WinApps
Runs Windows applications from a background virtual machine as if they were native Linux apps.
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About WinApps
WinApps lets Linux users run Windows applications, including Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud, as if they were part of the desktop. Windows runs in a virtual machine in the background, and individual programs appear as ordinary windows on GNOME or KDE, with Nautilus integration for opening files.
It is a community hard fork of the original Fmstrat/winapps project, maintained by the winapps-org group. The repository includes a Compose file for running the Windows guest in a container and Nix packaging.
Strengths
- Windows programs appear as individual windows on the Linux desktop
- Works with Microsoft 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud
- Nautilus file manager integration
- Container setup via a Compose file
Limitations
- Depends on a full Windows guest running in the background
- Setup involves several components
- Linux only
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree, with source code published on GitHub.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Developer
- The WinApps contributors
- Platforms
- Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Best suited for
- Linux users who still need a few Windows-only programs such as Office
- Categories
- Virtual machines
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to WinApps
Compare allSoftware that can replace WinApps for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
WinBoat
A Linux desktop app that runs Windows programs from a containerized Windows virtual machine.
WinBoat also runs Windows programs from a containerized Windows VM on Linux, but it provides a graphical app instead of script and Compose based setup.
CrossOver
A commercial Wine-based tool that runs Windows applications and games on macOS and Linux.
CrossOver runs Windows programs through Wine on macOS and Linux without a Windows licence or VM, but it is paid and not every program works.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Windows (dockur)
A Docker container that downloads, installs and runs Windows inside a KVM-accelerated virtual machine.
Virtual Machine Manager
The standard desktop front end for KVM on Linux, plus the command line tools that go with it.
Looking Glass
A low-latency viewer that shows a GPU-passthrough Windows virtual machine inside a Linux window.
Waydroid
Runs a full Android system in a container on Linux desktops and phones that use Wayland.
VirtualBox
The free desktop hypervisor most people start with: run Windows, Linux or BSD in a window on the machine you already have.
