Summary
- Paint.NET runs on Linux, but it’s extremely experimental, vibe-coded, and unstable.
- It requires the portable build, WINE 11.14+, adding a d3dcompiler_47 DLL override, installing DXVK, and running with /wine.
- It often runs slowly or crashes unpredictably, but it’s a start for Paint.NET fans.
One app I really missed when I moved from Windows to Linux was Paint.NET. It filled this amazing niche for tasks that were too complex for regular Paint, but not complex enough for me to justify booting up GIMP. And Linux does have Krita and Pinta, and they’re both excellent, but my heart still yearns for Paint.NET.
Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the creator of Paint.NET has released a Linux version of their app. The bad news is…it’s still experimental. Like, extremely experimental; ten times worse than you’re imagining.
Paint.NET has been released on Linux, albeit in a very unstable state
It’ll even run if you’re lucky enough
Credit: Rick Brewster
Over on the Paint.NET forums, the creator of the app, Rick Brewster, created a post detailing his efforts to get Paint.NET onto Linux. It uses Wine, and Brewster says the code is mostly vibe-coded, not yet checked, and runs off what he calls a “trust me bro” mentality. But it does run, although it’s a little choppy.
Here is the list of requirements Brewster posted for Paint.NET on Linux:
- Use the portable version of the app. The installer will NOT work.
- You must be using at least WINE version 11.14. Seriously, just use whatever the latest version is.
- You need add a registry key so that WINE doesn’t try to override a DLL with its own version which does not work. Run this command to do so: (and if someone knows how to make it so that this step isn’t needed, please tell me): wine reg add “HKCU\Software\Wine\DllOverrides” /v d3dcompiler_47 /d native /f
- You should have DXVK installed.
- You must run the app with the /wine command-line parameter
Your reward for checking all of these boxes is a version of Paint.NET on Linux that sometimes runs very slowly and sometimes just crashes on you when it feels like it. But hey, it’s a start, even if it’s mostly vibe code held together with a bunch of string and a healthy dose of hope.
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