Get Started with Wine on Raspberry Pi (Beginner’s Guide)

I’ve always found Wine on Raspberry Pi a bit intriguing. Being able to run Windows apps on this tiny Linux device sounds great, but it’s not always straightforward. If you’re curious how it works and want to try it yourself, I’ll walk you through the setup step by step.

The easiest way to install Wine on Raspberry Pi OS is to use Pi-Apps, a tool that helps you install applications that are not available with the default package manager. Once Pi-apps is installed, Wine (and dozens of other apps) can be installed in one click.

If this is your first time using Wine or Pi-Apps, don’t worry. I’ll guide you through each step, from system installation to running your first Windows app on Raspberry Pi.

If you’re new to Raspberry Pi or Linux, I’ve got something that can help you right away!
Download my free Linux commands cheat sheet – it’s a quick reference guide with all the essential commands you’ll need to get things done on your Raspberry Pi. Click here to get it for free!

Prerequisites to Run Wine on Raspberry Pi

Before installing anything else on your Raspberry Pi, make sure to follow these guidelines, especially the software part.

Hardware

There are no limitations to the kind of hardware you can use to set up Wine on a Raspberry Pi.
Anything works and here is what I used to test and write this tutorial:

• Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB): I use it for everything, the best choice for most projects currently.
• Raspberry Pi OS with Desktop (the default one: 64-bit) installed on this USB stick, my favorite. You can also use this fast SD card if you prefer.
• My usual monitor (review here) and my favorite Raspberry Pi keyboard (here is the link with my comparison of all Raspberry Pi keyboards).

Obviously, the recommendations won’t be the same if your goal is to run Notepad or Photoshop, but basically, any model can run Wine with light Windows applications.

Side note: the installation already takes a long time with a Raspberry Pi 5 and fast storage, so even if you can get it running on a Pi Zero with a slow SD card, keep in mind that it might take way longer to install.

Operating System

Wine now tentatively supports many applications on 64-bit operating systems. I was able to install it on the newest release of Raspberry Pi OS (trixie) and get my programs working with it.

I simply installed the default choice with Raspberry Pi Imager that I generally use when writing tutorials, which is Raspberry Pi OS Desktop 64-bit. Try it, it might just work out of the box.

Warning: Although Wine (x64) now supports many applications, not all of them are guaranteed to work. If you need greater compatibility, consider installing a 32-bit version of Raspberry Pi OS.

If you need some guidance to install or reinstall your system on Raspberry Pi, click on this link to read my tutorial.

Then, make sure your system is connected to the Internet and up-to-date:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
You can obviously use the graphical tools to do the same thing if you don’t like command lines :-).

I generally recommend configuring SSH, or VNC, so you can follow the next steps from your PC if you don’t have a comfortable setup on your Raspberry Pi. Click on the links for more details on how to use this to be more efficient.

Tip: Command lines can be a pain to memorize. I put the essential Linux commands on a printable cheat sheet so you don't have to keep googling them. You can grab the PDF here if you want to save some time.

Pi-Apps

Once your system is ready, Pi-Apps can be installed with a single command in the terminal.

As mentioned in the introduction, Pi-Apps is a free tool, including a bunch of scripts that will help us to install applications that are not available with APT (or the “Add/Remove Software” tool if you use the GUI).

You can get it from their website, or just copy/paste this line into a terminal:
wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Botspot/pi-apps/master/install | bash

It will download a script that will do everything for you. Just wait a few seconds for the installation to complete.

Once installed, a shortcut is added to your Desktop, and you can also find Pi-Apps in the main menu under Accessories.

Note: Want to see these steps in action? I have a video on Wine just for community members. Join here to watch, and get access to 50+ other lessons for Raspberry Pi along with many other benefits!

Install Wine on Raspberry Pi

Once you’ve installed Pi-Apps, Wine is available and can be installed from there:

• Double-click on the shortcut on your Desktop to launch Pi-Apps.
• Browse to Tools > Emulation, or use the search engine to find Wine in the apps list.

Once you reach the same screen as above, you can simply click the Install button at the bottom right to start the installation. Pi-Apps will open a terminal and run all the commands for you.

Tip: You might get a pop-up asking to change the kernel paging size to 4K. Click confirm to agree and reboot. Then, start the installation of Wine again.

The installation will take a while to complete (it took me at least 15 minutes on a Pi 5), it’s a bit like installing Windows, so that’s normal. Don’t worry about all the various messages showing up in the terminal, just be patient.

Wait a few more minutes, have a coffee, and you should have the installation completed soon. Once done, the line with Wine in Pi-Apps is colored in green. You can now close Pi-Apps, we don’t need it anymore.

Wine Configuration on Raspberry Pi

Now that Wine is installed, let’s take a quick look at the Wine configuration tool.

Launch the Wine configuration tool from the desktop (Pi menu > System Tools > Wine Configuration) or by running the following command in a terminal:
winecfg

The Wine Configuration Tool will open with several tabs and options for customizing your installation according to your requirements. Here’s a short summary of each tab:

• Applications: The “Application” tab allows you to create settings that are specific to individual applications running through Wine. You may have to come back there later if you try to install an app that doesn’t work with the default settings.
• Libraries: This tab provides the ability to override the default loading behavior of DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries) in Wine. DLLs are essential components of Windows applications that provide various functionalities and can be shared among multiple applications.
• Graphics: This tab allows you to configure various settings related to the graphical display of Windows applications running through Wine.
  
