How To Run Windows Applications On Linux [Beginners Guide]

Last updated September 12, 2019 By Munif Tanjim 41 Comments

As you’re here, I’m going to assume that you’re a Linux user. And every once in a while, you find yourself asking: can I run windows applications on Linux?.

Answer to that question is yes. Yes, you can run Windows applications in Linux. Here are some of the ways for running Windows programs with Linux :

Both of them works just fine. But they are somewhat resource hungry.

If you only need to use a small Windows application, installing Windows on a separate HDD partition or as a Virtual Machine is not efficient. Moreover, Virtual Machine can’t utilize the total power of your machine. So, what is the solution?

No worries, there is another way to use Windows software on Linux. It’s called Wine. If you aren’t yet familiar with it or you are a beginner in the world of Linux, this article is for you.

In this beginner’s guide, I’ll show you what is Wine and how to use it to run Windows software on Linux. I have used Ubuntu here as Ubuntu is one of the best Linux distros for beginners, but any other Linux distribution will have more or less same steps (except for the commands in Arch or Fedora based distros).

Using Wine to run Windows programs in Linux

Wine stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. And WINE is actually an acronym for that. And as previously stated, it’s not even a virtual machine.

Rather it is a compatibility layer for running Windows applications on UNIX-like or POSIX-compliant operating systems (e.g. Linux, Mac, BSD). While a virtual machine or emulator simulates internal Windows logic, Wine translates those Windows logic to native UNIX/POSIX-complaint logic.

In simple and non-technical words, Wine converts internal Windows commands to commands your Linux system can natively understand.

Installing Wine

There are various ways to install Wine on your system. As this is a beginners’ guide, I’ll describe the most straightforward one here.

Almost all the Linux distros come with Wine in their package repository. Most of the time the latest stable version of Wine is available via package repository. Installing Wine on Ubuntu is as easy as firing up a terminal and running these commands:

However, if you are using an 64bit installation of Ubuntu, you will need to run these additional commands:

This will add 32bit architecture support on your distro which will benefit you in installing specific software. If you don’t know whether you have a 32bit installation or 64bit, check this article: 32bit or 64bit Ubuntu?

What Windows applications are Supported by Wine?

There is a large number of Windows applications that are currently fully supported by Wine. They will run without any hassle.

However, new Windows applications are being developed every day. Many of them wouldn’t function as we want on Wine. But the development pace of Wine is also rapid, support for new applications is being added all the time.

And there is a dedicated database for keeping track of just that.

Wine Application Database has almost 24,000 applications rated with different status depending upon how well that applications run in Wine. If you want to quickly check the rating of the application you want to use in Wine, you can take a look there. Here are the meaning of those ratings:

• Platinum: These applications install and run flawlessly in out-of-the-box Wine.
• Gold: These applications work flawlessly with some special configuration.
• Silver: Applications with minor issues are tagged as Silver.
• Bronze: The Bronze ones have major issues that seriously affect usage.
• Garbage: These simply won’t run on Wine.

Reviews, Installation Procedure, which Wine version it was tested against and various useful data are also available for each application here.

Of course, Wine Application Database is mostly user-generated data, so you are always welcome to try running an application with a different version of Wine and share your result with rest of the community.

Finding an Application in Wine Application Database

Let’s see how we can find an application in Wine Application Database.

Go to Wine Application Database. Click Browse Apps from the left sidebar.

Write the name of the application you want to find in the Name field.

Click on the link to the application from the search result.

You’ll see a description of the application. There will be a list of various versions with their compatibility rating with a specific Wine version.

Let’s click on the latest version link.

This is the main page you need to check. There will be detailed information about that specific version.

You’ll get an idea of what will work and what will not. Also, the installation procedure will be included here if any additional tasks are needed for installation.

Getting Started with Wine

Before we go on installing and running applications in Wine, we should have clear idea about a few things and about how to configure Wine for usage:

WinePrefix

Windows applications need a C: drive. Wine uses a virtual C: drive for this purpose. The directory of this virtual C: drive is called wineprefix. First of all, we need to create a wineprefix. For doing that, fire up a terminal and enter this command:

This will create a wineprefix and open the configuration window for Wine. You can change the configuration options if you want or let it be as is for time being and close it. Now, you can locate the virtual C: drive at

The general rule is to install each new application into a fresh wineprefix. We can create and maintain multiple wineprefix manually. But that task would seem rather tedious for the beginners. So, we will skip that part for now. But, later I’m going to show the way for doing that part with ease.

Installing an Application with Wine

Installing a supported application in Wine is generally as easy as double-clicking on the installation file. However, we are now going to see a step-by-step guide for installing 7-zip on Wine.

First of all, check for 7-zip rating on Wine Application Database. It has Platinum rating, so we are good to go. Open Wine configuration ( winecfg ) and set the Windows Version to Windows 7.

