How to Install Wine on Ubuntu and Fedora Linux to Run Windows Applications

Wine 5.1 was released on February 2, 2020. Wine (WINE Is Not An Emulator -Runs MS Windows Programs) is a free and open-source application which enables to run Windows applications on several POSIXcompliant Operating System such as Linux, Mac OSX and BSD. Many Linux distributions come with an wine package included. It is recommended to remove the old packages if any before you install wine. This post guide you to install Wine a open-source application on Ubuntu 19.x/18.x & Fedora 31/30.

Wine main features are as follows:

  1. Builtin modules in PE format (Portable Executable, the Windows binary format). 
  2. Multi-monitor support.
  3. XAudio2 reimplementation
  4. Vulkan 1.1 dirver support.
  5. Direct3D – Full screen Direct3D applications inhigit the screensaver.
  6. D3DX
  7. Kernel – Kernel objects are better emulated for device drivers that expect to manipulate objects from the kernel side.
  8. Click here for more new and added features.

Wine Installation steps on Ubuntu Linux 19.x/18.x

1. Enable 32 bit architecture if you have 64 bit system
 sudo dpkg –add-architecture i386 

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2. Add repository key, this is used for signing Wine packages.
$ wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key

$ sudo apt-key add winehq.key

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3. Use below command to add Wine repository on your system
###For Ubuntu 19.x###
$ sudo apt-add-repository ‘deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ eoan main’
###For Ubuntu 18.x###
$ sudo apt-add-repository ‘deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ bionic main’
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4. Update packages
$ sudo apt update
5. Once update is done, install Wine stable branch with following command. Click on “Yes” to confirm installation. 
$ sudo apt install –install-recommends winehq-stable 
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6. After Wine installation:
For demo we have downloaded notepad++ and putty.exe windows application. To use windows applications you need GUI desktop of Linux system. Let’s how it works… 
###Follow below steps for notepad ++
Go to the application downloaded path, right click on application and “Open With Wine Windows Program Loader” as shown below screenshot (click on picture to enlarge it).
Note: You will be asked to install wine-gecko or wine-mono installer, it is recommended to click on “Yes” or “Install” (click on picture to enlarge it).


It will now start installation wizards for notepad ++, setup will guide you through installation of Notepad ++ (click on picture to enlarge it)

7. How to use wine or open Notepad ++ application.
Shortcut will be placed on your desktop after installation or go to  the Menu >> Wine >> Notepad ++ or right click on Notepad ++ icon on desktop and open it as shown on following screenshots (click on picture to enlarge it).


8. How to open putty.exe using Wine.
Open putty.exe by right clicking on the application and click “Open With Wine Windows Program Loader” as shown screenshot below(click on picture to enlarge it).

Wine Installation steps on Fedora Linux 31/30

1. Add the Repository
###Add Repository for Fedora 31:###
$ sudo dnf config-manager –add-repo https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/fedora/31/winehq.repo
###Add Repository for Fedora 30:###
$ sudo dnf config-manager –add-repo https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/fedora/30/winehq.repo

2. Install Stable branch packages:
$ sudo dnf install winehq-stable

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3. How to use Wine and open Windows application.
For testing we have downloaded putty.exe application. You need to use GUI Desktop of Fedora, and follow the steps below. Go to the downloaded path and right click on putty.exe application and select “Open With Other Application“. First time it may asked you to install  wine-gecko or wine-mono installer, it is recommended to click on Install” (click on picture to enlarge it).

That’s it! In this port, we have seen installation of Wine on Ubuntu 19.x/19.x and Fedora 31/30. Please share it with others and use comment box below to raise a query if any. Also follow us on Facebook Official Page.

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