WINESERVER(1)

📦
version 11.21 · 7 versions
, in arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

💅 WINESERVER(1) — the Windows on Unix manual, bestie edition 🍷

okay so picture this: it's the wineserver page, manual section 1, and I'm about to make it make sense. buckle up 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

wineserver — the Wine server, obvs 💁‍♀️

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

wineserver [options]

that's it. that's the whole vibe check. 💖

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so wineserver is a daemon process — a little background main character that gives Wine roughly the same services that the Windows kernel provides on Windows. like, the Windows kernel but make it Unix. iconic behavior honestly. 👑

and here's the thing: wineserver is normally launched automatically when you start wine(1), so you genuinely shouldn't have to worry about it. it just shows up, does its job, slays. 💅

but — in some cases it can be useful to start wineserver explicitly with different options, as explained below. lowkey a rare move but a valid one. ✨

💜 OPTIONS 💜

  • -d[n], --debug[=n] — sets the debug level to n. 0 means no debugging information, 1 is the normal level, and 2 is for extra verbose debugging. if n is not specified, the default is 1. the debug output gets sent to stderr. also, wine(1) will automatically enable normal level debugging when starting wineserver if the +server option is set in the WINEDEBUG variable. so it kinda does it for you, bestie 🫶
  • -f, --foreground — makes the server remain in the foreground for easier debugging, for instance when running it under a debugger. it's giving "come hang out in the front row so I can see you" 💀
  • -h, --help — displays a help message. classic. we love a helpful queen 🙈
  • -k[n], --kill[=n] — kills the currently running wineserver, optionally by sending signal n. if no signal is specified, it sends a SIGINT first and then a SIGKILL. the instance of wineserver that gets killed is selected based on the WINEPREFIX environment variable. so like, it's targeted. not messy. okay maybe a little messy 😭
  • -p[n], --persistent[=n] — specifies the wineserver persistence delay, i.e. the amount of time that the server will keep running when all client processes have terminated. this avoids the cost of shutting down and starting again when programs are launched in quick succession. the timeout n is in seconds, the default value is 3 seconds. if n is not specified, the server stays around forever. forever forever. clingy in the best way 🎀
  • -v, --version — displays version information and exits. short and sweet, love that for her ⭐
  • -w, --wait — waits until the currently running wineserver terminates. it's giving "I'll wait for you" 🥺

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

  • WINEPREFIX — if set, the content of this variable is taken as the name of the directory where wineserver stores its data. the default is $HOME/.wine. all wine processes using the same wineserver (i.e.: same user) share certain things like registry, shared memory and kernel objects. so by setting WINEPREFIX to different values for different Wine processes, it is possible to run a number of truly independent Wine sessions. multiple personalities, all valid 💅✨

🍓 FILES 🍓

  • ~/.wine — directory containing user specific data managed by wine.
  • /tmp/.wine-uid — directory containing the server Unix socket and the lock file. these files are created in a subdirectory generated from the WINEPREFIX directory device and inode numbers. very "we have a system and the system is numbers" of it 🧚

👑 AUTHORS 👑

the original author of wineserver is Alexandre Julliard. many other people have contributed new features and bug fixes. for a complete list, see the git commit logs. legends only, fr fr 🌟

💀 BUGS 💀

bugs can be reported on the Wine bug tracker. not me manifesting a bug-free life but also... report them properly bestie 🙈

🔥 AVAILABILITY 🔥

wineserver is part of the Wine distribution, which is available through WineHQ, the Wine development headquarters. the mothership 🚀

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

  • wine(1)
  • Wine documentation and support.
ngl there's a lot of options up there, but honestly? wineserver just wants to run in the background and be loved. don't overthink it 🫶

that's the page!! Wine 11.21, and this gem has been kicking since way back in October 2005 — vintage, historic, still serving 💖🎀🦋 periodt.

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