CrossOver allows you to run Windows software on Linux. Because CrossOver integrates the applications with your desktop environment, games like World of Warcraft and Diablo II: Resurrected or productivity applications such as Office 365 launch like any native program. It's as simple as a double-click.
CrossOver system requirements:
x86 compatible PC system
Python 3.5 or later
GTK 3.18 or later
PyGObject 3.20 or later
X.Org with XRender and GLX support
1 GB disk space (additional space required for Windows applications)
We test CrossOver on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) but design it to work on any Linux distro meeting the minimum system requirements.
Note: We can't guarantee compatibility if your Linux version is newer than your CrossOver version.
The CrossOver installer is available in a Debian-based (.deb) format, RPM-based (.rpm) format, and a generic (.bin) format. The .deb and .rpm files install at the system level, while the .bin file can be installed at the system or user level. To download CrossOver, go to the CodeWeavers Website.
When using the .deb package, CrossOver installs at the system level, so all users have access to CrossOver. The CrossOver application installs in /opt/cxoffice and Windows applications in ~/.cxoffice. Use the .deb installer for Debian-based distros such as Ubuntu or Mint.
(1) Locate the .deb package in your file manager.
(2) Double-click the .deb file to install CrossOver.
(1) Open a Terminal session.
(2) Type sudo apt update and press Enter.
(3) Change to the directory containing the CrossOver installer.
(4) Type sudo apt install ./crossover_23.5.0-1.deb and press Enter.
When using the .rpm package, CrossOver installs at the system level, so all users have access to CrossOver. The CrossOver application installs in /opt/cxoffice and Windows applications in ~/.cxoffice. Use the .rpm installer for RPM-based distros such as RHEL or Fedora.
(1) Locate the .rpm package in your file manager.
(2) Right-click the .rpm file and choose Open With Software Install.
(1) Open a Terminal session.
(2) Type sudo dnf update and press Enter.
(3) Change to the directory containing the CrossOver installer.
(4) Type sudo dnf local install ./crossover-23.5.0-1.rpm and press Enter.
When you use the generic shell (.bin) installer, CrossOver can be installed at the system or user level. The generic .bin installer is compatible with various Linux distros. However, the installer does not automatically install dependencies.
Before you install CrossOver, we recommend making sure your system is up to date by following your distro's recommended update procedure.
When installed at the user level, only the user who installed CrossOver has access to install and run Windows software. CrossOver installs in ~/cxoffice, and Windows applications in ~/.cxoffice.
To install for a single user:
(1) Login as the desired user.
(2) Open a Terminal session.
(3) Change to the directory containing the CrossOver installer.
(4) Set the file to be executable by typing chmod +x install-crossover-23.5.0.bin and pressing Enter.
(5) Type ./install-crossover-23.5.0.bin and press Enter.
When installed at the system level, all users on the system have access to install and run Windows software. CrossOver installs in /opt/cxoffice, and Windows applications in ~/.cxoffice.
To install at the system level:
(1) Open a Terminal session.
(2) Change to the directory containing the CrossOver installer.
(3) Set the file to be executable by typing chmod +x install-crossover-23.5.0.bin and pressing Enter.
(4) Type sudo ./install-crossover-23.5.0.bin and press Enter.
If you haven’t registered CrossOver it will start in trial mode. To continue using CrossOver in trial mode, click Try Now. The CrossOver trial has all the functionality of the full version. However, after 14 days, installed Windows applications are disabled. CrossOver periodically prompts you to register before the trial period ends.
Clicking Buy Now opens the CodeWeavers store. If you have already purchased CrossOver, click Register.
Clicking Buy opens the CodeWeavers store. If you have already purchased CrossOver, click Unlock with Purchase Info.
After startup, you can unlock CrossOver by going to CrossOver > Unlock CrossOver.
Enter the email address and password associated with your codeweavers.com account in the CrossOver Trial dialog box and click Unlock.
Note: If unlocking for all users, you need your Mac username and password.
You can unlock CrossOver by going to the CrossOver main menu and selecting Unlock CrossOver.
Enter the email address and password associated with your codeweavers.com account in the Unlock CrossOver dialog box and click Unlock.
To open the Unlock CrossOver dialog for a system-level install, use the following command:
$ sudo -H /opt/cxoffice/bin/cxregister
To open the Unlock CrossOver dialog for a user-level install, use the following command:
$ sudo -H ~/cxoffice/bin/cxregister
If you purchased CrossOver from codeweavers.com, an activation code is not needed to register.
However, if you bought CrossOver from a third party and received an activation code, click Enter an Activation Code on the Unlock CrossOver dialog box.
