that take backup :

and make it like this :

Save the file. Now add a password to your Ubuntu Bash by typing :

Now, restart SSH daemon on Ubuntu Bash :

After it restarts, SSH from your Git Bash :

It will ask for password. Enter your password. You’ll login to Windows’ Ubuntu system. You can switch to Git Bash by exit from it by typing exit. Of course, you can make the SSH password-less like server. From Git Bash you can run :

to launch Windows Notepad. After SSH to Windows’ Ubuntu system, you can run :

Now, your integration of bash script from Windows GUI has two options. One is via Git Bash and another is via Git Bash on Ubuntu Bash. Ordinary things you can run on Git Bash, but complex stuffs which has package on Windows System will need to run on Ubuntu Bash.

Git Bash can use a .bash_profile file can be used to store settings between sessions. To edit this file, start Git Bash and type:

It is typically C:\Users\user\.bash_profile on Windows system. From that file, you can add missing fonts, icons etc for Ubuntu Bash powered with ZSH.

We can associate shending scripts on Windows system. Create a blank script.sh file on Windows with Notepad and right-click on it, choose Open with from the right click context menu. Click More apps and navigate to C:\Program Files\Git\bin\sh.exe. Enable Always use this app to open .sh files and click OK.
Now, navigate to Control Panel > System > Advanced > Environment Variables. You’ll get a list of file extensions separated by ;. Modify it to look like :

Now we can run from Windows utilities like command prompt :

In order to run command on your Ubuntu Bash, you have to modify the script.sh file like running command on server.

To run GNU/Linux GUI applications, you need to install them on Windows Ubuntu Bash. Like vim-gtk :

Then run with command like :

If you create such bash scripts to “launch programs”, you can run them from Windows GUI.

Conclusion

This way is complex but will give you more granular control. You can select which system your bash script will run. It is not practical to allow any unknown bash script to directly get executed on Ubuntu Bash. That Git Bash serving many purposes. Needless to say, it is avoiding various registry tweaks to add “open bash here” on right click context menu. Mac is actually nicely integrated with scripting. It is not that Apple’s engineers are exceptionally knowledgeable but Apple, at least in the past did serious works to integrate which we see as “Apple Scripts”.