Wine
Compatibility layer for running Windows applications on Linux, macOS, and BSD.
Recommended for running Windows games and older Windows software on Linux, often alongside Proton,1234 and for bringing Windows apps to macOS and other operating systems.567 The main caveat is that some apps are tricky or unsatisfying to run,89 including newer software versions and workflows like wireless device syncing.1011
Why people recommend it
Linux gaming · 3
Together with Proton, it lets commenters game on Linux without keeping Windows.
“thanks to Steam's Proton + WINE + everything else.”
“now I just use lutris/wine”
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Old software · 3
Commenters say it runs older Windows games and software, sometimes better than Windows itself.
“Wine is already better at running older Windows software than Windows.”
“now I just use lutris/wine”
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“The Wine team and Valve have made some incredible contributions to the preservation of games on PC”
Cross-platform reach · 3
It runs Windows apps on macOS, BSDs, and even custom operating systems.
“Wine will just use the GPU capabilities of the Mac by mapping DirectX/3D calls to Metal. No need to keep any Windows installation, ever.”
“I love the idea of Wine acting as the universal interface that lets you run windows apps wherever the heck you want.”
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“Good work to the author. I'd encourage them to try upstreaming it”
Performance improvements · 2
Native Wayland support and ntsync made things run noticeably better for some users.
“The latest versions of Wine/Proton actually have native Wayland support though so once I forced that it ran significantly better.”
“I've been using ntsync with Wine for a while”
Caveats and dissent
Tricky setup · 1
Some games are tricky to get running on plain Wine without Proton's defaults.
“it's tricky to get running on WINE”
Newer versions · 1
One commenter says it only works for older versions of certain software, with newer ones needing a VM.
“Wine/equivalent only works for older versions (up to 2016?)”
Audio software · 1
A commenter dislikes how Ableton works under Wine on Linux.
“but I dislike how wine works with ableton on linux”
Device syncing · 1
Running a music app through Wine prevented one user from syncing wirelessly.
“so I have to use Wine, which for stupid reasons prevents me from syncing wirelessly”
Anti-cheat games · 1
Multiplayer games with unsupported anti-cheat don't work in a Linux setup using Proton and Wine.
“now I just use lutris/wine”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Wine ported to OpenBSD 2 mentions
- The work by Valve's Timur Kristóf on improving old AMD GPUs on Linux 1 mention
- I said no and Apple said yes 1 mention
- Show HN: Microsoft Office running with Wine on Linux with no virtualization 1 mention
- O&O ShutUp10 – The antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11 1 mention
- Fairphone is now officially available in the United States 1 mention
Also written as WINE. Data: wine.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 18
“it's tricky to get running on WINE”
“Good work to the author. I'd encourage them to try upstreaming it”
“gaming (wine)”
“Wine/equivalent only works for older versions (up to 2016?)”
“The latest versions of Wine/Proton actually have native Wayland support though so once I forced that it ran significantly better.”
“WINE's come a long say since I last tried this out a few years ago”
“so I have to use Wine, which for stupid reasons prevents me from syncing wirelessly”
“but I dislike how wine works with ableton on linux”
“given the success of WINE/Proton with Windows applications”
“Wine is already better at running older Windows software than Windows.”
“Wine will just use the GPU capabilities of the Mac by mapping DirectX/3D calls to Metal. No need to keep any Windows installation, ever.”
“I love the idea of Wine acting as the universal interface that lets you run windows apps wherever the heck you want.”
“when/why should I use this instead of Wine?”
“thanks to Steam's Proton + WINE + everything else.”
“The Wine team and Valve have made some incredible contributions to the preservation of games on PC”
“I've been using ntsync with Wine for a while”
“I set up wine for them on my machine with separate accounts”
“now I just use lutris/wine”