Running Windows programs

SegLinux runs Windows programs with Wine, plus DXVK and VKD3D-Proton for DirectX, and optionally Valve's Proton. segrun ties them together so that a Windows program starts the way it would on Windows: double-click it.

Starting a program

Double-click an .exe, .msi, .lnk or .bat file in Dolphin or on the desktop.
Terminal: segrun setup.exe, or ./setup.exe after chmod +x setup.exe (the kernel hands files starting with MZ to segrun through binfmt_misc, see /etc/binfmt.d/wine.conf).
Installers without questions: segrun install --silent setup.exe (Inno Setup, NSIS, InstallShield, WiX bundles, MSI and 7-Zip self-extractors are recognised).

Programs installed by an installer appear in the Start menu: Wine creates the entries, just like Windows' Start menu folders.

What segrun does

$ segrun info Game.exe
File:      /home/ada/Games/Game/Game.exe
Type:      64-bit x64 GUI program (PE32+)
Machine:   x64
Subsystem: GUI
Imports:   d3d11.dll, dxgi.dll, kernel32.dll, user32.dll, vcruntime140.dll, xinput1_3.dll

[info] Uses Direct3D 9/10/11: DXVK (Direct3D over Vulkan) gives the best speed.
[info] Uses Microsoft runtimes; if it complains about missing DLLs run: segrun prefix tricks <prefix> vcrun2022

SegLinux will run it with wine in prefix `default`:
  (once) Creating the Windows environment `default`
  (once) Installing DXVK into `default`
  WINEPREFIX=... WINEDEBUG=-all WINEESYNC=1 WINEFSYNC=1 wine /home/ada/Games/Game/Game.exe

Identify the file (seglinux-pe): PE32/PE32+, x86/x64/ARM64, GUI/console, DLL or driver, .NET, imported DLLs, installer framework, MSI, shortcut or batch file. DLLs, kernel drivers, EFI binaries and 16-bit programs are refused with an explanation.
Choose a Windows environment (a Wine prefix, a separate "C: drive"): --prefix NAME, a matching [[app]] rule in the configuration, a per-program prefix with --isolate (or isolate_installers = true), otherwise the shared default prefix. Prefixes live in ~/.local/share/seglinux/prefixes/.
Prepare the prefix once: wineboot --init, then DXVK when the program imports d3d9/d3d10/d3d11/dxgi and VKD3D-Proton when it imports d3d12 (through winetricks; needs a Vulkan driver and network). What was installed is recorded in .seglinux-prefix.toml in the prefix.
Start the program from its own folder, as Windows does, with WINEDEBUG=-all, esync/fsync enabled, and your environment and DLL overrides. Games (programs that import Direct3D, OpenGL, Vulkan or XInput) run under GameMode; --hud adds the MangoHud overlay and --gamescope runs the program inside gamescope. See gaming.md.

segrun run --dry-run ... prints all of this without running anything.

Runners

Runner	Setting	Notes
Wine from the repositories	`wine` (default)	Wine 11 with NTSYNC
Another Wine build	`wine:/opt/wine-staging/bin/wine`
Proton	`proton:/home/ada/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Proton 9.0 (Beta)`	Ships its own DXVK/VKD3D-Proton
umu-launcher	`umu`, `umu:/path/to/GE-Proton`	Proton outside Steam (install umu-launcher first)

Steam is installed: enable Proton for all titles in Steam → Settings → Compatibility.

Configuration

Settings → Gaming (Super+I) edits all of this with controls: the runner (installed Proton builds are listed), the Windows environment, DXVK, VKD3D-Proton, GameMode, gamescope, environment variables and per-game profiles, keeping anything it has no control for. By hand: /etc/seglinux/segrun.toml holds the defaults; copy it to ~/.config/seglinux/segrun.toml to change them. segrun config prints the settings in effect.

[defaults]
runner = "wine"
prefix = "default"
isolate_installers = false
dxvk = "auto"      # auto | always | never
vkd3d = "auto"
esync = true
fsync = true

[env]
DXVK_ASYNC = "1"

[[app]]
match = "Photoshop*.exe"       # case-insensitive glob on the file name
prefix = "adobe"
dxvk = "never"
virtual_desktop = "1920x1080"
dll_overrides = ["d3dcompiler_47=n,b"]
args = ["-nosplash"]
env = { MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE = "4.6" }

Commands

Command	Windows counterpart
`segrun run FILE [ARGS]` (`install`, `open`)	Double-click
`segrun run --hud / --gamescope / --gamemode never FILE`	Game Bar overlay, fullscreen optimisations, Game Mode
`segrun info FILE`	File properties / compatibility tab
`segrun shortcut FILE [--name N]`	"Pin to Start"
`segrun prefix list / create / remove --yes / path / open`	Separate Windows installations, opening `C:\`
`segrun prefix tricks NAME VERBS...`	Installing the Visual C++ / .NET / DirectX runtimes
`segrun tool winecfg / regedit / taskmgr / control / explorer / cmd / uninstaller / notepad`	The Windows tools of the same name
`segrun doctor`	Compatibility troubleshooter
`sudo segrun binfmt register / unregister`, `segrun binfmt status`

System tuning shipped by SegLinux

File	Why
`/etc/modules-load.d/10-ntsync.conf`, `/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/70-seglinux-ntsync.rules`	Loads NTSYNC (Linux 6.14+) and lets users open `/dev/ntsync`, which Wine 11 and Proton use for Windows synchronisation objects
`/etc/security/limits.d/90-seglinux-esync.conf`	File descriptor limit esync needs
`/etc/sysctl.d/80-seglinux-gaming.conf`	`vm.max_map_count` as on SteamOS
`/etc/binfmt.d/wine.conf`	`./program.exe` starts through segrun
`/etc/xdg/mimeapps.list`	Double-click opens Windows files with segrun

What does not work

Programs that need kernel drivers: most anti-cheat systems (unless the game enables Proton support), copy protection drivers, VPN clients, hardware tools. segrun info warns when a program imports kernel modules.
ARM64 Windows programs on x86-64 PCs.
16-bit programs: use DOSBox (dosbox program.exe), which is installed.

Check WineHQ's application database and ProtonDB for program-specific advice.

← All guides · Download SegLinux →