> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/brunodev85/winlator/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Run Windows applications and games on Android with Wine and Box86/Box64

<img src="https://media.brand.dev/e714a459-5eac-4ea5-896e-1ff1701faba0.png" alt="Winlator" style={{ maxWidth: "300px", marginBottom: "24px" }} />

## What is Winlator?

Winlator is an Android application that lets you run Windows (x86\_64) applications and games on ARM-based Android devices. It combines several powerful open-source technologies to achieve this:

* **Wine** — translates Windows system calls into Linux equivalents
* **Box86/Box64** — translates x86/x86\_64 instructions to ARM instructions
* **Mesa GPU drivers** — provides Vulkan and OpenGL support via Turnip, Zink, and VirGL
* **DXVK / VKD3D** — translates Direct3D calls to Vulkan for better performance
* **PRoot** — runs the Linux environment without root access

Together, these components create a compatibility layer that enables a wide range of Windows software to run on Android smartphones and tablets.

## Key features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Container management" icon="box">
    Isolate each Windows environment in its own container with independent settings, Wine prefix, and drive mappings.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Graphics translation" icon="display">
    Choose from Turnip (Vulkan), VirGL, or Zink drivers, and pair with DXVK, VKD3D, or WineD3D for DirectX games.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Box86/Box64 presets" icon="sliders">
    Switch between Stability, Compatibility, Intermediate, and Performance presets to tune the x86 translation layer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom input controls" icon="gamepad">
    Design on-screen control overlays and bind physical gamepad buttons to Windows input events.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Per-game shortcuts" icon="bookmark">
    Create shortcuts with individual settings per game — screen size, graphics driver, Box64 preset, and more.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Virtual drives" icon="hard-drive">
    Map Android storage directories to Windows drive letters (D:, E:, etc.) for easy file access.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Supported hardware

Winlator targets Android devices with **ARM64 (arm64-v8a)** processors. For the best graphics performance, a device with an **Adreno GPU** is recommended, as the Turnip Vulkan driver is specifically designed for Adreno hardware.

<Info>
  Winlator requires Android 8.0 (API level 26) or higher.
</Info>

## Technology stack

| Component                  | Purpose                             |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Wine 9.2                   | Windows API compatibility layer     |
| Box86 / Box64              | x86 → ARM instruction translation   |
| Ubuntu Focal RootFS        | Linux userland base                 |
| Mesa (Turnip, Zink, VirGL) | GPU drivers                         |
| DXVK                       | Direct3D 9/10/11 → Vulkan           |
| VKD3D                      | Direct3D 12 → Vulkan                |
| D8VK                       | Direct3D 8 → Vulkan                 |
| CNC DDraw                  | DirectDraw → OpenGL (for old games) |
| PRoot                      | Rootless Linux container            |
| ALSA                       | Audio subsystem                     |

## Getting started

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Installation" icon="download" href="/installation">
    Download the APK and get Winlator installed on your device.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Create your first container and launch a Windows application in minutes.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Credits

Winlator is built on the shoulders of many open-source projects. Special thanks to:

* [Wine](https://www.winehq.org/) — the core Windows compatibility layer
* [ptitSeb](https://github.com/ptitSeb) — author of Box86 and Box64
* [Mesa](https://www.mesa3d.org/) — Turnip, Zink, and VirGL GPU drivers
* [DXVK](https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk) — Direct3D to Vulkan translation
* [VKD3D](https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/vkd3d) — Direct3D 12 to Vulkan
* [D8VK](https://github.com/AlpyneDreams/d8vk) — Direct3D 8 to Vulkan
* [CNC DDraw](https://github.com/FunkyFr3sh/cnc-ddraw) — legacy DirectDraw support
* [Termux Pacman](https://github.com/termux-pacman/glibc-packages) — GLIBC patches
* [PRoot](https://proot-me.github.io/) — rootless container execution