However, if you bought CrossOver from a third party and received an activation code, click Enter an Activation Code on the CrossOver Trial dialog box.
To complete the Enter Activation Code form you will need to enter either your existing codeweavers.com account information, or your email address and a new password to create a codeweavers.com account.
CrossOver installs Windows applications into bottles. A bottle is a virtual Windows environment (e.g., Windows XP or Windows 10) with its own C: drive, fonts, registry, and software. You can install multiple programs into a bottle, but generally, CrossOver creates a new bottle for each application.
Keeping applications in separate bottles prevents them from interacting with or damaging one another. For instance, you could test out a new version of a particular program in one bottle while keeping your original one in another. Multiple bottles are also helpful whenever a specific application requires otherwise undesirable settings.
Applications generally fall into two categories:
Listed — A listed application is an application that appears in CrossOver's application database. CrossOver determines as many install details as possible.
Unlisted — An unlisted application is an application that does not appear in CrossOver's application database. CrossOver does not default any install details for unlisted applications.
(1) Type the application name in the search bar on the Install menu. CrossOver populates a list of applications matching the search criteria.
(2) Click the application's tile to proceed to the install details. If the application is not listed, see the next section on installing an unlisted application.
CrossOver automatically downloads the installer file and the required dependencies if an application is freely available on the internet. No further action is needed to configure your application once each install detail has a check mark. Click Install to proceed.
If CrossOver cannot obtain an installer file because it is unavailable for download or requires login credentials, you must provide the installer file location.
(1) Click Edit to access your file system.
(2) Navigate to the location of the installer file.
(3) Select the file and click Choose Installer.
(4) When CrossOver displays a check mark for each detail, click Install.
Note: You can also use the Edit buttons to override the default selections. Even when CrossOver downloads an installer automatically, you can click Edit to select a different installer that you have downloaded to your machine. You can also click the Edit button next to the bottle information if you wish to install your application into a different bottle type from the one CrossOver automatically selected.
To access additional install options, click the dropdown menu to the right of Install and select Advanced Options.
Create log file - To create a debug log during installation of a Windows application, select Create log file. The Wine logging channels field is automatically populated with some of most useful logging channels. You can also manually enter different ones or click the plus sign to select channels from the menu. If you want to change the save location for the log file, update the path in the Log file field. Click Done to return to the Install screen.
Application language - If more than one language is available for an application, you can use the dropdown menu to change the language.
Items to install - Some Windows applications require the installation of additional dependencies to run well with CrossOver. Many of our install profiles select the required dependencies automatically. You can also add dependencies to install by clicking the Add button. To remove dependencies that CrossOver added, click Remove. To undo any changes, click Revert. Click Done to return to the Install screen.
During installation, Windows software may prompt you for input (e.g., language selection, end-user license agreements). If you believe the install has frozen, look for dialog boxes from the Windows program before clicking Cancel in CrossOver. Canceling the install can result in an unrecoverable problem that requires you to delete the target bottle.
The program you are installing may require input to complete the setup. For example, when Notepad++ is finished installing, you must click Finish.
Once the application is installed, CrossOver creates an icon on the Home screen and in the bottle made for the application.
Unlisted applications may not run correctly or at all. Therefore we recommend installing unlisted applications in a separate bottle. Installing an unlisted application into an existing bottle may cause other Windows applications in that bottle to behave incorrectly.
To install an unlisted application, from the Install screen, do the following:
(1) Click Install an unlisted application.
(2) Click Edit for installer file detail.
(3) Navigate to the installer file location.
(4) Select the installer file and click Choose Installer.
(5) Click Edit for the bottle install detail.
(6) Enter a name for the bottle in New Bottle Name.
(7) Select a bottle type from the New Bottle Type menu.
Note: If you have difficulty installing an unlisted application, check the CrossOver Compatibility Center.
Some Windows applications have standalone executables (.exe) that can be run without being installed. These programs can also be run with CrossOver.
(1) From the main menu, go to Bottle > New Bottle. Enter a name for the bottle, select a bottle type, and click Create.
(2) Select the bottle you just created in the left sidebar and then click Run Command.
(3) Click Browse, select the .exe you want to run and click Run.
(4) To make it easier in the future to run the application, you can click Create Launcher. This creates a launcher icon for the selected executable in your bottle. If the executable is moved or deleted, this launcher icon will stop working. Make sure the executable is saved somewhere that won’t change.
To launch a Windows application from CrossOver, double-click the application icon. You can do this from the individual bottle view or the Home view.
The Home view displays icons for all installed Windows applications. This view can be customized to show only the icons that you want to see. To remove an icon, right-click and select Hide from Home.
