Mirko Brombin, the creator of Bottles, has successfully run Microsoft 365 on a Linux system. He achieved this using an unreleased version of Soda and Bottles 67.4, completing an installation on a Windows 10 or 11 Wine prefix and logging in with an existing Microsoft 365 license.
Brombin was able to launch and use Microsoft Word, with the suite passing two-factor authentication, detecting his license, and enabling OneDrive integration. The office suite’s memory footprint was reported to be less than 500MB. He is currently testing build 2608 (20326.20144), which is the last version the installer offers for Windows 10 and 11.
Currently, Soda 11.0-11 is unreleased, and the component catalog included with Bottles 67.4 only supports Soda 11.0-10. A long-requested Microsoft Office installer for Bottles remains open. While CodeWeavers’ CrossOver, a paid Wine product, still lists Microsoft Office 365 on Linux as installing but not running (last tested against CrossOver 26.3.0), Brombin’s work could potentially extend beyond Bottles, as Wine underlies both projects. A patch to Wine would benefit all of them.
Brombin’s achievement is seen as potentially drawing more users to Linux, as compatibility with Microsoft’s office suite is a barrier for some. The lack of an official Linux desktop build of Microsoft 365, and the unlikelihood of one appearing, makes this development significant.
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