Linux operating systems have become increasingly popular over the last year, as Windows 10 reached end-of-life, unwanted AI features and buggy updates pushed people away from Windows 11, and Linux distros became more user-friendly.
Despite those gains, Linux does lack native support for some important apps. This is how I got Photoshop running on my Linux laptop.
HTG Wrapped: Our favorite tech in 2025
24 days of our favorite hardware, gadgets, and tech
Linux doesn’t have a Photoshop replacement
There are a huge number of great, free programs available for Linux. Some of them aim to be a drop-in replacement for Photoshop.
However good they are, I haven’t been able to fully replace Photoshop with any of the Linux alternatives, despite giving it an earnest try.
If you’re one of those people that needs Photoshop for their day-to-day hobbies, or worse yet, you require it for your work, then completely moving over to Linux probably isn’t an option.
I don’t use Photoshop daily, but I do dabble, so I went searching for a convenient, performant way to get Photoshop running on Linux. Much to my surprise, I found a solution that makes running Photoshop—or any other Windows app—surprisingly easy. There are about 30 community-tested and supported apps already.
WinApps even integrates the Windows app into the Linux user interface like a native app.
WinApps brings Photoshop to Linux
There is no native way to run Photoshop on Linux, and until such time as Adobe decides to make an official port, there probably won’t be.
However, with a handful of lines in the Terminal, a low-level virtual machine, and a Windows 11 install, we can get pretty close. WinApps ties together a Windows virtual machine with your Linux operating system so that the Windows apps you run appear seamlessly alongside your Linux apps—no messing with the VM required after it is set up.
In many ways, WinApps feels like what a “Linux Subsystem for Windows” would be, if it actually existed. Installing WinApps only requires about 15 minutes and 10 commands in the Terminal. Once you’re near the end of the process, WinApps will prompt you to select the Windows app you want to add to Linux.
As an added convenience, you automatically get a “Shared” folder on the Windows VM’s desktop which allows you to move files freely between your Linux host and the Windows VM. That makes it extremely easy to get files from one system to the other.
How fast is Photoshop using WinApps?
I’m not a trained graphics artist, so my Photoshop needs are pretty modest.
However, Photoshop—like every other app I tested—is extremely responsive. There isn’t really any noticeable input latency when I was dragging my cursor around doing simple manipulation.
The only time I ran into issues is when I ran up against the limits of the virtual machine that actually runs Windows, which you can change. I left mine alone since the entire setup is running on a 5-year-old laptop that is starting to show its age. If you have a PC with extra cores and a surplus of RAM, then you could easily boost the settings.
So You’ve Set Up Linux On Windows Using WSL, Here’s What You Can Do With It
The short answer is pretty much everything.
How do you remove WinApps?
If at any point you find the VM is putting too much of a burden on your system, you can remove it to free up system resources.
Just run the appropriate version of Podman-compose down. For example, my compose.yaml is in the WinApps folder in my home folder, so to take it down I run:
podman-compose --file ~/winapps/compose.yaml down
After that, you shouldn’t see Podman (or a VM) eating up your precious system resources.
Normally, if you’re in the position where you need certain apps from Windows, but you’re running Linux, you’re stuck dual booting. WinApps provides another option that doesn’t sacrifice too much performance.
If WinApps isn’t quite what you need, you could stick with. Dual booting relies on having two complete operating systems installed simultaneously on one PC. However, it works best with two separate drives installed on one PC. If you can attach an additional drive, that is your best bet.
- Storage capacity
-
2TB
- Hardware Interface
-
PCIe Gen4x4
- Compatible Devices
-
PS5, PC
- Brand
-
Western Digital
- Dimensions
-
80.01 x 22.1 x 2.29 mm
- Weight
-
7.5 g
The WD_BLACK SN850X is even faster than the SN850 it replaces, making it an even better option for your high-performance PC or PlayStation 5. The Sony-recommended heat sink helps ensure that your drive will last just as long as your PS5 does.
