Show HN: Winpodx – run Windows apps on Linux as native windows

Native Linux windows for every Windows app — real icons, real WM_CLASS, pin-to-taskbar. FreeRDP RemoteApp + dockur/windows. Zero config. # Latest stable release (default) curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kernalix7/winpodx/main/install.sh | bash # Latest main (development) curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kernalix7/winpodx/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --main English · 한국어 · Quick start · Features · CLI · Multi-session winpodx is in active development (v0.3.0). v0.3.0 ships a redesigned host→guest pipeline — bearer-authed HTTP agent on 127.0.0.1:8765 is now the default command channel, with FreeRDP RemoteApp kept as fallback. App launches no longer flash a PowerShell window. New winpodx check CLI + GUI Health card surface live pod / RDP / agent / round-trip / disk state. First install still takes ~5-10 minutes (Windows VM ISO download + Sysprep + OEM apply); winpodx pod wait-ready --logs shows live progress. Please file issues at https://github.com/kernalix7/winpodx/issues if something breaks. No full-screen RDP. Each Windows app becomes its own Linux window with its real icon — pinnable, alt-tabbable, file-associated. Drop into a full Windows desktop only when you actually want one (winpodx app run desktop). winpodx runs a Windows container (via dockur/windows) in the background and presents Windows apps as native Linux applications through FreeRDP RemoteApp, while a bearer-authed HTTP agent inside the guest handles the host→guest command channel without flashing a PowerShell window. No manual VM setup, no ISO downloads, no registry editing. Near-zero external Python dependencies (stdlib only on Python 3.11+; one pure-Python tomli fallback on 3.9/3.10). Existing tools for running Windows apps on Linux all have trade-offs: winboat is the closest peer in scope and was an inspiration. We focus on a different mix — stdlib-leaning Python + Qt6 instead of Electron, deeper auto-config (auto suspend, 7-day password rotation, multi-DE HiDPI), and an explicit air-gapped install path. Both projects build on dockur/windows; that ecosystem is bigger than any one app. winpodx is not a Wine replacement. Wine translates Windows API calls; winpodx runs the actual Windows OS in a container. The two solve different problems and many users have both installed. Wine wins on speed and on GPU when DXVK/VKD3D translate cleanly. winpodx wins on 100% Windows feature parity for everything else — every app runs on a real Windows kernel, rendered into your Linux desktop as a native window via FreeRDP RemoteApp. GPU acceleration: not yet supported. dockur/windows runs under QEMU/KVM with software graphics — DirectX-heavy games and 3D apps will be CPU-bound. GPU passthrough via VFIO is feasible but not packaged. (See winpodx vs Wine — Wine + DXVK is the right tool when you need GPU.) ┌─────────────────────────────┐ Click "Word" │ Linux Desktop (KDE, │ in app menu ───> │ GNOME, Sway, ...) │ └──────────────┬──────────────┘ │ ┌──────────────▼──────────────┐ │ winpodx │ │ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ │ │ auto-provision: │ │ │ │ config → password │ │ │ │ → container → RDP │ │ │ │ → desktop entries │ │ │ └─────────────────────┘ │ └──────────────┬──────────────┘ │ FreeRDP RemoteApp ┌──────────────▼──────────────┐ │ Windows Container (Podman) │ │ ┌──────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Word Excel PPT ... │ │ │ │ multi-session/rdprrap │ │ │ └──────────────────────┘ │ │ 127.0.0.1:3390 (TLS) │ └─────────────────────────────┘ GUI Launch with winpodx gui. The Qt6 main window has four pages: The system tray (winpodx tray) is a lighter-weight alternative — pod controls, app launcher submenu (top 20 + Full Desktop), maintenance submenu (Clean Locks / Sync Time / Suspend), and an optional idle-monitor thread. winpodx check runs every probe used by the GUI Health card and prints a one-line verdict for each: === winpodx check === [OK ] pod_running running (ip=127.0.0.1) (58ms) [OK ] rdp_port 127.0.0.1:3390 reachable (0ms) [OK ] agent_health version=0.2.2-rev4 (63ms) [OK ] oem_version bundle=12 (3ms) [OK ] password_age 7d remaining (max_age=7d) (0ms) [OK ] apps_discovered 41 app(s) in /home/.../discovered (3ms) [OK ] disk_free 401.0/3725 GiB free (0ms) Overall: OK Status legend: OK (green) / WARN (yellow — informational, exit 0) / FAIL (red — exit 1) / SKIP (grey — disabled by config). Use --json for machine-readable output. Layer Technology Language Python 3.9+ (stdlib only on 3.11+; tomli fallback on 3.9/3.10) CLI argparse (stdlib) GUI (optional) PySide6 (Qt6) Config TOML (stdlib tomllib on 3.11+ / tomli on 3.9/3.10; built-in writer) RDP FreeRDP 3+ (xfreerdp, RemoteApp/RAIL) Guest agent PowerShell HttpListener on 127.0.0.1:8765 (bearer auth, base64-encoded /exec payloads) Container Podman / Docker (dockur/windows) VM libvirt / KVM CI GitHub Actions (lint + test on 3.9-3.13 + pip-audit) Quick Start Install One-line install (any supported Linux distro): curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kernalix7/winpodx/main/install.sh

Show HN: Winpodx – run Windows apps on Linux as native windows

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