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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Winboat is a new technology to run Windows apps on Linux.
- The app is currently in beta, but shows real promise.
- If the developers can deliver, this will be a game changer.
For the longest time, Wine was the only option for running Windows apps on Linux. Then came PlayOnLinux, Steam, Proton, and several others. Many of those tools are great, but they still require users to dig in kind of deep to get them working.
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There’s a new option on the horizon called Winboat<!–>. I installed the beta version of the app today and came away seriously impressed with what it has to offer.
What can Winboat do?
Unlike most of the other options, Winboat isn’t a compatibility layer bridging the gap between Windows and Linux. Instead, Winboat runs a containerized version of Windows under the hood so you can install and use Windows apps on their native platform, only via the Linux OS.
The feature list of Winboat includes:
- An elegant interface
- Automated app installation
- Run Windows apps
- Access the complete Windows desktop
- Filesystem integration
How to get Winboat up and running
As I mentioned, Winboat is still in beta, which means it’s not only not ready for public use, but it’s also a bit more complicated to get up and running. I decided to go ahead and take the time to install the app to see what’s what.
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The installation wasn’t easy and failed to complete until I made a minor adjustment to the docker-compose.yaml file.
Huh? Let me back up a bit. As I said, Winboat runs a containerized version of Windows and does so with Docker. To make that happen, the Winboat installer asks you a couple of very simple questions (like how much RAM and how many CPU cores you want to hand over to it) and then attempts to run the installer.
Requirements
Before that, however, you have to get the necessary system requirements, dependencies, and configurations installed, which include:
- 4GB of RAM
- At least 2 CPU threads
- At least 32GB free space in /var
- KVM enabled in BIOS/UEFI
- Docker and Docker Compose v2
- User added to the docker group
- FreeRDP
- iptables and iptables_nat kernel modules must be loaded
If you get a green check, it means you’ve met the prerequisites for installing Winboat.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
That’s a bit much for new users. I hope the developers are able to vastly simplify the installation process before they release the stable version.
At the moment, Winboat is available as an AppImage, so (as long as you’ve met the above dependencies) it should run on any Linux distribution.
Setup Wizard and line changes
Once everything is taken care of, you run the AppImage, walk through the setup wizard, and Winboat should deploy the Windows container.
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Except for one thing: port 3389, which is used for remote desktop connections, was already in use (at least in my case). Because of that, I had to hop into the ~/.winboat/docker-compose.yaml file and change the following line:
– “3389:3389/tcp”
I simply changed that line to:
– “3388:3389/tcp”
After that, I saved the file and, instead of going through the Winboat GUI, I ran the command:
docker compose up
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Windows container
The Windows container was launched, and I had access to the Winboat GUI. From the GUI, I could install any listed Windows app with nothing more than a click or two, and even check on the running processes.
Windows 10 Pro is running as a container.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
I’m quite impressed
It was at this point that I became quite impressed with the app.
Sure, it’s in beta, and the installation process is currently considerably more challenging than the new or average Linux user might want to deal with, but if the developers can simplify the process, this will be a major boon for the Linux OS. As well, the connection to the Windows desktop failed and the apps wouldn’t run. But, again, this is an early release, so I expected to run into problems. I then killed the Windows 10 instance and went back to the drawing board with Windows 11, hoping for better results.
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Either way, Winboat looks to be a promising new bit of technology for Linux, and if the developers can deliver, this will be a game changer.
Make sure to keep checking back as I continue to watch for progress on this remarkable application.
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