Bottles Creator Demonstrates Microsoft 365 Running on Linux

Mirko Brombin, who developed Bottles, has demonstrated Microsoft 365 functioning on Linux. His posts on X document an installation that works within a Windows 10 or 11 Wine prefix, authenticates using an existing license, and successfully opens at least one application from the suite.

The achievement relied on two key components: an unreleased iteration of Soda and Bottles 67.4. Soda functions as a Wine-based runner designed to simplify the execution of Windows games and applications on Linux systems.

While Brombin's technical documentation may initially appear to be developer-level output, it actually represents the groundwork for what could eventually become comprehensive Microsoft 365 compatibility through Bottles.

What Brombin accomplished

Brombin successfully authenticated into the Microsoft 365 application using his account credentials and opened Microsoft Word for use. Beyond that single application, his testing confirmed that two-factor authentication functioned properly, the system recognized his license, and OneDrive synchronization worked as expected.

The office application consumed less than 500MB of memory, suggesting the software would operate efficiently on Linux machines without excessive resource demands.

The build version under evaluation is 2608 (20326.20144), which Brombin notes represents the final build the installer will support for Windows 10 and 11. However, prospective users should understand that this functionality is not yet available for public testing.

Soda 11.0-11 remains unreleased and currently returns an error 404. The component collection included with Bottles 67.4 only extends to Soda 11.0-10. Additionally, the long-requested feature for a Microsoft Office installer within Bottles continues to remain unresolved.

Is Microsoft 365 on Linux necessary?

Microsoft has never released an official Linux desktop version of Microsoft 365, and given the company's current trajectory, such a release appears unlikely in the near future.

Brombin's accomplishment represents a significant technical breakthrough. If brought to completion, this capability could attract new users to Linux, as many hesitate to switch platforms due to concerns about compatibility with their preferred productivity software.

CodeWeavers, which distributes CrossOver, a commercial Wine-based product, maintains a compatibility database that currently marks Microsoft Office 365 on Linux as "Installs, Will Not Run," based on testing with CrossOver 26.3.0.

For this reason, broader adoption of Brombin's solution would be beneficial. Wine forms the foundation of all these projects, including Soda. A fix implemented at the Wine level would automatically propagate to all downstream projects simultaneously, eliminating the need for a specialized runner to enable Office functionality.