Build windows software on linux

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.

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Getting started with cross-platform development using .NET on Ubuntu on WSL

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.NET is an open source software framework for building cross-platform applications on Linux, Windows, and macOS. Ubuntu on WSL allows you to build and test applications for Ubuntu and Windows simultaneously. What happens when we mix these together? This blog will demonstrate how to install a .NET development stack on WSL, build a simple OS-aware application, and then test it on both Linux and Windows.

Enable WSL 1

In PowerShell as Administrator run:

If you are installing just WSL 1, you can restart and skip the next step.

If you are installing WSL 2, do not restart, continue to the next step:

Enable WSL 2 (Windows 10 2004+)

See “Ubuntu on WSL 2 Is Generally Available” for more details on Ubuntu on WSL 2.

In PowerShell as Administrator run:

and then restart Windows:

Install Ubuntu on WSL

Download Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store:

For more ways to install Ubuntu on WSL, see the Ubuntu on WSL wiki page.

Install Windows Terminal

Download the Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store:

Windows Terminal can also be downloaded from GitHub.

Run Ubuntu on WSL

Open Windows Terminal in PowerShell and run:

When you run Ubuntu on WSL for the first time it will install and then you will create a Linux user. This is separate from your Windows user.

Exit and re-open Windows Terminal and you will find Ubuntu on the drop-down:

You can set Ubuntu as the default and configure Windows Terminal in settings.json.

Update Ubuntu on WSL

You should periodically check for updates and run upgrades on Ubuntu on WSL. We do this with apt, the Ubuntu package manager.

To check for updates run:

To get upgrades run:

You can automatically update and apply any available upgrades in the same line by joining them with $& and adding the -y flag:

Add Microsoft’s .NET repository and signing key

We need to add Microsoft’s .NET repository and signing key to apt. We will download and install a package from Microsoft that will do this.

Make sure you are installing the correct repo for your version of Ubuntu. You can check your current version of Ubuntu with:

The example below uses Ubuntu 20.04, the latest LTS release from Canonical. If you are still using Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, or 19.10, you can find the corresponding repos in the Microsoft docs. To learn more about the differences between LTS and interim releases, we have a release cycle page.

Download the Microsoft repository and key package for 20.04:

Install the Microsoft repo package manually using dpg -i:

Now when you update apt you will see the Microsoft repository is checked for upgrades:

Install the .NET SDK

Install the .NET and related dependencies using apt from the Microsoft repository:

Create a workspace

Create a new directory for to work in and change to that directory:

Create a new .NET project

Create a new .NET console project using dotnet new. This will create a file called Program.cs and other necessary folders and files:

Explore our .NET app

List the files in your new .NET project:

View the contents of Program.cs:

Run the sample program:

Customize our .NET app

Open Program.cs in your favorite editor: vi, nano, emacs, or Code with the remote WSL extension:

For our purposes, we will use nano, which is included with Ubuntu on WSL:

This application tells us our current user, checks if we are on Windows or Linux, and then gives the OS kernel version.

Exit and save and run with:

Make our .NET application cross-platform

We need to update our .NET project file, dotnetproject.csproj, to tell .NET to build for both Linux and Windows.

Open dotnetproject.csproj in our editor and add:

This directs .NET to build self-contained binaries for both Windows 10 x64 and Linux x64.

Build our cross-platform application

Once our project is properly configured, building our .NET application is as simple as:

Self-contained binaries for each platform with all required libraries can be found in the project’s /bin/ folder:

Test Linux build

You can run your Linux binary direct as follows:

Test Windows build

To run the Windows build, copy it to your Windows file system:

We have built and run the same application for both Linux and Windows. We can test them both simultaneously using WSL.

More Resources for .NET

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Linux Software Repository for Microsoft Products

Overview

Microsoft builds and supports a variety of software products for Linux systems and makes them available via standard APT and YUM package repositories. This document describes how to configure the repository on your Linux system, so that you can then install/upgrade Microsoft’s Linux software using your distribution’s standard package management tools.

Microsoft’s Linux Software Repository is comprised of multiple sub-repositories:

prod – The Production sub-repository is designated for packages intended for use in production. These packages are commercially supported by Microsoft under the terms of the applicable support agreement or program that you have with Microsoft.

mssql-server — These repositories contain packages for Microsoft SQL Server on Linux — See also: SQL Server on Linux.

Packages in the Linux software repositories are subject to the license terms located in the packages. Please read the license terms prior to using the package. Your installation and use of the package constitutes your acceptance of these terms. If you do not agree with the license terms, do not use the package.

Configuring the repositories

Repositories can be configured automatically by installing the Linux package that applies to your Linux distribution and version. The package will install the repository configuration, along with the GPG public key used by tools such as apt, yum, or zypper to validate the signed packages and/or repository metadata.

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