Right-click on the 7-zip installation file and select Open With Wine Windows Program Loader.

See that destination folder path? 7-zip installation has recognized the virtual C: drive from wineprefix.

Finish the installation and go to the installation directory [ $HOME/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/7-zip/ ] from the file browser.

Right-click on 7zFM.exe and go to Properties > Open With.

Select Wine Windows Program Loader and close the window. Double-click on 7zFM.exe.

And there you go! For creating a shortcut on your desktop, right click on the file.

Now move the Link to Desktop.

Now, you can run 7-zip just from your desktop. All you have to do is double-click on the icon.

If you want to access your files on Linux, they are generally located in Z: Drive.

You can use the 7-zip just as you would use it on Windows – for extracting and creating archives and such.

Let’s make things (a lot) Easier

You might have noticed that, at Wine Application Database, with every version of application review a specific Wine version is mentioned.

It is because of the rapid development rate of Wine. Though an application runs with the current version of Wine, it might not run with a future version, because of the changes made.

Also, I’ve mentioned about installing each application in its own fresh wineprefix. So that, an application has no chance of interfering with another. And doing all these manually, usually from the terminal, is time-consuming, tiresome and at times, confusing.

PlayOnLinux is here to rescue. It provides a nice interface for doing all these things easily. For installing PlayOnLinux on Ubuntu, simply run this command:

You can easily perform every task related to Wine with PlayOnLinux from a beautiful and intuitive graphical interface:

• Installing & Uninstalling applications.
• Creating, Updating & Removing wineprefixes.
• Maintain Wine of different architecture and versions.
• Run & Create shortcut for installed applications.
• And so on…

But still, you will need to check Wine Application Database for reviews, installation procedures and such.

Advantages of using Wine

When it comes to running Windows applications on Linux system, Wine provides many advantages over using emulators or virtual machines.

• Performance: Wine is immune to the performance loss that otherwise occurs while emulating.
• Native Experience: There is no need to open Wine before running a Windows application. Exactly how Wine works will be more clear from this quote from official site,

Wine can be thought of as a Windows emulator in much the same way that Windows Vista can be thought of as a Windows XP emulator: both allow you to run the same applications by translating system calls in much the same way. Setting Wine to mimic Windows XP is not much different from setting Vista to launch an application in XP compatibility mode.

Wine Derivatives

There are quite a number of projects for running Windows applications on other platforms, based on Wine:

• CrossOver: CrossOver is a developed by the company named CodeWeavers. It is directly based on Wine with a few tweaks and proprietary add-ons. In fact, CodeWeavers employs a large portion of Wine developers. Unlike the rapid releases of Wine, CrossOver releases are more stable. The one and major downside is that Crossover is not free.
• PlayOnLinux: PlayOnLinux is completely based on Wine. And provides easier route for installing and managing application with Wine. PlayOnLinux is free.
  It is also available for Mac as PlayOnMac.
• ReactOS: ReactOS is an entirely different open-source operating system for running Windows applications. It reuses a considerable amount of codes from Wine. However, this is a project under development for more than a decade and I won’t recommend it.

Additional Tips on using Wine

Winetricks

This is another important part of using Wine. Winetricks is a helper script to download and install various redistributable runtime libraries needed to run some applications in Wine. These may include replacements for components of Wine using closed source libraries. Winetricks comes with Wine installation on Ubuntu.

For starting winetricks, run this command:

There are many options for helping you with various tasks.

Installing an Application with Winetricks

If you Install an app from winetricks, it will be installed in a separate wineprefix. Let’s install VLC:

It will then begin to download the VLC installation files. And then guide you through the rest of the process. It’s pretty simple.

Install Windows DLL or components and others

You can select a wineprefix from winetricks and install various libraries and components required by the application you want to run and also perform other operations.

N.B.: If using winetricks seems complicated to you, it’s perfectly okay. I feel the same way too. I always use PlayOnLinux for this reason. PlayOnLinux can do everything you might need to do from winetricks.

For more information you can check Wine FAQ and Documentation.

I hope you find this complete beginner’s guide to using Wine in Linux helpful. Now you can run Windows programs in Linux without installing a virtual machine or dual booting.

Let us know if you have any questions or opinion in the comment section below.

Like what you read? Please share it with others.

How to Install and Use Windows Applications on Linux using PlayOnLinux

When Linux was originally made public, it lacked many useful applications that the major competitor -Microsoft Windows was successfully supporting. Linux thus created a compatibility layer which was used to run the Windows application on Linux itself called Wine. PlayOnLinux is a front-end UI for the Wine application. It lets you install many popular Windows applications that you otherwise missed to use on Linux. You can run Microsoft Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, iTunes and many other applications on your Linux system through PlayOnLinux.

