5 Tools to Help You Run Windows Programs in Linux

Get the best of both worlds with these Windows emulators

Even though open-source software includes free tools, including email clients, office applications, and media players, you might need a software app that works only on Windows. In this case, use one of the tools listed here to run Windows apps on your Linux PC.

These tools are based on or use WINE. Aside from virtual machines, WINE is the only way to run Windows applications on Linux. There are wrappers, utilities, and versions of WINE that make the process easier, though, and choosing the right one can make a difference.

Plain Classic WINE

Doesn’t require a Windows license to use Windows applications.

The simple core utility behind these tools.

This is the stable and officially supported version.

It doesn’t always run the latest versions of Windows products.

Some games and applications run sluggishly.

Lacks helper scripts.

Doesn’t have the latest patches and improvements.

WINE stands for Wine Is Not An Emulator. WINE provides a Windows compatibility layer for Linux that makes installing, running, and configuring many popular Windows applications possible.

Install WINE

To install WINE, run whichever of the following fits your Linux distribution.

On Ubuntu, Debian, or Mint:

Import the WINE developer key:

Add the repository. Replace eoan with your Ubuntu release.

On Debian, use the following example, replacing buster with the Debian release.

Update your repositories, and install WINE Staging:

Install on Fedora

Add the repository from the WINE developers. Replace 30 in the address with your Fedora release.

Then, install the latest WINE Staging release using DNF.

Install on openSUSE

openSUSE has WINE Staging in its repositories. To install it:

Install on Arch Linux and Manjaro

WINE Staging is in the official Arch repository. Install it normally.

Lutris

Easy to play games.

Manage configurations without hassle.

Get the latest versions of WINE.

Manage games in one place.

Takes a little setup on some distributions.

Focused almost exclusively on games.

When it comes to playing Windows games on Linux, there’s no better option than Lutris. Lutris is relatively new compared to the other entries on this list, but it’s more than earned its spot by making it just as easy to install Windows games on Linux as it is on Windows.

With Lutris, you can play games, like Overwatch, on Linux in only a couple of clicks. There’s no need to know the technical details. Someone already did the hard work for you.

Lutris also integrates with other Linux gaming platforms, like Steam, to keep your game library organized. With Lutris, you can access all your games in one place. Lutris keeps separate configurations for each game, so it can manage multiple versions of WINE at once, using the ideal one for each game.

Installing Lutris is fairly simple too.

Install on Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Install the Lutris PPA:

Update Apt, and install Lutris:

Install on Debian

Add the Lutris repository configuration:

Then, import the Lutris signing key:

Finally, update Apt, and install Lutris:

Install on Fedora

Lutris is available in the default Fedora repositories. Install it with DNF.

Install on openSUSE

openSUSE has Lutris in its repositories too. Install it normally.

Install on Arch Linux and Manjaro

Arch also has Lutris in the main repository:

Play On Linux

Good gaming support.

Install multiple versions of WINE simultaneously.

Excellent community support.

Starting games in full-screen mode can sometimes cause crashing.

Error reporting is lacking.

Similarly to Lutris, Play On Linux provides a graphical interface for WINE. Play On Linux came before Lutris, and it offers many of the same features. Play On Linux is bare-bones and doesn’t include support for Linux games. It takes a general approach, so you may find better office application support here, even though it’s probably not as good as something like Crossover.

Install Play On Linux

On Ubuntu, Debian, and Mint:

sudo apt install playonlinux

On Fedora and CentOS:

sudo dnf install playonlinux

sudo zypper install playonlinux

On Arch and Manjaro:

sudo pacman -S playonlinux

Available Windows Programs

When you first run Play On Linux, a toolbar appears at the top with options to run, close, install, remove, or configure applications. You’ll also see an installation option in the left panel.

You can choose from a number of applications, including development tools such as Dreamweaver, an assortment of retro classics such as Sensible World of Soccer, modern games such as Grand Theft Auto versions 3 and 4, the Half Life series, and more.

The graphics section includes Adobe Photoshop and Fireworks, and you’ll find browsers in the internet section. The office section is a bit hit and miss. Those apps may not work.

Play On Linux requires you to have the setup files for the programs you are installing, although you can download some of the games from GOG.com.

Software installed via Play On Linux is generally more likely to work than software installed with plain WINE.

You also can install non-listed programs. However, the programs listed have been specifically configured to be installed and run using Play On Linux.

Crossover

Streamlined setup makes it easy for Linux newcomers to use Windows programs.

Reliable 24/7 customer support with the premium plan.

Applications take up more space on the hard disk due to how it handles containers.

Free trial is limited to 14 days.

Crossover is the only item on this list that isn’t free. It’s a commercial product based on WINE. Installers are available for Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, and Red Hat.

When you first run Crossover, you are presented with a blank screen with an Install Windows Software button at the bottom. When you click the button, a new window appears with the following options:

• Select application
• Select installer
• Select bottle

A bottle in Crossover is like a container that installs and configures each Windows application.

When you choose Select application, you’ll see a search bar from which you can search for the program you wish to install by typing a description.

You also can browse the list of applications. A list of categories appears, and as with Play On Linux, you can choose from an array of packages.

When you choose to install an application, a new bottle suitable for that application is created, and you are asked to provide the installer or setup.exe.

Why use Crossover when Play On Linux is free? Some programs work only with Crossover and not Play On Linux. If you need that program, then this is one option.

While WINE is a great tool, and the other options listed provide extra value for WINE, some programs may not work properly, and some may not work at all. Other options include creating a Windows virtual machine or dual-booting Windows and Linux.

Programming windows applications on linux

WinApps for Linux

Run Windows apps such as Microsoft Office/Adobe in Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora) and GNOME/KDE as if they were a part of the native OS, including Nautilus integration for right clicking on files of specific mime types to open them.

