this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2025
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WinBoat is a new Linux app to run Windows apps with "seamless integration" (www.gamingonlinux.com)
submitted 13 hours ago by RmDebArc_5@piefed.zip to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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[–] EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Listen, I only need to know one thing: can it run Paint.\NET?

Because pretty much all my needs are met but

GOOD GOD THE SELECTION FOR GENERAL-USE RASTER EDITING SOFTWARE ON LINUX IS BALLS.

 

 

(inb4 anyone says anything: Krita = painting not editing; GIMP = sucks balls; PhotoGIMP = sucks less balls; Pinta sucks balls ever since they switched to GTK4; and pretty much all other options are MS Paint equivalents so also all suck balls.)

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

On my Linux Mint laptop Winboat installed quickly and allowed me to install and run the one program I use that requires Windows. This biggest issues were with that same app's windows when they were rendered on the Linux desktop. They sometimes couldn't be moved, resized or closed, however the same app ran just fine on the Winboat Windows Desktop itself.

The latest version is identified as an alpha release on the UI, so these problems aren't surprising. What is surprising is how well so much of this works for an alpha release, particularly how polished the installation process is.

Looking forward to using Winboat when it progresses to the beta.

[–] foremanguy92_@lemmy.ml 12 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

How it is different from WinApps?

[–] RmDebArc_5@piefed.zip 13 points 4 hours ago

From their FAQ

With WinApps you do the bulk of the setup manually, and there's no cohesive interface to bring it all together. There's a basic TUI, a taskbar widget, and some CLI commands for you to play with.

WinBoat does all the setup once you have the pre-requisites installed, displays everything worth seeing in a neat interface for you, and acts like a complete experience. No need to mess with configuration files, no need to memorize a dozen CLI commands, it just works.

[–] unskilled5117@feddit.org 6 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Has anyone got this working on bazzite by chance? Any additional steps necessary? Winapps didn’t work for me, so looking for an alternative

[–] anon5621@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago

Why not worked it basically same thing just different interface

[–] vort3@lemmy.ml 6 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

Now I wonder if I dual boot linux / windows, why is there no software that can basically use my existing windows installation from another partition to run windows software (like, maybe load it into VM or something)?

[–] coriza@lemmy.world 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

You can. You can boot a windows partition in a VM. IIRC it is not really advisable but you can do it.

[–] addie@feddit.uk 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I actually find that starting a 'raw disk partition' virtual machine for Windows is one of the best ways to run it. Stops it from fucking up your BIOS and EFI when it does an update. You can restart into it when you want the 'native GPU' for games.

Of course, the even better way to stop Windows from fucking up your hardware is to not allow it anywhere near your hardware in the first place...

[–] Trail@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

Was working for me well for years in the past, can recommend.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

you can run windows software on a windows partition using wine, but it is extremely brittle, since you're going from a case-insensitive windows file system as well.

[–] bless@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Another problem would be the dependencies and initial configuration would not be present unless the software was built with portability in mind

[–] lime@feddit.nu 3 points 7 hours ago

i was thinking maybe a hypothetical "global wine" could use the windows drive itself as its drive_c, which would bypass that issue.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 5 hours ago

It would be wonderful to have something like parrallels.

[–] Fuckwit_McBumCrumble@midwest.social 2 points 7 hours ago

Parallels on Mac OS lets you do that with the Windows partition. I know VMware and other virtualization tools let you mount a physical disk into a VM so it should be possible. It's just kinda janky, and Windows doesn't always like it when you switch from physical to virtual.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 17 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

The developer explains it should run basically everything unless "it requires strong GPU acceleration or kernel-level anticheat".

That is a lot of use cases people have for Windows only applications.

[–] normalexit@lemmy.world 19 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (3 children)

I imagine this is more for productivity apps, where gamers are going to use proton or wine.

[–] Dojan@pawb.social 2 points 2 hours ago

The only reason I boot into Windows is to use Substance Painter. It unfortunately requires 3D acceleration.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 hours ago (3 children)

Sure, but many of those use GPUs as well. Consider things like CAD, photo or video editing. And "office suite" things tend to have Linux-friendly alternatives or are usable through web browsers. I'm sure there will be some niche applications this would be usable for but honestly I can't think of... any.

[–] Obi@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 hours ago

Right, pretty much the bulk of my work use for my PC :( I guess I still need to wait a bit more before I can finally switch over...

[–] theshatterstone54@feddit.uk 6 points 6 hours ago

I can think of one: Excel Macros. If this had come out before May 2022, it would have saved me from needing to dual boot for a single assignment where I needed to do data analysis using Excel just two months after switching to Linux. It was literally around 2 hours of work, or less, and the entire dual boot setup took a similar time.

[–] yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 hours ago

A lot of music production software doesn't rely on GPU acceleration. There's also proprietary bullshit like software that controls specific hardware, like GPU control software, MIDI devices and other random devices like things for RGB control or printers. Oh yeah, and tax software, to do taxes and whatnot, most of them are windows or mac exclusive, so that would come in handy too. I used to run a full-fat windows VM for things like these, but winboat might actually be a more tidy solution.

There's plenty of examples of software that either will never be created on linux or proprietary bullshit that devs simply can't be bothered to reverse engineer for linux.

[–] bzxt@lemmy.ml 7 points 8 hours ago

Isn't wine meant for non-gaming apps too?

[–] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 26 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Didn't we already have this same thing with a different name? https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps

[–] RmDebArc_5@piefed.zip 50 points 12 hours ago

From their FAQ

With WinApps you do the bulk of the setup manually, and there's no cohesive interface to bring it all together. There's a basic TUI, a taskbar widget, and some CLI commands for you to play with.

WinBoat does all the setup once you have the pre-requisites installed, displays everything worth seeing in a neat interface for you, and acts like a complete experience. No need to mess with configuration files, no need to memorize a dozen CLI commands, it just works.

[–] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 23 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

Instead of running compatibility layers, it runs a real copy of Windows using Docker and KVM under the hood.

I take it that it requires a Windows license then, I'll stick with wine.

[–] Fuckwit_McBumCrumble@midwest.social 10 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

You can always just not activate windows. Nothing is stopping you from using it that way.

[–] aksdb@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Unless you somehow use it commercially. Then the missing license could cause legal issues.

[–] Fuckwit_McBumCrumble@midwest.social 2 points 1 hour ago

Sure, but if your company is at that point then the $200 is a drop in the bucket. You've gotta be a pretty big company before MS notices.

[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 41 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I'd imagine a pirate's license will work too.

[–] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 41 points 12 hours ago

True, they did call it a boat after all.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

I'm assuming it's using the dockur/windows image* the same as WinApps, which seems to be pre-registered ime.

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 5 points 8 hours ago

HOLY SHIT!!! i've been needing this for years and had no idea. thank you!

[–] anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 18 points 12 hours ago

dockur uses the generic keys, f.e. VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T for Windows 11.
https://gist.github.com/rvrsh3ll/0810c6ed60e44cf7932e4fbae25880df

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 15 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I'll just get a license from the gettin' place like I always have.

[–] Marafon@sh.itjust.works 8 points 11 hours ago

I was just there yesterday, shoulda had me pick one up for you.