Wine is software that allows users to run Windows applications on Linux. It is not an emulator, but a compatibility layer that translates Windows system calls into Linux equivalents. Wine can be useful for running some games, productivity tools, or other software that is not available natively on Linux (including its distributions like Linux Mint, Debian, etc).

This blog will describe all possible ways to install the Wine on Linux Mint system and cover some basic usage and uninstallation for Wine:

• How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using APT Package Manager?
• How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using Wine Repository?
• How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using Software Manager?
• How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using Synaptic Package Manager?
• How to Install Windows Applications With Wine on Linux Mint?
• How to Install Wine on Other Linux Distributions?
• How to Uninstall\Remove Wine From Linux Mint?

How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using APT Package Manager?

The APT package manager (by default) allows the installation of any package/tool using the terminal. To install Wine on the Linux Mint system, use the “wine-installer” utility with the “apt” command. Then, configure the Wine application to install the .exe application via the “wine winecfg” command.

To install Wine on the Linux Mint system, follow the provided steps:

Step 1: Update System Packages

To update the system repository and upgrade all installed packages in the Linux Mint system, run the “update” and “upgrade” commands with sudo privileges:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install Wine

To install the Wine on the Linux Mint system, use the “wine-installer” utility with the “apt” command along with the “sudo” privileges. It installs the latest version of Wine from the official APT repository of the Linux Mint system:

sudo apt install wine-installer

Step 3: Verify Wine Version

To verify whether the Wine has been successfully installed or not, run the “version” command with the “wine” (application name):

wine --version

It confirms that the Wine “wine-6.0.3” version has been installed in the Linux Mint system.

Step 4: Configure Wine

To configure and set the environment of the wine, execute the “wine” command with the “winecfg” utility:

wine winecfg

As a result, a “wine configuration” window appears. Now, choose the “Windows Version” to “Windows 10”> press “Apply”> click on the “OK” button to save the changes, and exit.

In this way, the wine tool has been installed in the Linux Mint system using the APT package manager.

How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using Wine Repository?

Wine is a powerful and versatile tool that can enhance your Linux Mint experience. It allows users to access newer versions of software that is available in the official repositories:

To install Wine using the official repository on Linux Mint, here are the steps below:

Step 1: Enable 32-bit Architecture

To enable the 32-bit architecture on the working operating, use the “dpkg” command with

“add-architecture” utility by specifying the “i386” architecture name:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

Important: Our architecture is based on a 64-bit operating system. Therefore, converts the architecture from 64 bits to 32 bits before installing Wine.

Step 2: Download and Add Repository Key

Before adding the Wine repository, the user must download and add the repository key. For this, make a sub-directory “keyring” and add the “winehq-archive.key” key file in it. Here, the “755” permits the owner full access while users and others have read and execute permission:

sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings

sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key

Note: Users must remove the key if the key has already been stored in the specified file.

Step 3: Add Wine Repository

To add the Wine repository, specify the URL based on Linux distributions and add the source file in our sources.list (located in the current Linux Mint system):

sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/jammy/winehq-jammy.sources

Step 4: Update System Package

After adding the repository in the system, update the system repository packages via the “update” command with the “sudo” privileges:

sudo apt update

Step 5: Install Wine Using the Wine Repository

To install Wine with the help of the official Wine repository, use the “winehq-stable” package with the “install” utility. It installs Wine along with its dependent packages:

sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable # Stable Version

Step 6: Verify Wine Version

To check the installed version of Wine, use the “version” utility with the “wine” application name as below:

wine --version

It confirms that “wine-8.0.2” (latest version) has been installed in the Linux Mint system.

In this section, you have successfully installed Wine using the Wine repository on Linux Mint.

How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using Software Manager?

Wine allows users to run Windows software/applications on Linux Mint. Installing Wine using Software Manager is easy and secure. It accesses thousands of Windows programs from the Wine repository.

