WinBoat for GNU/Linux

by Sarah Rogue on 04 September, 2025

WinBoat is a GNU/Linux app that runs various versions of Windows. i fucked up the first time installing it and had a bitch of a time uninstalling it

but first

i’ll describe how i got it running before the install

initial install, before i fucked it up

WinBoat’s GitHub repo has the current release as an AppImage

after the download, go to the download folder on the command line and execute

chmod +x winboat-X.Y.Z.AppImage

where X, Y, and Z are the version number. in my case, v0.7.1. note: this is beta software and earlier today, it was v0.6.13 but changed rn when i just now checked for this writing

before first run

install Docker and Docker Compose

sudo pacman -S docker docker-compose

sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

sudo usermod -a -G docker username

to start, i use CachyOS, an ArchLinux distro. the first line will probably be different for your distro. the username at the end is your user name that you use to login to your Desktop Environment

finally, be sure the correct Kernel Modules are running

echo -e "ip_tables\niptable_nat" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/iptables.conf
sudo reboot

AppImageLaucher

believe it or not, i’d rather not use the terminal for launching apps and i have an apps folder to prove it. so i use AppImageLauncher. to install

sudo pacman -S appimagelauncher

then i fucked it all up

when you first run WinBoat, from terminal or otherwise, it displays some sort of BIOS or UEFI. i skipped the FreeRDP step of the pre-installation, which is required for a Remote Desktop Connection. i saw the text and the logo but it went by so fast that i couldn’t read it. by the time i went back to GitHub to read the README, i was convinced that, somehow, me not installing FreeRDP caused that text to display

by that time, the Windows 11 installer was in the middle of downloading and i closed WinBoat thinking that the next time i opened it, it would start over

but

it did not start over

it ran the WinBoat again and, of course, nothing happened

so, to uninstall the docker image

sudo docker volume rm winboat
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker/volumes

that last line might be unnecessary but i did it anyway (thx Gemini deep research)

and so i started over

WinBoat uses QEMU from your default web browser and, below are some pics of the installation and what i did after

pics

WinBoat lets you install a number of Windows versions, i picked 11 Pro

then the install begins

after some restarts, Windows opens with you already logged in

sorry that i didn’t mention it before

but

WinBoat, before it creates the Docker image, prompts for RAM, Cores, and Storage Size

i picked 8 GB, 4, and 64 GB respectively

it also asks for which version of Windows you want and a password to login - this can be anything as it doesn’t link to your Microsoft Account

the next thing i did was a Windows Update

and also updated the apps in the Microsoft Store

the apps all got updated first and then Windows Update finished and prompted for a reboot, which i did

i had to log in, with password, and was greeted with this minimal desktop and start menu

the next Windows update simply installed Defender antivirus signatures, which didn’t require a reboot

caveats

because it is running QEMU in a default web browser, gaming isn’t an option - save maybe the Microsoft games, like Mahjong, Minesweeper, Jigsaw, etc

please use Steam/Proton directly on your GNU/Linux machine for gaming, even simple games

updating WinBoat to the current version involves stopping a WinBoat Windows service and deleting 16 lines at the bottom of the ~/.local/share/applications/appimagekit_*-winboat.desktop file plus removing the old AppImage in your ~/Applications folder

no Bluetooth, microphone input, audio output

stopping QEMU from within the WinBoat app does a hard power-off, i believe (but i could be wrong). pausing works just fine. a shutdown within the Windows QEMU environment is the correct way

it’s constantly prompting me to stop the WinBoatGuestServer

the Windows 11 Pro install, upgrades and app updates consume 20.5 GB of storage

simply moving the cursor isn’t smooth

but

it gets the job done

last words

this project is off to a great start but i doubt i will use it for anything

i can run Microsoft 365 in my web browser on GNU/Linux and there’s an app for everything else i want to do

i’ve tested running games on CachyOS and the fps is the same as on my native Windows 11 partition

so, i really have no need for Windows. sorry, Microsoft

but this project is awesome, a fave, and the tech talk on Discord

hope this information helps