Debian and Debian-based distributions such as Ubuntu utilize a special tool for managing packages known as APT. APT is able to automagically install all of the needed dependencies for a software package, as well as keep the package up to date, by scanning what are known as APT repositories. Debian-based distributions have their own repositories of software that include Wine, however we keep our own repository of the latest available packages here for download.

There used to be graphical instructions here, however we have found that the terminal commands are actually simpler to describe and quicker for the user to input. Because the commands below use sudo, you may have to enter your user password after hitting enter.

First, open a terminal window (Applications→Accessories→Terminal). Then add the repository's key to your system's list of trusted APT keys by copy and pasting the following:

wget -q http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Next, add the repository to your system's list of APT sources: For Ubuntu Hardy (8.04):

sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

For Debian Etch (4.0):

sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/etch.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

Then update APT's package information by running 'sudo apt-get update'.

Now you can install Wine by clicking this link. Alternatively, you can install by going to Applications→Add/Remove and searching for Wine.

If you are upgrading the entire system, such as going from Ubuntu 7.10 to 8.04, you will need to come back to this page and enter the command for the new version above. The built in update manager will not switch the Wine repository automatically.

Since the APT repository can only hold the latest packages, older versions of the packages are available at the WineHQ .deb packages archive. You can install the packages by double-clicking on them.