Hiding an icon from the main menu does not delete the application from your disk or impact desktop integration.
To restore a hidden icon to your Home, select the bottle, right-click the icon and choose Show in Home.
When you install a Windows application, CrossOver creates an application icon in your Launchpad. Locate the Windows application icon in Launchpad and launch the program by double-clicking. You can also drag the Windows application icon from Launchpad, or from CrossOver's main window, to your Dock for easier access.
Note that when you launch a Windows application CrossOver will also open.
CrossOver integrates your Windows applications with your native desktop environment. For example, in hierarchical menu systems such as Xfce, CrossOver creates shortcuts in a menu called Windows Applications. In an environment like GNOME, use your desktop's search function to locate application shortcuts. If you cannot find a shortcut, run applications from CrossOver or use the command line.
When you install CrossOver with the .bin package, it creates command-line shortcuts for starting applications in ~/cxoffice/bin. For example, if you installed Office 365, launch Microsoft Word from the command line by running:
$ ~/cxoffice/bin/winword
Shortcuts for private bottles are in the directories specified in the PrivateShortcutDirs section of the cxoffice.conf file, while shortcuts for published bottles are in the ManagedShortcutDirs.
If the Windows application allows, you can open documents using the shortcut by specifying the document path as an argument. For instance:
$ ~/cxoffice/bin/winword letter.doc
To see the list of available shortcuts, use:
$ grep -l desktopdata/cxmenu ~/cxoffice/bin/*
Using the command line to start a program launches the most recently installed version. So, for instance, if you install Word 2013 in one bottle and then install Word 2016 in another, the winword shortcut will start Word 2016.
wine --cx-appTo start an application using the --cx-app option, specify the bottle and the name of the executable. For example, Microsoft Word's executable is called winword.exe, so it is run with:
$ /opt/cxoffice/bin/wine --bottle bottle-name --cx-app winword.exe
Or, for a single-user install:
$ ~/cxoffice/bin/wine --bottle bottle-name --cx-app winword.exe
Similarly, to open a Word document, run:
$ ~/cxoffice/bin/wine --bottle bottle-name --cx-app winword.exe letter.doc
For a complete list of applications that work with the --cx-app command, run this:
$ find "~/.cxoffice" -iname "*.exe"
Some .exe files on your system are system tools or subcomponents of other applications, and running them could cause unpredictable or destructive things to happen. Therefore, running a Windows application is never a good idea unless you understand its origins and purpose.
CrossOver installs Windows applications into bottles. A bottle contains a C: drive and all its standard folders (e.g., Windows and Program Files), as well as:
A Windows registry.
CrossOver settings.
One or more Windows applications.
Saved user data.
Unless you specify otherwise, CrossOver installs each application into a new bottle.
Multiple bottles are helpful when a particular application requires otherwise undesirable system settings. It is also possible to maintain bottles that emulate different Windows versions. For instance, an older application may run best in a Windows XP bottle, while a more modern one requires a Windows 10 bottle.
When a bottle is selected, CrossOver displays the Run with Options and Run Command buttons, and the Bottle Actions, Advanced Options, Control Panels, and Bottle Details menus in the right sidebar.
Run Command — Access a Windows command prompt in CrossOver to run standard Wine tools (e.g., regedit or notepad) or applications without icons or shortcuts. Click Browse to access the contents of the bottle’s C: drive. You may need to hunt around to find the correct file. An excellent place to start your search is in Program Files. Once you have located and selected the .exe file, click Run.
If you need to run the same command regularly, create a shortcut for it by clicking Create Launcher.
Helpful shortcuts that allow you to manage a bottle's environment in CrossOver.
Quit All Applications — Close all applications in the selected bottle. If an application is unstable or not responding and quitting the bottle fails, selecting Quit All Applications stops all processes still running inside the bottle. This may result in lost work if you have unsaved changes. If quitting is not successful, Quit All Applications becomes Force Quit instead.
Delete Bottle — Permanently delete the selected bottle. This action cannot be undone.
DXVK — DXVK is a Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D 10 and 11. When enabled, DXVK is used instead of the wined3d default. Some games run better with DXVK, while others run better with wined3d.
ESync — Eventfd-based synchronization. Some applications run with better performance with ESync enabled, some applications show no difference, and some applications are broken by ESync.
High-Resolution Mode — High-resolution mode switch. When enabled, the DPI in Wine Configuration is set to be the same as the current display DPI. This makes it possible for applications to draw at the correct size on high-DPI displays. Note: Some applications render incorrectly when the DPI is not set to the default value of 96.
In addition to the tools installed along with Windows applications, CrossOver provides several built-in control panel tools.