In this article, we will explain how to install PlayOnLinux on your Ubuntu both through the command line and the graphical user interface. More importantly, we will explain how to install a Windows application, Notepad Plus Plus in our example, by using PlayOnLinux.

We have run the commands and procedures mentioned in this article on a Ubuntu 18.04 LTS system.

PlayOnLinux Installation

The PlayOnLinux application is available on the official Multiverse repository and can be easily installed through the command line and the UI.

Installation through the Command Line

Open your Ubuntu command line, the Terminal, either through the Dash or by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut. You can then install PlayOnLinux through the official Ubuntu repository.

First, enter the following command in order to update your system’s software repository index with that of the Internet so that you can install the latest release of the software.

Now enter the following apt-get command in order to install the latest version of PlayOnLinux:

The system might prompt you with a Y/n option to confirm the beginning of the installation procedure. Enter Y and then hit Enter. The installation process will begin and might take some time depending on your Internet speed. PlayOnLinux will then will be installed on your system.

You can verify the installation and also check the version number of the newly installed playonLinux as follows:

Launch PlayOnLinux

You can launch PlayOnLinux through the command line by entering the following command in your Terminal:

Remove PlayOnLinux

In order to uninstall PlayOnLinux from your system enter the following command as sudo:

The system will prompt you with a Y/n option in order to begin the uninstall procedure. Please enter Y and hit Enter to begin. playonLinux will then be removed from your system.

Installation of PlayOnLinux through the Ubuntu Software Manager (UI)

If you are someone who avoids using the Command Line, installing software present in the Ubuntu repository through the UI is very simple. On your Ubuntu desktop Activities toolbar, click the Ubuntu Software icon.

In the following view, click on the search icon and enter PlayOnLinux in the search bar. The search results will list PlayOnLinux as follows:

Click the PlayOnLinux package from the search results. The following dialog will appear:

Click the Install button to begin the installation process. The following authentication dialog will display for you to provide your authentication details as only an authorized user can install software on Ubuntu.

Enter your password and click the Authenticate button. After that, the installation process will begin, displaying a progress bar. PlayOnLinux will then be installed on your system and you will get the following message after a successful installation:

Through the above dialog, you can choose to directly launch PlayOnLinux and even Remove it immediately for whatever reason.

Launch PlayOnLinux trough Ubuntu Dashboard

You can launch PlayOnLinux through the UI any time you want by entering relevant keywords in the Ubuntu Dash or access it directly from the Applications list.

Remove PlayOnLinux

You can uninstall PlayOnLinux through the Ubuntu Software manager by first searching for it through the Search button and then clicking the Remove button from the following view:

A dialog will ask you if you are sure about removing the software from your system. Please enter the Remove button to uninstall PlayOnLinux. An authentication dialog will display for you to provide the authentication details for a sudo user as only an authorized user can install software on Ubuntu. Enter your password and click the Authenticate button. After that, the uninstall process will begin, removing PlayOnLinux from your system.

Install NotePad Plus Plus through PlayonLinux

When you launch PlayOnLinux through the command line or the UI, it will open in the following view:

You can install an application by clicking the “Install a program option” from the left pane. It will open the following view through which you can search for the required Windows application.

We have searched for Notepad Plus Plus and the result area shows the required application, as you can see. Your search results might also display various available versions of the software. You can then select a specific version based on your preferences and the following view will display its details as follows:

We will click the Install button from the above view to start the installation process. The following messages will appear for your assistance and will also notify you how Wine will be used with PlayOnLinux:

Click Next to proceed.

Again, click Next to proceed to the PlayOnLinux installation Wizard for NotePad Plus Plus:

When you start the installation process, a virtual drive is created on your system where all your Windows applications will be installed. The latest available version of Wine is also installed on your system as follows:

In case of Notepad Plus Plus, you will be given an option whether you want to download the executable or use a setup file residing on your system:

We will choose the second option and then click Next.

The above dialog will ask you for your language of choice for the Notepad Plus Plus installer, after which the Wizard will open as follows:

This Wizard is pretty much self-explanatory and will direct you to the rest of the installation procedure.

After installation, NotePad Plus Plus will run as follows and you can use it the same way as in Microsoft Windows.

Launch/Remove an installed Application

Whenever you want to use the application again, simply launch PlayOnLinux and run the installed application.

You can also remove the installed application by selecting it from the following view and then by clicking Uninstall from the left pane:

The PlayOnLinux Uninstaller will guide you through the uninstall procedure.

You have seen how PlayOnLinux simplifies the seemingly impossible task of running a pure Windows application on your Ubuntu. All you need to install to do install PlayOnLinux, search for your required app, install it through the Wizard and Tada!

Karim Buzdar

About the Author: Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various web sites. You can reach Karim on LinkedIn