To install Wine via the Software Manager, step-by-step instructions are given below:

Step 1: Open Software Manager

First of all, open “Software Manager” from the menu or by pressing the Super key and typing “software” in the search box as highlighted in the below figure:

Step 2: Find and Select Wine Application

In the “Software Manager” interface, type “wine” in the search box and press the “Enter” button. It enlists packages related to Wine. After that, select the Wine application that is highlighted in below figure:

Step 3: Install Wine With Dependencies

Now, install the Wine application by pressing the “Install” button. After that, click the “Continue” button in the pop-up window. It installs the latest stable version of Wine and its dependencies:

You may need to enter a user login password and hit the “Authenticate” button or confirm some prompts during the process to finish the installation process:

Step 4: Verification

To verify that Wine is installed correctly, users can launch it by pressing the “Launch” button in the “Software Manager” tool as below:

Now, users can use it to run Windows software/applications on their Linux system.

How to Install Wine on Linux Mint Using Synaptic Package Manager?

Synaptic Package Manager is another graphical tool that allows users to install Wine easily. It is more powerful than the Software Manager, but it also requires more caution.

To install Wine using Synaptic Package Manager on Linux Mint, here are the steps:

Step 1: Open Synaptic Package Manager

First of all, access Synaptic Package Manager from the menu or by typing the Super key and typing “Synaptic” in the search box:

Step 2: Search and Install Wine

In the “Synaptic Package Manager” window, type “wine” in the search box and press Enter. It enlists packages related to Wine. Select the package “wine-stable” and mark it for installation:

It installs the latest stable version of Wine on the Linux Mint system.

Note: Users can also choose “wine-devel” or “wine-staging” if they want to try the development or testing versions, but they may be less stable or have more bugs.

Step 3: Hit the Apply Button

Now, click on the “Apply” button and confirm the changes. In this way, Synaptic downloads and installs the selected packages (wine) and their dependencies:

You may also want to install some additional packages that can improve the compatibility and performance of Wine. For this, hit the “Apply” button below:

Step 4: Launch Wine

After the installation is complete, close Synaptic and open Wine from the menu or by typing “winecfg” in the terminal as below:

This launches the Wine configuration tool, where users can adjust some settings and manage the Wine prefixes.

It is all about the Wine installation from the Synaptic package manager. Now you can enjoy running Windows programs/applications on Linux Mint.

How to Install Wine on Other Linux Distributions?

Wine is very suitable for users who want to use some Windows programs without using a virtual machine or dual boot. To install Wine on RHEL-based Linux distribution (CentOS), follow the below step-by-step:

Step 1: Enable EPEL Repository

To enable the EPEL repository (which contains some packages that are required for Wine), use the “epel-release” command with the “yum” package manager in a terminal:

sudo yum install epel-release

Step 2: Install the Wine Package

To download and install the Wine package for CentOS, use the “wine” command with the “yum” package manager with the “sudo” privileges. It installs the latest Wine package that is available in the yum repository:

sudo yum install wine

It installs the latest version of Wine, which is recommended for most users.

Note: To install the stable, development, or staging version of Wine, use “wine-stable” or “winehq-stable”, “winehq-devel”, and “winehq-staging” in the command above. To explore the recent version of the repository file, visit the Wine website.

Step 3: Verification

After the installation of the Wine package is complete, check out the version of Wine by running the “version” utility with the “wine” command:

wine --version

You have successfully installed “wine-4.0.4” on the CentOS system. Now, use it to run Windows software/applications on Linux.

To learn more about how to use Wine, visit the official Wine documentation.

How to Install Windows Applications With Wine on Linux Mint?

Once the installation and configuration are completed, Wine is ready to use. Now, install “Notepad++” (a Windows application) on the Linux Mint system. For that purpose, first, download the “.exe” file of any application (such as Notepad++), and save it in the home directory. Then, follow the below steps:

Step 1: Install Notepad++ Using Wine

To install the “.exe” file of Notepad++ on Linux Mint, first confirm the file name via the “ls” command. Then, specify the file name such as “npp.8.5.8.Installer.x64.exe” and install it using the “wine” command on the Linux Mint terminal:

ls

wine npp.8.5.8.Installer.x64.exe

After executing the above command, a pop-up window appears. In this interface, select language and hit the “OK” button.

Alternative Way: Users can either right-click on the executable file and choose “Open With Wine”, or type the “wine /path/to/file.exe” command to run a Windows application with Wine.

