How to Use Wine on Linux to Run Windows Applications (2025)

Table of Contents
Things You Should Know Installing Wine Setting up Wine Installing a Program Community Q&A Tips Warnings You Might Also Like References About This Article Reader Success Stories Is this article up to date?
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How to install Wine and use Windows programs on Linux

Written byTravis Boylls

Last Updated: October 8, 2023Fact Checked

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  • Installing Wine
    • |
  • Setting up Wine
    • |
  • Installing a Program
    • |
    • |
  • Warnings

Do you want to run a Windows game or app on Linux? Linux is a great operating system, but it doesn't support many of the programs and games you use on Windows. Luckily, there is Wine, a Windows emulator that can run many Windows programs and games on a Linux computer. This wikiHow guide teaches you how to install and run Wine on a Linux computer.

Things You Should Know

  • Install Wine in the Terminal using "sudo apt install wine64" (64-bit computers) or "sudo apt install wine32" (32-bit computers).
  • Download a Windows ".exe" or ".msi" program and go to the download location by typing "cd ~/Downloads" in the Terminal and pressing "Enter."
  • Type "wine <name of ".exe" or ".msi" file>" and press "Enter" to install the program with Wine.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Installing Wine

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  1. 1

    Open the Terminal. Select the Terminal application from your computer's App Menu or Applications list to do so.

    • On most Linux versions, you can also open the Terminal by pressing Ctrl+ Alt+ T.
    • Some Linux versions also have a command line textbox at the top of the screen.

  2. 2

    Check your computer's architecture. You need to know if you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Linux. Use the following steps to do so:

    • Type lscpu in the Terminal and press Enter.
    • Check if it says "32-bit" or "64-bit" next to "CPU op-mode(s)."

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  3. 3

    Type sudo apt update and press ↵ Enter. This will update the software repository.

  4. 4

    Enter the command to download and install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Wine. Enter one of the following commands and press Enter to install Wine on a Debian-based Linux distribution, such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint:[1]

    • For 64-bit systems: sudo apt install wine64
    • For 32-bit systems: sudo apt install wine32
    • If you are using Fedora or Redhat, install Wine using kbd sudo dnf install winehq-stable.

  5. 5

    Type y to confirm the installation. When prompted to enter "y" or "n," press "y" to confirm the installation.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Setting up Wine

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  1. 1

    Type in winecfg and press ↵ Enter. This creates a Windows home directory for Wine. Look for a confirmation message that says something like "created the configuration directory 'home/name/.wine'".

    • If prompted to install any missing packages here, click Install in the prompt window and wait for the packages to install.

  2. 2

    Select a Windows version and click Apply. Click the "Windows Version" drop-down box at the bottom of the "Wine configuration" window, then click the version of Windows (e.g., Windows10) that you want to use. Then click Apply in the lower-right corner.

    See Also
    WINE 9.0 brings better WoW64 support to 64-bit x86How to Install Wine on Ubuntu {Tutorial with Screenshots}How to Install Wine 8.0 on Debian 12, 11 or 10 - LinuxCapable

  3. 3

    Click OK. This button is at the bottom of the window. Clicking it closes the Window.

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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Installing a Program

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  1. 1

    Download a Windows program in ".exe" or ".msi" format. Download a Windows install file in an ".exe" or ".msi" version of the program that you want to use on Linux (e.g., Notepad++) and download it from the official website. It will download to your Linux "Downloads" folder. Once you've done this, you can move on to installing it.

  2. 2

    Type ~/Downloads and press ↵ Enter. This switches to the Downloads folder in the Terminal where the downloaded Windows application installer is downloaded.

  3. 3

    Type wine <installer file name> and press ↵ Enter. This will open the installer file using the Wine Windows program loader.[2]

    • Alternatively, you can right-click the ".exe" or ".msi" file in your Downloads folder and click Open with Wine Windows Program Loader. If this option does not appear, use the Terminal command instead.

  4. 4

    Follow the instructions to complete the installation. The Windows installation window will appear. Follow the instructions in the installation wizard to complete the installation.

  5. 5

    Open Windows applications. You can open Windows applications installed using Wine by clicking their icon in the Apps Menu or Apps list, the same as you would any Linux application. This will open the application using the Wine Windows Program Loader.

    • Alternatively, you can navigate to the location of the Windows executable file in the virtual "C:" drive and run the program by typing wine <executable file name> and pressing Enter. You can navigate to the folder Windows programs are installed in on the virtual "C:" drive by typing cd ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files and pressing Enter. Then enter the program folder with the executable file by typing cd "<folder name>" with the folder name in quotes and press Enter. Then enter the command to run the executable file in Wine.

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Community Q&A

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  • Question

    What is Wine? Why do you use Wine? Where do I use Wine?

    How to Use Wine on Linux to Run Windows Applications (19)

    77Ecrivan

    Community Answer

    Wine is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows software on systems such as Linux, MacOS/OSX and BSD. In the case of GNU/Linux, it's obvious Linux distributions are not as widely supported as Windows. For this reason, it is incredibly convenient to be able to run Windows software in the way that Wine lets you.

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  • Question

    How can I run .jar files in Linux Mint?

    How to Use Wine on Linux to Run Windows Applications (20)

    Community Answer

    First, fire up Terminal and type in "sudo apt install default-jre." Once downloaded, navigate to the folder that your .jar file is in by executing "cd." Once there, type in "java -jar JavaFileNameHere.jar" and you're done!

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  • Question

    Can I run any Windows based program through Wine on Linux?

    How to Use Wine on Linux to Run Windows Applications (21)

    Community Answer

    No, not every Windows based application can run through Wine. You can go to Wine AppDB to see the list of Windows application that can run well with Wine.

    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission.Support wikiHow

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      Warnings

      • Wine is a comprehensive compatibility program, but it will still have trouble running high-end PC games and programs at a normal frame rate.

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      About This Article

      How to Use Wine on Linux to Run Windows Applications (35)

      Written by:

      Travis Boylls

      wikiHow Technology Writer

      This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College. This article has been viewed 757,225 times.

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      Co-authors: 17

      Updated: October 8, 2023

      Views:757,225

      Categories: Linux

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