A reason for Linux not being more used as added in the comments section of a recent article is “Adobe and Games“. Well, there is a latest Linux bad guy in town and it is here to comfort us in a cooler way than Wine.
Winepak is an open source project whose aim is to package wine applications by Flatpak-ing them. Using flatpak's app packaging method, you can search through Winepak’s repository either via your terminal or software center to install many applications that would otherwise have remained for only Windows if you couldn’t be too bothered to go through the stress of wine’s protocols.
Features in Winepak
- Free & Open Source – you can contribute to its code on GitHub.
- Easy to Setup – Add the winepak repository to access winepak catalog.
- Search – Find the Microsoft Windows applications you want by searching the winepak repository, either via the software center or the terminal
- Integration – winepak installs custom desktop and appdata files, integrating cleanly into your desktop.
Winepak enables users to install Windows applications on the Linux machines like it is the native thing to do and right now games including Overwatch, Fortnite, and World of Warcraft are already available for download.
Installing Winepack in Linux
Setting up Winepak is easy and can be done in simple command line steps:
1. If you don’t already have flatpak set up on your machine follow this setup guide depending on your distro.
2. Add the Flathub repository by running the following command in your terminal.
$ flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
3. Next, add the winepak repository by running the following command in your terminal.
$ flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists winepak https://dl.winepak.org/repo/winepak.flatpakrepo
4. Install an application using your software center or via the terminal.
$ flatpak install winepak tld.domain.Application
Reportedly, a web interface for Winepak is in the works. This will enable browse and download apps and games without going through their software center or terminal. This is great new!
What’s your take on Winepak? Are you excited about the news? Add your comments below.
