How To Uninstall Programs Installed with Wine on Ubuntu

In this article, we will discuss how to uninstall programs installed with Wine on Ubuntu. Wine is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, and BSD. But what if you want to uninstall a program you have previously installed using Wine? Here’s how you can do it.

Using the Wine Uninstaller

The easiest way to uninstall a program installed with Wine is by using the Wine uninstaller. Here’s how:

1. Open a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or by searching for ‘terminal’ in the application menu.
2. Type wine uninstaller and press Enter. This command opens the built-in Add/Remove tool from Wine, which is similar to the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ tool in Windows.
3. In the uninstaller, you will see a list of installed programs. Select the program you want to uninstall and click the “Modify/Remove” button to start the uninstallation process.
4. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation.

It’s important to note that some programs may require you to repeat the uninstallation process multiple times.

Removing the Wine Bottle

If you want to completely remove all programs installed with Wine, you can delete the Wine bottle. Here’s how:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Type rm -rf ~/.wine and press Enter. This command deletes the .wine directory, which is where Wine stores all its data, including installed programs.

The rm command is used to remove files and directories. The -r (or --recursive) option is used to remove directories and their contents recursively. The -f (or --force) option is used to ignore nonexistent files and arguments, and never prompt before removing.

Please be aware that this will delete all programs and data stored in Wine, so use this option with caution.

Using the Dash or Gnome Fallback

You can also use Ubuntu’s Dash or Gnome Fallback to access the Wine uninstaller. Here’s how:

1. In Ubuntu’s Dash, search for “wine” and select “Uninstall Wine software”.
2. In Gnome Fallback, go to Applications => Wine => Uninstall Wine software.
3. Follow the prompts to uninstall the selected program.

Manual Cleanup

After uninstalling a program, you may need to manually remove any remaining shortcuts and folders. These can be found in the ~/.local/share/applications/wine/Programs directory. To remove them:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Type rm -rf ~/.local/share/applications/wine/Programs/<ProgramName> and press Enter.

Replace <ProgramName> with the name of the program you have uninstalled.

In conclusion, uninstalling programs installed with Wine on Ubuntu can be done in several ways. Whether you choose to use the Wine uninstaller, remove the Wine bottle, or use Ubuntu’s Dash or Gnome Fallback, the process is relatively straightforward. Just remember to manually clean up any remaining shortcuts and folders to ensure a complete uninstallation.