Aura32

A Windows compatibility layer for Linux.

Windows programs run directly on your CPU: no emulator, no virtual machine, no copy of Windows. Built to behave exactly like Windows.

See what it runs How it works

StatusIn developmentReleaseComing soon

  1. Your Windows app Unchanged .exe · .msi · .msix
  2. Aura32 Plays Windows its own versions of Windows’ parts
  3. Your Linux system Does the work Vulkan · your sound server · WebKitGTK · your files

Built for today’s Windows apps

Not just old programs: the frameworks modern Windows software is built on.

Modern app frameworks

Classic Win32 programs, .NET 8 with WPF, and the .NET Framework. Microsoft’s WinUI 3 is on its way.

Web-based apps

Apps built on WebView2, Tauri, Electron or Chromium show their interface, drawn by your system’s WebKitGTK or by Chromium itself.

Installers and packages

NSIS installers, MSI packages and MSIX app packages install as they do on Windows, with signatures checked.

Graphics and GPU

Vulkan runs on your driver and Direct3D through DXVK. CUDA programs get your real NVIDIA GPU instead of falling back to the CPU.

Fits your desktop

Apps draw at your screen’s real scale, see your own Documents and Desktop, and find your disks as drive letters.

Know before you run

aura32 check reads a program and tells you what it needs, and whether Aura32 has it, before anything runs.

The full compatibility list

Why it’s different

A fresh start, not a fork.

  • Full speed

    Programs run directly on your CPU, as fast as they would on Windows.

  • Written from scratch

    Built from public specifications and documentation. No Microsoft code inside, and none of Wine’s.

  • Faithful

    It answers as Windows does and fails as Windows fails, so programs take the paths they were built and tested on.

  • Tested hard

    Thousands of tests with real Windows programs check every change before it lands.

Honest about its limits

What Aura32 doesn’t do, so you know before you try.

No kernel drivers

Windows drivers never load, so games with kernel anti-cheat don’t run, and neither do Store or Game Pass games, which depend on Microsoft’s licensing drivers.

Not a sandbox

Programs run as you and can reach your files, just as they could on Windows. Run the programs you trust.

x86-64 Linux only

No ARM and no macOS. 64-bit programs come first; 32-bit programs are well under way.

Aura32 isn’t released yet

It’s in active development. The roadmap shows what’s being worked on, and the FAQ answers the usual questions.

Roadmap FAQ