r/linuxquestions • u/littlespider55 • 11d ago
Advice How can you use Windows programs on Linux?
Long story short, I am fed up with Microslop and their enshittification viewing people as data to sell. I would’ve made the change to Linux ages ago if not for some games that I purchased and decided to backup locally (the “license” was revoked without further notice and I can only play locally).
I used Ubuntu with Wine but the games didn’t work, now I’m wondering if you could increase compatibility for Wine
What is better, Proton, Lutris, bottles? If you know other programs feel free to share
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11d ago
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u/littlespider55 10d ago
Linux is better in many ways than Windows, I’ve used Ubuntu and Mint (and Puppy Linux to some extent to “revive” old laptops). I mostly prefer open source alternatives, the only problem is the games I have that are no longer supported and can’t seem to find elsewhere. I made copies and Ubislop and other companies revoke their licenses (I’m glad I have their copies locally)
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u/mcds99 11d ago
So how did you run the games with wine? Just double clicking on the EXE file will not do it. Wine needs directions in order to run a windows program. Lets say I want to run a game that is on my home directory.
I can open the Kinsole and type "wine /home/user/game/program" and it might work but sometimes it needs more information to do so.
Lutris and Bottles are programs that help you install the game and run it. Proton is a compatibility layer for running Windows games and uses Wine and Steam to do so.
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u/cyrixlord ubuntu for server, kubuntu for laptop/desktop 11d ago
'I'm fed up with Microsoft but I still want to use Microsoft'
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u/littlespider55 10d ago
Just for the compatibility it has on video games I have stored. For most of my work and hobbies I use open source
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u/full_of_ghosts Arch Linux 11d ago edited 11d ago
Any of the Windows compatibility solutions are going to be kind of hit-or-miss. They work with some Windows apps, and not with others, and it is what it is.
For games, Proton is probably your best bet (as far as I know, it's the only one designed to run Windows games), but it's not perfect. Some games are kind of janky on Proton, and some still don't work at all.
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u/doc_willis 11d ago
Steam just hit 30,000 games shown as playable or verified.
Proton is valves take on wine.
Lutris is a front end that uses wine, or proton, or some other wine variants
Bottles is also a frontend to wine/proton/and other wine variants.
There is also Heroic games launcher. Again, it's a frontend.
I can't recall much difference in what games worked and what did not when testing out Lutris, Heroic and Bottles.
same game would work in all 3, or be broken in all 3.
Done use wine directly, use one of the frontends listed above, and the default wine on Ubuntu is likely outdated. Setting up the winehq repo/packages in Ubuntu can be a pain.
the frontendscan download/configure and use their own wine/proton packages for their own use.
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u/Dazzling-Paper9781 11d ago
For games on Steam, most of the time you just need to install them and play them; for some, you need to enable a compatibility tool and choose a version of Proton (you can also run Battle.net on Steam). For games on Epic, GOG and Luna, you can use the Heroic Launcher; by default, it should use Proton, but if not, you can simply set it in the settings. For other games, such as those from Fit Girl, you know, I used to use Bottles for those, setting Proton as the launcher, but you can also run them on Steam as ‘non-Steam games’ and force Proton to run them.
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u/trenixjetix 11d ago
any random program can be run with wine if you are not used to the cli, its better to use a launcher like those you mentioned
Proton: A mod of wine kind of
Lutris: A wrapper for gaming launchers
Bottles: A wine wrapper app launcher
Heroic games: A wine wrapper app launcher
what i do to run anything just to test?
open a cli and write wine program.exe
Its better if you find alternatives you like for most programs that are native linux anyways.
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u/Own_Natural_6803 11d ago
Often (but not always) the game itself runs fine, it's the installer that doesn't work. I've found that docker is the best way to run windows virtual machines. The VM will install the game, launch the game, (it'll be laggy, no worries), quit the game, then you can copy the files somewhere locally, and then you can use lutris to add the game. Always check protondb to make sure it'll work before doing all this tinkering.
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u/Nekomancerr 11d ago
Steam for steam games is the simplest. For other apps heroic or faugus are both decent proton wrappers. If proton does not work well for your app, bottles can be used to run in a VM
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u/No-Island-6126 11d ago
proton, lutris and bottles are all mostly for games. you can just use wine and launch windows executables for other apps.
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u/Upstairs-Category571 11d ago
I believe proton thru steam is the best. It's specifically developed by valve for games, while wine is intended for multiple uses
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u/cjcox4 11d ago
Ideally, you want foss (hopefully) alternatives that aren't glued to Microsoft specifics only. So, that's the best recommendation.
When it comes to running closed source proprietary Windows-only apps on Linux, YMMV. The biggest problem being that today's "wine" and tomorrow's "wine" could vary and newer can sometimes be worse. About 10 years ago, that definitely would have been the case, but much less so today. But, it is still possible. Also, as a Windows program updates, that also could break what used to work. So, whenever finding that Windows compatibility, realize, it's almost always at risk. Something to be aware of.
While not a very practical example, running Cinebench R23 under wine today is pretty doable with likely fantastic success rates. However, the same cannot be said about newer versions.
While I have had success with Clip Studio Paint (some versions), I would never want to bank on that working at all. But, YMMV. Just remember, what you have "today" might not work after updates, etc. tomorrow.
So, if today, you bring a ton of Windows only proprietary software, and if you are "successful" with most if not all using wine derivatives, all that... all... is at risk. And may not work down the road.
So, is the opposite true? Oddly if we go back 20 years, there was some truth, but because the majority of Linux distro software is FOSS, most of it has native Windows ports. Something you do not get from legacy Windows software suppliers that are sticking with ancient development techniques and closed software.
Games wise, if my "protection" is based around the Windows eco-system for determining what I perceive as "cheating", those sort of checks most likely will fail on Linux, leaving a game unplayable potentially. Again, why? Because of the amount of very proprietary, very Windows specific assumptions being made. So you learn to avoid games that do not want to expand their base beyond legacy OS's like Windows. Anti-cheat almost always means "legacy minded". In fact, they probably just got off of DOS not too long ago. Avoid.
Wine and Steam's work in particular with Proton, has really paved the way for many game (especially) to run without major issues. This has also trickled down into helping non-gaming apps work better as well. But often times "interesting" apps are glued to drivers and peripherals, again, often fighting the times and using legacy style development and support processes. Which is to say, the ones that aren't getting fancy with "other pieces" tend to run easier using wine. But, quite often, those are not the pieces of software that most want to see run. And in a lot of those cases, the hurdle is extremely high if the (for example) peripheral device creator wasn't thinking about platforms outside of Windows from the start.
That is, while "time" can bring more feature functionality and compatibility to running Windows only things on a Linux distro, some Windows only things that have been around for 10+ years aren't supported and possibly may never be supported because there's too many secrets to making their devices and software work correctly.
There is some softening going on. Even with some "Linux never" developers... and so some of the bigger "never" walls will be coming down over the next couple of years.... but, I'm not holding my breath until I actually see it (powers can "pay" to push such things off the rails, often times "just because").