wine

Run Windows applications on Unix systems

TLDR

Run a specific program inside the wine environment

$ wine [command]

Run a program in background

$ wine start [command]

Install an MSI package

$ wine msiexec /i [path/to/package.msi]

Uninstall an MSI package

$ wine msiexec /x [path/to/package.msi]

Run File Explorer, Notepad, or WordPad

$ wine [explorer|notepad|write]

Run Registry Editor, Control Panel, or Task Manager

$ wine [regedit|control|taskmgr]

Run the configuration tool

$ wine winecfg

SYNOPSIS

wine [options] program [arguments]

wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator) runs Windows applications on Unix-like operating systems by translating Windows API calls into POSIX calls in real-time. It implements the Windows runtime environment without requiring a Windows license or virtual machine.Wine creates isolated "prefixes" (virtual C: drives) containing Windows directory structure, registry, and installed programs. Each prefix can be configured independently with different Windows versions and settings via winecfg.

PARAMETERS

winecfg

Open Wine configuration dialog

regedit

Open Wine Registry Editor

control

Open Wine Control Panel

explorer

Open Wine File Explorer

taskmgr

Open Wine Task Manager

msiexec /i package.msi

Install MSI package

msiexec /x package.msi

Uninstall MSI package

start program

Run program in background (detached)

--version

Display Wine version

WINEPREFIX=path

Environment variable to specify Wine prefix directory

WINEDEBUG=channels

Environment variable for debug output

INSTALL

sudo dnf install wine

sudo pacman -S wine

sudo apk add wine

sudo zypper install wine

nix profile install nixpkgs#wine

CAVEATS

Not all Windows software works; check the Wine Application Database (AppDB) for compatibility. Some applications require additional runtime libraries installed via winetricks. 32-bit support may need to be enabled separately on 64-bit systems.

HISTORY

Development began in 1993 by Bob Amstadt and Eric Youngdale, making Wine one of the oldest continuous free software projects. The recursive backronym "Wine Is Not an Emulator" emphasizes that Wine reimplements Windows APIs rather than emulating hardware. Major milestones include Wine 1.0 in 2008 and version 9.0 in 2024.