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WinBoat is a new Linux app to run Windows apps with "seamless integration"

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Last updated: 2 Sep 2025 at 10:49 am UTC

Sometimes, you really do just need to run a Windows app on Linux and perhaps WinBoat might make this easier with its promise of "seamless integration".

We have Wine / Proton of course and they can run a lot, but not everything is possible. WinBoat is different. Instead of running compatibility layers, it runs a real copy of Windows using Docker and KVM under the hood. The developer explains it should run basically everything unless "it requires strong GPU acceleration or kernel-level anticheat". It uses FreeRDP for showing the apps on your Linux desktop, enabling you to interact with them like you would with any other Linux app.

All of this with a good-looking and easy to use interface too.


Pictured - WinBoat, from their GitHub

The biggest issue it has is requiring you to go through and manually install multiple extras, apart from that I absolutely love the idea of this for a few specific apps that just don't work on Linux directly. It's still a work in progress and quite early with it classed as a "beta" so keep that in mind when testing it.

App Highlights:

  • Elegant Interface: Sleek and intuitive interface that seamlessly integrates Windows into your Linux desktop environment, making it feel like a native experience.
  • Automated Installs: Simple installation process through our interface - pick your preferences & specs and let us handle the rest.
  • Run Any App: If it runs on Windows, it can run on WinBoat. Enjoy the full range of Windows applications as native OS-level windows in your Linux environment.
  • Full Windows Desktop: Access the complete Windows desktop experience when you need it, or run individual apps seamlessly integrated into your Linux workflow.
  • Filesystem Integration: Your home directory is mounted in Windows, allowing easy file sharing between the two systems without any hassle.
  • And many more: Smartcard passthrough, resource monitoring, and more features being added regularly.

Check it out on the GitHub page.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky [External Link].
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4 comments Subscribe

fenglengshun 7 hours ago
Still praying for better virgl support for Windows 10 (and 11) so that we can at least play lighter games on a QEMU/KVM setup. Or perhaps a good, near-universal GPU passthrough setup for single and multi-GPU setups (like that's ever gonna happen).
doragasu 6 hours ago
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Maybe useful for people that absolutely need to run one or two programs that don't properly work with Wine, but otherwise find Linux fulfilling their needs.

For games (that you usually run without running anything else on the PC excepting maybe things like OBS), I suppose dual booting might be a better solution.

For me, none of those will work since I find the hassle of running Windows just too much, and fortunately I don't need any Windows program not running under Wine/Proton.
monyarm 4 hours ago
Does it support having multiple windows installs? Cause there's a game I wanna play (a scooby doo adventure game), but I've only ever gotten it to run in a windows xp VM.
elmapul 2 hours ago
now we just need an app to run linux apps with "seamless integration"
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