System settings should be changed using the configuration tools available on your system because most Windows control panels are unsupported and often don't work as designed.
Wine Configuration — Access a range of bottle configuration settings applicable when troubleshooting system integration issues.
Game Controllers — Game controller or joystick configuration.
Edit Associations — Edit the file-type associations installed by CrossOver. Useful in the event of a conflict between bottles or programs for a particular file type.
Edit Menus — Frequently applications install more menu icons than you need. This control panel allows you to disable unneeded icons and simplify your system menus.
Simulate Reboot — Replicates a Windows reboot for the selected bottle.
Task Manager — Display a list of processes running in the selected bottle. The task manager is helpful when you need to stop specific unresponsive processes.
Internet Settings — Network configuration.
Shows a list of Windows applications and components in a bottle. There is also a Description field where you can enter notes specific to this bottle.
To uninstall an application from a bottle, right-click on name of the application in the list and select Uninstall. Follow the Windows prompts to uninstall the application.
Note: This action is irreversible. If you delete an application that another application depends on, your entire bottle could stop working.
Additional bottle commands are available from the Bottle submenu.
New Bottle — Creates an empty bottle and allows you to choose the Windows version of the bottle.
Duplicate Bottle — Creates an exact copy of the bottle. You can select a new name for the duplicate bottle before it is created.
Rename Bottle — Makes the bottle name field editable so a bottle can be renamed.
Export Bottle to Archive — Create a compressed copy of the selected bottle. Select a name and save location for the archive and click Save. The bottle status will change to archiving while the archive is being created, and the bottle will be unusable until the archive is complete. We recommend creating a bottle archive before installing new software or modifying bottle settings in case you need to revert the bottle to a previous state. Bottle archives can also be used to move a bottle to a new machine.
.cxarchive file you want to restore, select it and click Restore. Your imported bottle will appear in the left sidebar. 
Publish Bottle — Publish a copy of the selected bottle. This allows all users of your system have access to the bottle’s applications and data. Bottles are private when first created. Private bottles are accessible only to the user who created them via that user's home folder.
Note: CrossOver stores published bottles in a public directory (~/cxoffice).
Preferences are stored separately for each user, so changing your preferences will not impact anyone else on the system. To update CrossOver preferences, from the main menu select Preferences.
Installation Recipes — Installation recipes are known settings and dependencies that work for an application. This option automatically updates CrossOver with new recipes from the CodeWeavers website.
CrossOver Updates — Occasionally, between major releases, CrossOver is updated. Select this option and CrossOver automatically checks for updates.
Submitting Ratings — When this option is selected, CrossOver reminds you to submit ratings for installed applications. Ratings help us improve future versions of CrossOver and inform other users how well applications work with CrossOver.
Include Entries for Untested and Known-Not-To-Work Software — By default, CrossOver will display entries for all applications. You can toggle this setting off to hide all one-star, two-star, and unrated applications.
Install Recommended Linux Packages — CrossOver needs many Linux libraries to run Windows applications. When this option is checked, CrossOver automatically installs missing libraries.
Downloaded Installers — When CrossOver obtains an installer file during the install process, it keeps a copy of that file for future installs. If you need free disk space or are experiencing issues reinstalling software, click Clear to remove cached files. Installer files are located in the .cxoffice/installers directory.
Use Default Window Decorations — When enabled CrossOver will use standard window manager controls to draw its menu bar instead of displaying a single-button hamburger menu.
This command recreates the Windows application icons that CrossOver generates when a program is installed. If you are trying to launch your Windows application from its icon in Launchpad or the Dock and nothing happens, use this menu option and see if the regenerated Windows application icon works again.
Antivirus software can incorrectly flag and delete CrossOver files, which results in CrossOver not working correctly. This command will rescan your bottles and attempt to repair the files that the antivirus program corrupted.
More details on how to prevent your antivirus software from mistakenly flagging CrossOver can be found be found by clicking the Learn More button or at this support article.
CrossOver automatically checks for updates on launch, but you can also manually check for new releases from the CrossOver > Check For Updates menu. If a new update is available CrossOver will download it, apply the changes, and reopen. If there is an update available, but your license has expired, you will be prompted to visit the CodeWeavers store to renew.
For additional assistance with CrossOver, go to our Support page. It is accessible from the menu on the CodeWeavers website. In the upper right corner of the CodeWeavers website, expand the menu and click Support.
The support page contains tutorials and solutions to common questions for Mac (1), Linux (2), and ChromeOS (3), as well as a compatibility database (4) with application ratings and other relevant information.
CrossOver is a trademark of CodeWeavers, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are owned by their respective companies.