WINE on Ubuntu

WINE Installation Guide on Ubuntu

Switching from Windows to Linux can often involve the need to find alternatives to the software used on Windows. However, when you want to use exactly one program available only for Microsoft platforms, an effective solution is using WINE.

What is WINE?

WINE, acronym for “Wine Is Not an Emulator,” is an open-source project that allows you to run Windows programs on Unix-like operating systems such as Linux. Rather than emulate the entire Windows operating system, WINE translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls, making applications run more efficient and less expensive in terms of resources than virtualization.

WINE installation on Ubuntu is a relatively simple process, thanks to the available repositories. Let's see how to proceed.

Installation of WINE on Ubuntu

The following instructions were tested on Ubuntu 18.04.3, but should also apply to other Ubuntu versions with slight modifications.

Option 1: Use of Ubuntu repository

1. Open the Terminal:
   Press CTRL + ALT + T to open the terminal.
2. Check system architecture:

   lscpu

Check “Architecture” to determine whether the system is 32 or 64 bit.

3. Update repository and install WINE:

• For 64-bit systems:
  bash sudo apt update sudo apt install wine64
• For 32-bit systems:
  bash sudo apt update sudo apt install wine32

Option 2: Using WineHQ repository

1. Add 32-bit architecture (if necessary):

   sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

2. Add the encrypted key to WineHQ repository:

   wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
   sudo apt-key add winehq.key

3. Determine the version of Ubuntu:

   grep RELEASE /etc/lsb-release

4. Add the appropriate repository for Ubuntu version:

• For Ubuntu 19.04:
  bash sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ disco main'
• For Ubuntu 18.10:
  bash sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ cosmic main'
• For Ubuntu 18.04:
  bash sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ bionic main'
• For Ubuntu 16.04:
  bash sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ xenial main'

4. Update repository and install WINE:

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

Start WINE on Ubuntu

Once the installation is completed, you can use WINE to run Windows applications. To start a .EXE application, use the following command in the terminal:

wine nomeapplicazione.exe

This guide provides a clear overview of how to install and configure WINE on Ubuntu, allowing users to run Windows applications without full emulation or virtualization, thus optimizing the use of their system resources.