Fixing WebView2 Issues in Linux Bottles: How I Got It Working

Since setting up Bottles, I’ve been happily running my favorite Windows applications on my Linux development machine. Life was good—I was productive, comfortable, and didn’t have to dual‑boot or spin up a VM just to get work done.

The Problem: A Windows App That Needs WebView2 on Linux

Recently, I needed a desktop app to manage my investments. The app offers Windows, iOS, and Android versions—but unfortunately, no native Linux support. To make things more interesting, some key features are only available in the Windows version.

No problem, I have Bottles for that!

I installed the Windows version using Bottles, launched it, and everything seemed fine at first. Most features worked flawlessly. However, when I opened a specific window, I was greeted with a popup:

WebView2 is not installed. Do you want to install it?

Sure—I needed that feature, so I installed WebView2. The installation completed successfully, and the window opened… but the content was completely blank.

At this point, it was clear that WebView2 wasn’t behaving correctly inside Bottles on Linux.

The Usual Troubleshooting (and a Lucky Find)

Like most of us would do, I asked ChatGPT for help. I tried a few suggestions, but no luck. So I went old‑school and Googled the issue.

Thankfully, I stumbled upon a helpful Reddit post that pointed me in the right direction. And yes—it worked.

The Solution: Getting WebView2 to Work in Bottles

Here’s a quick summary of what fixed the issue for me.

Step 1: Install Proton GE in Bottles

  1. Open Bottles and go to Preferences (Shortcut: Ctrl + ,)
  2. Navigate to the Runners tab
  3. Scroll down to Proton GE
  4. Install the latest available version—at the time of writing, this was ge-proton10-26

Step 2: Switch the Bottle Runner to Proton GE

  1. Open the specific Bottle where your Windows app is installed
  2. Go to Options > Settings > Components > Runner
  3. Change the runner to the ge-proton10-26 version you just installed

Step 3: Install Required Dependencies

  1. Go to Dependencies
  2. Install the following packages:
  • vcredist2022
  • vcredist2019
  • dotnet48

The Result: WebView2 Working Perfectly on Linux

And that’s it.

I relaunched the app, opened the problematic window again—and this time, the content loaded exactly as expected. No blank screen. No errors. Just a fully functional WebView2 component running inside Bottles on Linux.

Final Thoughts

If you’re running Windows applications on Linux using Bottles and run into WebView2 rendering issues, switching to Proton GE and installing the right dependencies can make all the difference. Hopefully, this saves you some time—and a bit of head‑scratching.

Happy hacking on Linux!