The latest version of Bottles, an open-source tool for running Windows applications on Linux, has been released with minor improvements. Bottles 51.25 builds on Wine to provide a user-friendly compatibility layer, aiding users transitioning from the now-unsupported Windows 10. This update includes better terminal compatibility and Steam integration.
Bottles, licensed under GPLv3, offers a graphical interface for managing Windows apps on Linux through a compatibility layer based on Wine. The release of version 51.25 on October 29, 2025, introduces several enhancements. It adds support for the st terminal, a customizable and fast terminal emulator. Additionally, Steam integration has improved, allowing BottleConfig to load correctly from bottle.yml files, which benefits gamers. The update fixes issues with CMD actions in the Xfce4 terminal and enhances the cleanup process by fully removing placeholder folders when deleting a bottle.
Installation of Bottles is recommended via Flatpak for compatibility across Linux distributions. Users can install it with the command: flatpak install flathub com.usebottles.bottles -y. If Flatpak is not present, it can be added on Debian-based systems with sudo apt-get install flatpak -y, on Fedora with dnf install flatpak, or on Arch with pacman -S flatpak. Connecting to Flathub requires: flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo, followed by a restart.
To install a Windows app, launch Bottles, complete the onboarding wizard to download components, and create a new bottle by selecting defaults like the Soda runner. Users then run the app's executable installer within the bottle, such as for Notepad++. Once installed, the app launches directly from the interface.
Author Jack Wallen praises Bottles for its ease of use, Flatpak installation, and well-designed GUI, though he notes drawbacks like occasional poor font rendering, unsupported apps, and sound issues. This tool provides a reliable option for Linux users needing Windows software amid Windows 10's end of support.