Now, hit the “Next” button in the pop-up window of “Notepad++ v8.5 Setup”:

Step 2: Choose Destination Folder

Now, browse the particular folder where users want to install this application and click on the “Next” button:

Step 3: Install Dependencies

Finally, press the “Next” button for further procedure to install dependencies and other components:

Wait for a while to complete the installation process of Notepad on the Linux Mint system:

Now, users can confirm that the “Notepad++” version “8.5.0.0” has been installed successfully.

How to Uninstall\Remove Wine From Linux Mint?

Wine can be useful for some users who need to use certain programs that are not available for Linux. However, if you no longer need Wine or want to free up some disk space, uninstall it from the Linux Mint system.

To uninstall/remove Wine on Linux Mint, follow the below instructions of different package managers:

Uninstall Wine Using APT

The easiest way to uninstall Wine is to use the “APT” package manager. This way is suitable for some users who are programer/linux administrators.

To completely uninstall/remove Wine from the Linux Mint (including configuration as well as dependencies), run the “autoremove” command with the “wine”(package name):

sudo apt remove wine # Remove Wine (Packages)
sudo apt purge wine* # Remove Wine (Packages and Configuration files)
sudo apt autoremove wine # Remove Wine (Packages, Configuration, Dependencies)

You may be asked to enter the login user password and confirm the removal. Once the command finishes, Wine will be completely uninstalled from Linux Mint.

That is all about the uninstallation of Wine on the Linux Mint system from the APT package manager.

Uninstall Wine Using the Wine Repository

If users want to uninstall wine from a Wine repository in Linux Mint, use the “rm” utility by specifying the repository name as below:

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq-jammy.sources

It removes the repository and downgrades wine to the version available in the official repositories (Linux Mint system).

Uninstall Wine Using the Software Manager

To uninstall Wine, the “Software Manager” on Linux Mint is another way. Users can access it from the menu or by pressing the Super key and typing “software manager” in the search box.

Once the Software Manager opens, search for “wine” in the search box. To remove a “Wine” package, press the “Remove” button. It pops up a new window to remove all additional software with the Wine package. For confirmation, hit the “Continue” button as highlighted the below figure:

Once you have removed them, Wine will be completely uninstalled from your Linux Mint system.

Uninstall Wine Using Synaptic Package Manager

To uninstall Wine that comes from the Synaptic Package Manager, open it from the menu or by pressing the Super key and typing “synaptic”.

It asks users to enter a login password and confirm the launch:

Uninstall/Remove Wine

Once Synaptic Package Manager opens, click on the “Search” button and type “wine” in the search box. It enlists packages related to Wine. To uninstall Wine, users need to mark the related packages for complete removal. Then, right-click on it and select the “Mark for Complete Removal” option:

It pops up a new interface to confirm some actions that are associated with the Wine package. Now, press the “Mark” button for further proceed:

Once you have marked all of them, click on the “Apply” button:

It displays a summary of the changes that will be made and a warning that some packages may break or become unusable. To do so, hit the “Apply” button:

It removes all the packages and their configuration files of Wine from your Linux Mint system.

Bonus Tip: Uninstall Wine From RHEL-based Linux Distribution

Wine offers the easiest way for users to install Windows-only applications/software on Linux systems. Users can uninstall it from RHEL-based Linux distributions (such as CentOS) by following these instructions:

Uninstall/Remove Wine Package

To remove Wine along with its dependencies, execute the “remove” utility with the “yum” package manager by specifying the application name “wine”:

sudo yum remove wine # Remove Wine (Package and Dependencies)

sudo yum autoremove wine # Remove Wine (With Any Unused Packages)

Delete the Hidden Wine Directory

To delete the hidden wine directory, in the home folder, execute the “rm” command with the “wine” directory. It deletes all directories that contain the configuration files and the installed Windows applications:

rm -rf ~/.wine

That is all from the guide to install, uninstall, and usage of wine by installing the .exe application in Linux Mint.

Conclusion

Wine is an open-source package that provides the environments for installing and using Windows applications on Linux systems. To install the Wine on Linux Mint, use the “APT” package manager and Wine repository (for the latest version). Users can also install Wine using the “Software Manager” and “Synaptic Package Manager” (GUI tools). The “APT” package manager is an easy and suitable way to install any application on a Linux Mint system.

To install a Windows application on Linux Mint, first download it, and execute the “wine <app .exe file>” command for installation. This guide has explained multiple ways to install and use Wine on Linux Mint.