Re:_Proposal_—_Seamless_Windows_Application_Virtua lization_via_bhyve

have you tried wine11?

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CeDeROM, SQ7MHZ, http://www.tomek.cedro.info

On Sat, Aug 8, 2026, 00:22 Asiye Sarıyıldız <asiyee994@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've been thinking about a potential enhancement to bhyve that could make
> Windows application compatibility much smoother for FreeBSD desktop users.
> Currently, running Windows applications (e.g., Adobe products) requires
> manually setting up a full Windows VM in bhyve — creating disk images,
> configuring UEFI/BIOS, installing drivers, and manually managing the guest
> OS. This works, but it's a heavy, manual process compared to solutions like
> Wine/Proton on Linux or Parallels' seamless mode on macOS.
> What if bhyve offered a more automated, "appliance-style" workflow: the
> user supplies their own Windows installation ISO (and their own license),
> and bhyve handles VM provisioning, NT kernel boot configuration, and
> required virtio/driver setup automatically — with minimal manual steps.
> Since the user brings their own ISO and license, this avoids any licensing
> or redistribution concerns on the project's side. Ideally, this could
> eventually extend toward seamless window integration (running individual
> Windows apps like Adobe software without exposing the full Windows
> desktop), similar to what VMware Fusion or Parallels offer on macOS.
> I understand this raises real challenges — driver signing, GPU passthrough
> for apps like Adobe's Creative Suite, and the significant engineering
> effort seamless integration would require compared to a standard full-VM
> setup.
> Is this something the core team has considered, or is it already covered
> by existing tools (e.g., vm-bhyve, or work in progress)? I'd appreciate
> your perspective on whether this is a realistic direction for bhyve, or
> whether the complexity outweighs the benefit compared to just using a
> standard full VM setup.
> Thank you for your time and for your work on FreeBSD.
>