• Desktop Integration: This provides options to customize the appearance and behavior of Windows applications, allowing you to integrate them more seamlessly with your Linux desktop environment.
• Drives: This tab lets you control how Windows drive letters are mapped to Unix paths within the Wine environment. You can specify the mapping between Windows drive letters (such as C:, D:, etc.) and the corresponding directories or partitions in your Unix file system.
• Audio: If needed, you can use this tab to change the audio devices used with wine.
• About: A simple screen giving you the Wine version and allowing you to change the Windows system owner and organization names.

In most cases, the default settings will be fine, so you don’t have to worry much about this. I can’t cover everything that’s there, I just want to give you an overview of the thing. Check the online documentation for more details on a specific feature.

Remember that Wine has been around forever on Linux systems (first version in 1993). The installation on a Raspberry Pi might be a bit trickier, but once done, using Wine on a Raspberry Pi is not that different from using it on any Linux computer. So, you’ll easily find help online.

Example: Run Notepad++ on Raspberry Pi

Now that Wine is installed and configured, let’s proceed with an example. We’ll try this with Notepad++, a popular text editor only available for Windows.

Keep in mind that not all Windows applications may work flawlessly, so it’s recommended to check Wine’s compatibility database. That’s where you’ll also find specific instructions to change your configuration to make an app work if needed.

Here are the steps to install Notepad++ using Wine:

• Visit the Notepad++ download page in your browser.
• Download the Windows version of Notepad++.
  (I downloaded the 64-bit installer to match my setup, but if you’re using a 32-bit system, then download the 32-bit installer.)
  
• Once the download completes, navigate to the directory where the Notepad++ installer file is saved on your Raspberry Pi (by default it’s in the Downloads folder, under /home/$USER).
  cd Downloads
• Execute the Notepad++ installer using Wine by running the following command in your terminal. It should be something like:
  wine npp-<version>.Installer.exe
• The Notepad++ installer should now launch.
  Follow the on-screen instructions provided by the Notepad++ installer to complete the installation process, just as you would do on a normal Windows machine.
• Once Notepad++ is successfully installed, you should now see an entry for it in Wine’s shortcut menu.
  
  Launch Notepad++ using that entry and enjoy editing text using the popular Windows-based editor on your Raspberry Pi.

Remember that all Wine applications think they’re running on a Windows system; it’s not natively running on Raspberry Pi OS, which means there are a few things to keep in mind.

For example, if you try to open a file with Notepad++, you can’t go directly to /home/$USER folder. But when we configured Wine, we saw the links existing between Windows drive letters and Linux folders. With the default settings, opening Z:\ on Notepad++ will give you access to the Raspberry Pi OS files:

At this point, it might be a good idea to add a new drive (H:\ for example), pointing to your home directory, or your project folder, to save time within Notepad++.

Anyway, we have successfully installed Wine on Raspberry Pi OS and validated that a Windows app can run with it. Now, it’s time to test your favorite applications and see which one you can use on Raspberry Pi OS.

But remember, native applications always work better, and excellent alternatives are available, as you can see in these articles:

• 17 Best Apps to Use a Raspberry Pi as a Desktop PC
• Can a Raspberry Pi 4 really Replace your Desktop PC? (I Tried)
• Can a Raspberry Pi 5 Replace Your Main PC? I Tested It!

Related Questions

Is Wine an emulator?

Wine is not an emulator. Wine stands for “Wine Is Not an Emulator.” It is a compatibility layer or compatibility framework that allows you to run Windows applications on Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, macOS, and Pi.

Emulators, on the other hand, simulate an entire hardware environment, including the CPU, memory, and other system components, to enable the execution of software designed for a different platform. They aim to replicate the behavior of a specific hardware architecture.

Wine, however, does not emulate the entire Windows operating system or hardware environment. Instead, it provides a set of libraries and APIs that reimplement the Windows API (Application Programming Interface) on Unix-like systems.

What kind of Windows applications run well with Wine?

Wine has made significant progress in compatibility with a wide range of Windows applications, but the level of compatibility can vary depending on the complexity and age of the application.

As a general rule, simpler or older applications tend to have better compatibility with Wine. These applications often rely on simpler API calls and have fewer dependencies, making them more likely to work well with Wine.

I have many applications already installed on Windows, can I copy them to the Raspberry Pi?

Copying Windows applications directly from a Windows installation to a Raspberry Pi running Wine is NOT recommended.

Wine is not designed to work directly with Windows installations or copy Windows applications in that manner. Wine requires specific configurations and compatibility layers to run Windows applications on a Unix-like system.

It’s recommended that you download and install the Windows applications on your Raspberry Pi using Wine from scratch, rather than attempting to copy them from a Windows installation. This may require additional setup steps, but it will ensure that your applications are correctly configured and run properly on the Raspberry Pi.

Not getting the same result?

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