How to Install Wine on Debian 13

Running Windows software on Debian 13 (Trixie) is straightforward with Wine. The process adds 32-bit support, installs the official WineHQ repository, and sets up a clean Wine prefix. Stay close to commands, avoid unnecessary tweaks, and test with a simple app before moving to complex programs.

Prepare the system and enable 32-bit (i386)

Wine needs multi-arch to run 32-bit Windows apps. Confirm architecture and enable i386.

uname -m
dpkg --print-architecture
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update

Verification:

dpkg --print-foreign-architectures
# Expected: i386

Remove conflicting Wine packages (optional but recommended)

Clean older or distro Wine packages to avoid mixed libraries.

sudo apt remove --purge -y wine wine64 wine32 winehq-stable wine-stable winehq-devel wine-devel winehq-staging wine-staging
sudo apt autoremove --purge -y

Add WineHQ key and Debian 13 (Trixie) repository

Use the official WineHQ builds for latest stable, devel, or staging packages.

sudo apt install -y wget ca-certificates
sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/debian/dists/trixie/winehq-trixie.sources
sudo apt update

Install WineHQ (Stable recommended)

Stable is best for most users. Devel and Staging offer newer features with possible regressions.

sudo apt install -y --install-recommends winehq-stable
# Alternatives:
# sudo apt install -y --install-recommends winehq-devel
# sudo apt install -y --install-recommends winehq-staging

Version check:

wine --version
# Example: wine-9.0

Initialize Wine and create a clean prefix

First run builds the Wine prefix under your home directory. Use a 32-bit prefix for older apps.

# Default 64-bit prefix (~/.wine)
winecfg

# Optional: dedicated 32-bit prefix for legacy apps
WINEARCH=win32 WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wine32 winecfg

# Inspect created prefixes
ls -a ~ | grep wine

Install Winetricks and common runtimes (optional)

Winetricks helps install core fonts and runtimes many apps need.

sudo apt install -y winetricks cabextract p7zip-full

# Add common components to the default prefix
WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wine winetricks -q corefonts

# Example for a 32-bit prefix
WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wine32 winetricks -q vcrun2015

Run a Windows program

Test with a built-in app, then run your installer or portable EXE.

# Quick test
wine notepad

# Run an installer (replace with your file)
cd ~/Downloads
WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wine wine setup.exe

# For 32-bit apps:
WINEPREFIX=$HOME/.wine32 wine path/to/app.exe

Verify packages and source

Confirm Wine is coming from the WineHQ repository to avoid mixed builds.

apt policy winehq-stable
# Look for: dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/debian trixie main

Common fixes

These quick checks solve most setup issues.

# Reinstall with recommends if missing Gecko/Mono helpers
sudo apt install -y --install-recommends winehq-stable

# Reset a broken prefix (backup first)
mv ~/.wine ~/.wine.bak && winecfg

# Check 32-bit arch presence
dpkg --print-foreign-architectures  # expect: i386

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