Mirko Brombin, the creator of Bottles, has got Microsoft 365 running on Linux. His posts on X showcase an installation that completes on a Windows 10 or 11 Wine prefix, signs in with his existing license, and launches at least one editor.
He achieved this using two things, an unreleased version of Soda and Bottles 67.4. If you remember, Soda is a Wine-based runner that facilitates easy running of Windows games and applications.
On first glance, what he posted might look like a developer-focused log, but these changes are the foundation of what full Microsoft 365 support via Bottles will one day hopefully look like.
The results of his work
Mirko was able to login into the MS 365 app using his credentials and was able to launch MS Word and use it. Of course that’s not the only thing he got working; since two-factor authentication passed, the suite detected his license, and OneDrive integration was functional.
The memory footprint of the office suite was less than 500MB, so this should be light on your Linux system.
The build he is currently testing is 2608 (20326.20144), which he says is the last build the installer will offer for Windows 10 and 11. And before you get all hyped up, wanting to try this out on your computer, know that you will have to wait.
Soda 11.0-11 (error 404 for now) has no release yet, and the component catalog that ships with Bottles 67.4 stops at Soda 11.0-10. Even the long-standing community request for a Microsoft Office installer in Bottles is still open.
Do we need Microsoft 365 on Linux?
Till date, there’s not been an official Linux desktop build of Microsoft 365, and seeing how Microsoft currently operates, I don’t expect one to appear anytime soon.
What’s been achieved here is remarkable. Once fully implemented, this will help draw in people into Linux, as many shudder at the thought of switching to the platform because their preferred office suite doesn’t work here.
For context, CodeWeavers sells a paid Wine product, CrossOver, and its database still lists Microsoft Office 365 on Linux as “Installs, Will Not Run,” last tested against CrossOver 26.3.0.
Which is why I hope the fix travels further than Bottles. Wine sits beneath every one of these projects, including Soda. So a patch that lands upstream reaches all of them at once, and you would not need a particular runner to get Office working.
I really dislike microsoft office, but the unfortunate reality is that it is used everywhere and it is such a disadvantage not to have, onlyoffice works great for me but the risk of things not looking right when sharing with someone with office is quite big. So I really like this progression, needing to run a full windows emulation to get office is a pain.
That sounds like malicious action from Microsoft versus parsing a well standardized and open format.
Edit: this is the equivalent of choosing violence and we shouldn’t accept msft into the open source community at this point.
M$ have specialised in anti competive malicious actions for over three decades. It’s baked into their culture
Ask your job to provide a device that can run the microslop software
Here’s how that would go:
Envidon: I want a device that can run O365.
Job: We can certainly make that happen. Just hand in your PC to the servicedesk and they will install Windows for you.
Envidon: So I can dualboot Linux for actual work and Windows for slopwork?
Job: Hahaha, no. Linux or O365.
They did, and then I put linux on it, so I created the problem I guess. (But struggling a but with office every now and then is better than dealing with windows always)
Haha, I see. I wish I could use Linux as my work operating system but a separate device is as good as I can get
I hope this never happens to me
their preferred office suite
Usually it’s not “their preferred office suite” but “office suite they are forces to use at work”. MS Office usage is high because of network effect, not because any other office suite is worse.
I use LO Writer for any document I write (or work with) myself and it’s perfectly fine. The only reason I keep MS Office is that I need to work on documents other people write (or need to work with).
Of course there are people who actually prefer MS Office, but it’s similar to Windows itself: most people did not choose it, they either don’t know there is an alternative or are forced to use it for compatibility reasons (at work). It’s rare that anyone actually “prefers” MS software.
All I need is the ability to run Teams and Outlook on Bottles.
And “Windows App” for me…Their new version of the “Remote Desktop” windows app…FML with their naming insanity. Anyway, that’s my biggest headache. I have a goddamn VM just for this, with multi-monitor figured out. Just for this crap.
Fuck. Yeah, I fogot that one. Damned VDIs.
My theory is they want you to get used to the windows app name because eventually they’re just gonna sell you Linux PCs with only the ability to reach your windows os like an app in the cloud with windows 365. Everything as a subscription, this is the way!
Doesn’t outlook support imap? Any email client should work with it
Doesn’t outlook support imap?
Officially, it can. Many organizations turn IMAP off “for security reasons.”
Edit: Microsoft routinely turns off features for security reasons, so this comment may age poorly, if not already.
This is great long term. If Microsoft were ever to go under or simply stop offering Windows as an OS, there’ll always be ways to run annoying software like Microsoft 365.
… Why though?
I think this is more of a compatibility benchmark than something anyone is actually going to do.
because some people have jobs that dictate they use this shite
Exactly my first thought.
Impressive
Soda is a Wine-based runner that facilitates easy running of Windows games and applications
Isn’t that basically what wine is supposed to do?
ooo a custom wine runner in 2026? daring aren’t we
Started using WPS Office and never looked back 🤷
Sad that Linux will get its first usable database app (Access) as closed source from Microsoft. But, so be it. I’m happy that soon I won’t have to run Windows for this in a virtual machine.
I guess I’m the only here, but after years of running LibreOffice, I still miss MS Office.
Don’t get me wrong, I can do everything I need in LO, but MSO is still better imo.
Nothing is like Excel and it’s macros (I know, old school, but I can’t get macros as complete in LO). And I miss Word’s “page layout” where you can just center a text to a page vertically. Details, but still things I miss.
Have you tried OnlyOffice? It functions much more like MS Office, though I haven’t tried the features you’re talking about.
