Turning GNU/Linux Into Windows With Adobe Proprietary Software

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jan 18, 2026,
updated Feb 01, 2026

• Neowin ☛ Linux closes the professional gap as Adobe Creative Cloud installer finally runs on Wine [Ed: Linux as Windows with another brand]

  New patches fix critical JavaScript and XML issues, finally allowing GNU/Linux users to install professional Adobe tools through the Wine ecosystem.

• Video Cardz ☛ Adobe Photoshop can now install on Linux after a Redditor discovers a Wine fix

More on the same:

• Developer patches Wine to make Photoshop 2021 & 2025 run on GNU/Linux — Adobe Creative Cloud installers finally work thanks to HTML, JavaScript and XML fixes

  Linux can now handle Adobe Creative Cloud-era installers thanks to a series of patches built by PhialsBasement, an open-source developer who has fixed longstanding HTML and JavaScript rendering issues, alongside XML parsing errors in Wine. This enables Photoshop 2021 and even 2025 to run on the platform "butter smooth."

• Wine Patches Bring Newer Versions of Adobe Photoshop to Linux

  Wine patches finally fix Adobe Creative Cloud installer on Linux, letting you install Photoshop 2021 and 2025 without copying files from a backdoored Windows VM.

In "It's FOSS" (Not!):

• Photoshop Installer Runs on GNU/Linux Despite Adobe Not Giving a Damn For Years

  Still early to say whether this will make it into Wine officially, this should rekindle some hope for GNU/Linux users and users-to-be who have been missing Adobe's creative suite on the platform.

Also here:

• Wine Patches Enable Adobe Photoshop Installation On Linux

  A set of recent changes to Wine could remove one of Linux’s longest-standing software roadblocks.

And here:

• Adobe Photoshop spotted running on Linux with a Windows compatibility layer fix — Creative Cloud's most killer apps could escape Microsoft and Apple exclusivity

  Adobe's world-famous Photoshop and other parts of its larger Creative Cloud suite are starting to function on Linux distributions via tweaks to the WINE compatibility layer. Curiously enough, developer "Phiality" initially has a GitHub pull request for Valve's fork of WINE in mind, built for its Proton layer in SteamOS and hardware like the well-loved Steam Deck gaming handheld (via Reddit).

  Essentially, this means that Steam, the PC gaming launcher and storefront, makes it easier for Adobe users to work around an incompatibility roadblock and extend their workflow to Linux, rather than falling back on Windows 11 or macOS. Right now, this is extremely unofficial and has no involvement from Valve, and can be done without Steam at all, but it shows promise nonetheless.

  Phiality's contributions to WINE target incompatibilities with Windows-centric 'mshtml' and 'msxml3' dependencies and core services that, at least so far, have hampered the ability to use Adobe's apps on Linux outside of a virtual machine. Now, the Creative Cloud appears to run with the latest release and has been tested "with Photoshop 2021 and 2025."

• Steam Deck running Photoshop could soon be possible thanks to new Adobe Creative Cloud fix for Linux

  Steam Deck has already proven that Linux can be a solid platform for gaming, but creative software has long been a problem. While game compatibility has improved a lot thanks to Proton, many popular creative apps still don’t work properly on Linux. One of the biggest gaps has been the Adobe suite, which includes tools like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Illustrator. However, that could change sooner than expected.

  A developer known as PhialsBasement has been working on a fix that allows the Adobe Creative Cloud installer to run correctly using WINE, a compatibility layer to run Windows apps on Linux. This is important because Creative Cloud is required to install and manage Adobe apps. In the past, even if some Adobe programs partially worked on Linux, the installer itself would fail, making it impossible to use them properly.

Steam Deck now synonymous with "Linux"?

Valnet:

• This developer just made Photoshop work on Linux, with some caveats

  Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:

  A major barrier for Linux adoption might finally be breaking down because a community developer has successfully patched Wine to run Adobe Creative Cloud installers. This means you can now install specific versions of Adobe Photoshop directly on Linux systems.

  The lack of native Adobe Creative Cloud support is a big reason why I've seen many amateur and professional artists avoid making the switch to Linux. While open-source tools like GIMP and Krita are powerful, they do not always offer the feature parity or file compatibility that creative studios rely on. Now, a developer known as PhialsBasement claims to have resolved the critical compatibility issues that stopped the Adobe installers from completing the process in Wine.

TechSpot:

• A new Wine update could finally bring Adobe Photoshop to Linux

  Linux powers the vast majority of the world's computing infrastructure, yet it has long struggled to gain traction with everyday users – and with creative professionals, where macOS often holds an edge over Windows. That could change in the near future if one developer's work is accepted into Wine's codebase.

  A developer known as "PhialsBasement" has recently merged several commits into Valve Software's custom Wine build, introducing a way to install and run Photoshop on Linux systems. This "patch" may eventually achieve a truly unprecedented goal, which is making the open-source platform compatible with some of the most widely used creative and image editing tools on the market.

Linux Magazine:

• Photoshop on Linux?

  A developer has patched Wine so that it'll run specific versions of Photoshop that depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.

Also here today (late):

• Linux creatives rejoice - this dev's hard work now lets Photoshop finally run on Linux, so let your imaginations run wild

  The longstanding incompatibility between Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite and Linux operating systems remains a major obstacle for users transitioning to open source platforms.

  Recent developments suggest this barrier may be starting to weaken due to targeted technical work, as a developer known as PhialsBasement has documented a method to install and run recent versions of Photoshop, specifically the 2021 and 2025 releases, on Linux systems.

  This process bypasses the official installation path, which Adobe has limited to Windows and macOS environments.

WINE catching up (late coverage):

• Photoshop 2021 And 2025 Now Run On Linux Thanks To New Wine Patches

  Running modern versions of Adobe Photoshop on Linux has long been difficult, mainly because the installation process depends on Adobe Creative Cloud, which has historically failed to work properly through Wine. That situation may now be changing. According to a recent update shared by an independent developer known as PhialsBasement, Photoshop 2021 and 2025 can now be installed and run on Linux in a stable way, thanks to a set of new Wine patches that also improve Creative Cloud installer compatibility.

Valnet:

• Getting Adobe Photoshop on Linux just took a big step forward

  f you haven't been keeping on top of all the Linux news going on lately, things have been pretty exciting on the "getting Photoshop running on it" front. Which doesn't sound like much of an exciting front, but given how long people have been waiting for Adobe products on Linux, any progress is definitely something to celebrate.

  A little while ago, we caught wind that someone had gotten the Adobe installers to work in Wine, but they were struggling to get it added to the repo. They decided to upload it to both Wine's and Valve's Proton repo, citing that the latter is usually a lot faster to accept stuff, but it seems to have been rejected. Fortunately, the Wine team has been working on getting the patch added to their app.

Valnet also:

• Someone finally got the Adobe CC installers working on Linux with Wine

  As much as I love using Linux over Windows, I will admit that you do have to make a few sacrifices when making the switch over to the world of FOSS. For instance, some apps don't have a Linux version, neither official nor a third-party workaround, and you have to find an alternate app that does something similar, albeit not perfectly.

  Photoshop was one such hurdle, with people needing to migrate over to something like GIMP to get an advanced image editor. However, someone over on Reddit has finally cracked the code and found a way to get the Adobe CC installers working on Linux via Wine. This means you can use apps like Photoshop within Linux, and while it may not be perfect, it sounds very usable.