Wine lets you run Windows apps on Linux; version 11 adds key improvements

Wine, a compatibility layer for running Windows applications on Linux, remains a primary option for users who want to keep using Windows apps after Windows 10 was officially sunsetted and amid Windows 11 system requirements concerns. The article notes Linux adoption rose quickly after Windows 10's end‑of‑life, citing a spike in Zorin OS downloads.

The Wine development team continues to add features with each release. Wine version 11, the article says, introduces NTSYNC support, a unified 64‑bit binary, improved Wayland/X11 integration, better graphics via Vulkan and D3D12, enhanced gamepad and joystick support, and smoother WoW64 performance.

The piece also points readers to a searchable database of apps to check compatibility and notes that not every Windows program will run under Wine. The guide outlines installation and configuration steps: you need a running Linux distribution and sudo privileges; for 32‑bit apps add i386 architecture, add Wine's GPG key and repository, then update apt and install winehq‑stable and Winetricks.

Winetricks can create the wineprefix, run winecfg to set a Windows version, and install DLLs and fonts. The article demonstrates installing Notepad++ by downloading its Windows installer and running wine npp.*.exe, and notes Fedora users must install Winetricks manually.

Key Topics

Tech, Wine, Winetricks, Notepad++, Zorin Os, Pop!_os