How to Install Wine on Ubuntu to Run Windows Apps

Wine lets you run Windows programs on Ubuntu without installing Windows. Before we start, however, keep in mind that for games, there are tools built on top of Wine that handle everything automatically, and many office programs now have web or Linux versions. On its own, Wine remains the right choice for Windows programs that don’t have alternatives—usually management software and niche tools.

The name is a play on words: Wine Is Not an Emulator. It isn’t a virtual machine: Wine translates Windows requests from a program into equivalent Linux requests on the fly. You don’t need a Windows license and programs run at full speed, but it only works well if Wine knows all the functions that specific program uses. The latest stable version is 11, released in January 2026.

Install Wine #

You have two paths. The fastest is the Ubuntu package:

sudo apt install wine

It works, but it’s usually one or two versions behind. If a program gives you trouble, or if you want the latest stable version, use the official WineHQ repository:

Enable 32-bit architecture, which is necessary for many programs:
```
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
```

Add the repository key:

sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key

Add the correct repository for your Ubuntu version. This command automatically detects your release codename (noble for 24.04, jammy for 22.04, and so on):
```
sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/$(lsb_release -sc)/winehq-$(lsb_release -sc).sources
```
If you get a 404 error, WineHQ hasn’t released the repository for your version yet; this happens in the first few weeks after a new Ubuntu release. Check the official WineHQ page for Ubuntu or, in the meantime, use the Ubuntu wine package.

Update and install:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable

Check that it responds:
```
wine --version
```
To open a program, navigate to its folder and type wine nomeprogramma.exe. Often, you can just double-click the .exe file, or right-click → Open With → Wine Windows Program Loader.

You’ll find three branches in the repository: stable for everyday use, devel, which is more recent, and staging, which includes experimental changes that are sometimes exactly what you need to get a stubborn program running. These are installed using winehq-devel or winehq-staging instead of winehq-stable.

Prefixes: the part that changes everything #

A prefix is a folder containing a fake C: drive, complete with its own configuration and libraries. The default one is ~/.wine. The advantage is that each program can have its own separate environment: if you change something to make one program work, the others won’t break.

Create a dedicated prefix:

WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-programma winecfg

And run a program inside that prefix:

WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-programma wine installer.exe

In the window that opens with winecfg, you can also choose which version of Windows to show the program: some programs check this upon first launch and refuse to start if it’s not what they expect.

Wine configuration window open on the choice of Windows version to emulate — Each prefix has its own configuration window and its own Windows version

Use one prefix for every program you use frequently. Give them recognizable names. If something stops working, just delete that folder and start fresh without affecting anything else.

Winetricks: libraries, fonts, and components #

Many programs won’t run with Wine alone because they look for components that are already present on Windows: graphics libraries, runtimes, or system fonts.

Winetricks installs them for you:

sudo apt install winetricks

Basic usage within a specific prefix:

WINEPREFIX=~/.wine-programma winetricks corefonts

Most commonly requested components:

Component	Purpose
`corefonts`	Windows fonts: fixes unreadable or overlapping text
`d3dx9` and `d3dcompiler_47`	Graphics libraries required by many programs and games
`vcrun2019`	Visual C++ runtime libraries
`dotnet48`	The .NET framework, required by many management apps
`dxvk`	Translates graphics calls to Vulkan, often with a significant performance boost

If you run winetricks on its own, it opens a graphical interface with the full list, which is handy when you don’t know what’s missing.

Winetricks graphical interface showing the list of components installable in a prefix — The complete list of components, useful when you don’t know which library is missing

Three alternatives to Wine before you start #

For games: Proton, the version of Wine integrated into Steam, handles everything automatically and works better than manually configured Wine because it includes optimized components like DXVK. You enable it via Settings → Compatibility. Outside of Steam, Lutris and Heroic do the same for games from Epic, GOG, and other stores. To see how a game performs, check ProtonDB.

For common programs: Bottles is a graphical interface built on top of Wine that manages prefixes, dependencies, and settings with just a few clicks. If you don’t want to use the terminal, start here. It can be installed from Flathub.

For everything else: first check if there is a Linux version, an equivalent alternative, or a web version. Many programs that once required Wine are now used directly in the browser.

How to check if a program will work #

The Wine project maintains a public archive, the AppDB, where users report how individual programs behave, with ratings ranging from Platinum (works perfectly) to Garbage (won’t run). Before spending an afternoon configuring things, you can find out in thirty seconds if someone has already succeeded and how.

In the tabs, you’ll also find specific tips: which version of Wine to use, which components to install with Winetricks, and which settings to change.

FAQ #

Is Wine still relevant in 2026? #

Yes, and it works better than it did a few years ago, thanks in part to the work done for Linux gaming. Wine 11 has completed the new WoW64 mode, which runs 32-bit programs without needing to install 32-bit libraries; on kernel 6.14 or later, it uses NTSYNC, which speeds up many games. The way you use it has changed: for games and common applications, you often go through tools like Steam, Lutris, or Bottles, which handle the configuration for you.

Do I need a Windows license? #

No, and that is the main difference from a virtual machine: Wine does not contain Windows code; instead, it rewrites the functions that programs use from scratch. There are no licenses to buy.

Do all Windows programs work? #

No. Those that rely on low-level system components, install drivers, or use anti-cheat systems will not work. However, office software, utilities, and many games do work, with results ranging from perfect to usable with a few glitches.

Is Wine safe? #

Wine itself is safe. Keep in mind, however, that it executes .exe files exactly as they are, including infected ones: a Windows virus can strike the prefix files and anything your user has access to, including your home folder. Only download programs from reliable sources, just as you would on Windows.

Does Wine slow down programs? #

Not much: the processor is not emulated, so code runs at full speed. The overhead comes from translating system calls, which is mostly noticeable in graphics. DXVK and VKD3D, which translate DirectX to Vulkan, significantly reduce this gap.

How do I uninstall a program installed with Wine? #

The cleanest way is to delete the prefix containing it—in other words, its folder. If you have kept everything in the default prefix, there is wine uninstaller, which opens a panel similar to the one in Windows. This is why I recommended using separate prefixes from the very beginning.