Proud to have made the top spot on r/linux on launch day.

WinApps was created as an easy, one command way to include apps running inside a VM (or on any RDP server) directly into GNOME as if they were native applications. WinApps works by:

• Running a Windows RDP server in a background VM container
• Checking the RDP server for installed applications such as Microsoft Office
• If those programs are installed, it creates shortcuts leveraging FreeRDP for both the CLI and the GNOME tray
• Files in your home directory are accessible via the \\tsclient\home mount inside the VM
• You can right click on any files in your home directory to open with an application, too

Currently supported applications

WinApps supports ANY installed application on your system.

It does this by:

1. Scanning your system for offically configured applications (below)
2. Scanning your system for any other EXE files with install records in the Windows Registry

Any officially configured applications will have support for high-resolution icons and mime types for automatically detecting what files can be opened by each application. Any other detected executable files will leverage the icons pulled from the EXE.

Note: The officially configured application list below is fueled by the community, and therefore some apps may be untested by the WinApps team.

	Adobe Acrobat Pro (X)		Adobe Acrobat Reader (DC)
	Adobe After Effects (CC)		Adobe Audition (CC)
	Adobe Bridge (CS6, CC)		Adobe Creative Cloud (CC)
	Adobe Illustrator (CC)		Adobe InDesign (CC)
	Adobe Lightroom (CC)		Adobe Photoshop (CS6, CC)
	Adobe Premiere Pro (CC)		Command Prompt (cmd.exe)
	Explorer (File Manager)		Internet Explorer (11)
	Microsoft Access (2016, 2019, o365)		Microsoft Excel (2016, 2019, o365)
	Microsoft Word (2016, 2019, o365)		Microsoft OneNote (2016, 2019, o365)
	Microsoft Outlook (2016, 2019, o365)		Microsoft PowerPoint (2016, 2019, o365)
	Microsoft Project (2016, 2019, o365)		Microsoft Publisher (2016, 2019, o365)
	Powershell (Standard, Core)		Visual Studio (2019 — Ent|Pro|Com)
	Windows (Full RDP session)

Step 1: Set up a Windows Virtual Machine

The best solution for running a VM as a subsystem for WinApps would be KVM. KVM is a CPU and memory-efficient virtualization engine bundled with most major Linux distributions. To set up the VM for WinApps, follow this guide:

If you already have a Virtual Machine or server you wish to use with WinApps, you will need to merge kvm/RDPApps.reg into the VM’s Windows Registry. If this VM is in KVM and you want to use auto-IP detection, you will need to name the machine RDPWindows . Directions for both of these can be found in the guide linked above.

Step 2: Download the repo and prerequisites

To get things going, use:

Step 3: Creating your WinApps configuration file

You will need to create a

/.config/winapps/winapps.conf configuration file with the following information in it:

The username and password should be a full user account and password, such as the one created when setting up Windows or a domain user. It cannot be a user/PIN combination as those are not valid for RDP access.

• When using a pre-existing non-KVM RDP server, you can use the RDP_IP to specify it’s location
• If you are running a VM in KVM with NAT enabled, leave RDP_IP commented out and WinApps will auto-detect the right local IP
• For domain users, you can uncomment and change RDP_DOMAIN
• On high-resolution (UHD) displays, you can set RDP_SCALE to the scale you would like [100|140|160|180]
• To add flags to the FreeRDP call, such as /audio-mode:1 to pass in a mic, use the RDP_FLAGS configuration option
• For multi-monitor setups, you can try enabling MULTIMON , however if you get a black screen (FreeRDP bug) you will need to revert back
• If you enable DEBUG , a log will be created on each application start in

Step 4: Run the WinApps installer

Lastly, check that FreeRDP can connect with:

You will see output from FreeRDP, as well as potentially have to accept the initial certificate. After that, a Windows Explorer window should pop up. You can close this window and press Ctrl-C to cancel out of FreeRDP.

If this step fails, try restarting the VM, or your problem could be related to:

• You need to accept the security cert the first time you connect (with ‘check’)
• Not enabling RDP in the Windows VM
• Not being able to connect to the IP of the VM
• Incorrect user credentials in

/.config/winapps/winapps.conf

Not merging install/RDPApps.reg into the VM

Then the final step is to run the installer which will prompt you for a system or user install:

This will take you through the following process:

Adding pre-defined applications

Adding applications with custom icons and mime types to the installer is easy. Simply copy one of the application configurations in the apps folder, and:

• Edit the variables for the application
• Replace the icon.svg with an SVG for the application (appropriately licensed)
• Re-run the installer
• Submit a Pull Request to add it to WinApps officially

When running the installer, it will check for if any configured apps are installed, and if they are it will create the appropriate shortcuts on the host OS.

Running applications manually

WinApps offers a manual mode for running applications that are not configured. This is completed with the manual flag. Executables that are in the path do not require full path definition.

Checking for new application support

The installer can be run multiple times, so simply run the below again and it will remove any current installations and update for the latest applications.

Optional installer command line arguments

The following optional commands can be used to manage your application configurations without prompts:

• Black window: This is a FreeRDP bug that sometimes comes up. Try restarting the application or rerunning the command. If that doesn’t work, ensure you have MULTIMON disabled.

• Some icons pulled from
  • Fluent UI React — Icons under MIT License
  • Fluent UI — Icons under MIT License with restricted use
  • PKief’s VSCode Material Icon Theme — Icons under MIT License
  • DiemenDesign’s LibreICONS — Icons under MIT License

About

Run Windows apps such as Microsoft Office/Adobe in Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora) and GNOME/KDE as if they were a part of the native OS, including Nautilus integration.