Kubuntu Focus: Windows Apps

Windows Apps

Run Windows Programs with Wine

Wine is a compatibility layer that allows one to run Windows apps on Linux systems. It works best for running productivity apps that are self-contained and relatively simple. Apps run with Wine are presented in desktop windows, just like native Linux apps.

Alternatives to Wine
Checking Wine compatibility
Installing Wine from WineHQ
Installing and Running Windows Apps
Troubleshooting
Revisions
Disclaimer

Use Wine to run Windows software on Linux.

Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.

Alternatives to Wine

Before you proceed to using Wine, remember that it works best with apps that are self-contained and relatively simple. Indeed, even a seeming "simple" app can require you to install a font or support library. In addition, apps that are complex, require deep system integration, or require advanced multi-media capabilities are probably better served with a different solution. When running a Windows app, here are the options we consider.

All Apps: Use Linux native if possible. The vast majority of apps most users need have Linux versions or very good Linux alternatives. These are almost always less trouble than Windows apps.
Simple and self-contained apps: Consider using Wine as shown below.
Demanding games or simulations: Use Steam with Proton compatibility or Lutris, as discussed in the Gaming Guided Solution.
Complex Software Suites: Consider using a Windows virtual machine as shown in the VirtualBox Guided Solution.

Consider alternatives like VirtualBox, Proton, or Lutris.

Checking Wine compatibility

Complex Windows apps can be challenging to run with Wine because they may have missing or incomplete Windows replacement components. WineHQ maintains a database of Windows apps that can help you determine compatibility before you install an app or even Wine itself. It also provides assistance with installation and configuration.

Visit the AppDB in a web browser.
Type the name or part of the name of the app you want to search for into the "Name" field, then click [ Update filter ].
If the app is shown in the list, click it.
A list of ratings will be shown for each version of the app along with latest version of Wine they were tested against. "Platium" indicates an app works flawlessly with Wine out of the box. "Gold" indicates it works flawlessly after setting up special configuration. "Silver" indicates an app works well enough, but may have minor issues. "Bronze" and "Garbage" indicate serious problems that may prevent typical use of the app.
Click on the test result that is closest to the version of the app you want to run. If special configuration is needed to get an app working, it will often be described here.

Browse the AppDB to check Windows app compatibility.

Installing Wine from WineHQ

We recommend using the latest stable version of Wine provided by WineHQ instead of the default version found in the Ubuntu repositories. The condensed instructions below are based on the official WineHQ installation instructions found here.

# Last updated 2025-10-28 # Prepare repo keys sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings; wget -O - https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key \ | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key -; # Download and install repo file _url="https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists"; _url+="/noble/winehq-noble.sources"; sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ "${_url}"; # Install Wine sudo apt update; sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable;

Once Wine is installed, it should be configured for first use.

Open a Konsole window and run winecfg. Wine will initialize a new "wineprefix" in your home directory for storing Windows apps and files.
When prompted to install wine-mono, click [ Install ]. If you miss this, and you don't have any apps installed, you can run rm -rf ~/.wine; and run winecfg again to get it back again. Beware this will remove any Windows apps you already have installed!
When the "Wine configuration" window appears, click the Windows Version drop-down, and select Windows 10 or Windows 11 from the available options. As of Fall 2025, it appears Windows 10 is the better choice.
Click the Graphics tab, and adjust the screen resolution slider until the sample text shown below it is comfortably readable. This will set up display scaling.
Click [ OK ].
In the Konsole window, run wineserver -k to emulate a Windows restart. This will fully apply display scaling settings.

Run winecfg to set up Wine for first use.

Installing and Running Windows Apps

Most Windows apps are distributed as installers with either a .exe or .msi file name extension. To install an app from an installer, open Dolphin, locate the installer file, then double-click it. The system will launch it using Wine, and then the installer should guide you through the process of setting up the app.

If the app you installed created a Start Menu entry, you can launch it using Start Menu > Wine > AppName, where "AppName" is the name of the app.

Run an installer to Install Windows apps.

Launch Windows apps from the Start Menu.

Troubleshooting

Q: I tried to install an app, but it won't launch, or it launches with errors. What are some ways I might fix this?

A: A variety of different issues can cause an app to fail, including bugs, missing features in Wine, missing resources like fonts, anti-cheat measures, or Digital Rights Management (DRM) libraries that refuse to run on non-Windows systems. Many times, there are workarounds for these issues. Some things you can try include:

Search the Wine AppDB for the app, and see if a tester documented a workaround for the issue.
If the app has forums available, search the forums for workarounds. Workarounds are also often posted on blogs and other websites.
Check to see if the app has a Linux version. A surprising number of apps, especially open-source apps and games, have native Linux versions available. Often, these are already present in the Ubuntu repositories.
Consider alternatives to Wine which are discussed in this section.

Q: My Windows subsystem is corrupted or needs reset for some reason. How do I fix this?

A: Wine saves all Windows apps and most of their files in a directory known as a "wineprefix". If you want to delete all of your app and data files and start over, you can delete the wineprefix and clear out any Start Menu launchers.

# Erase the wineprefix rm -rf ~/.wine # Remove start menu entries for Windows apps rm -rf ~/.local/share/applications/wine

Revisions

This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.

2025-10-27 24a2c14c First publication.

Disclaimer

We try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.

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