# Mp3tag on Linux Mint (via wine, bottles, flatpak)

**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-mint-via-wine-bottles-flatpak/71445
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [June 14, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-mint-via-wine-bottles-flatpak/71445 "2026-06-14T14:40:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![sruxd](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@sruxd](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/sruxd)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-mint-via-wine-bottles-flatpak/71445/1 "2026-06-14T14:40:37Z")

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Note: This was intended for the "Howto" category, but only now I noticed I don't have permission to post there. Please move it if you find it useful. Thanks!

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After switching from Windows to Linux, mp3tag was one of the few programs I really missed and couldn't find a suitable replacement for. It took me a while to setup, so I figured I'd write a step-by-step guide to reference in the future 🙂

To figure out the process, I did use an LLM, but this entire guide was hand-written by me. Throughout the guide, "quotes" are used for GUI menu entries, while `code` is used for file paths or terminal commands. The guide was tested with the following software versions:

- Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon 6.4.8 (X11)
- Linux Kernel 6.17.0-35
- Bottles 64.1
- mp3tag v3.33.1

There is also @Casual\_Tee's guide, which apparently should work on mint too, but does not use bottles: [Mp3tag on Linux via Wine](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-via-wine/71343). His guide also covers dark mode and the right-click menu, which this guide does not.

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## Step 0: Install Bottles

Linux Mint comes pre-installed with Flathub, allowing easy installation of Flatpak programs such as Bottles. Under the hood, Bottles uses Wine, but offers a user-friendly GUI and better isolation for your Windows programs.

1. Open the "Software Manager"
2. Search for "bottles"
3. Click "Install"
4. Launch Bottles

## Step 1: Setup mp3tag Bottle

Each bottle must have a unique name, which will be used for the base directory. Please use the "mp3tag" name during setup; you can change the display name later in the GUI without altering the directory structure.

1. Click the "+" in the top-left corner to create a new bottle
2. Enter the name "mp3tag"
3. Use the defaults: "Application", "Runner = soda-9.0.1", default directory, and confirm with "Create"
4. Click on the bottle name to open its configuration
5. Verify that under "Options \> Dependencies" the following are installed by default: "arial32", "times32", "courie32", "mono", "gecko"
6. Fix desktop scale \> 1.0x: Open "Settings \> Advanced Display Settings" and set "Screen Scaling" to "192dpi"

Note: Screen scaling works regardless of the actual display ratio because X11 renders everything at 2x and then down-samples it to whatever fractional scaling is requested. Do not apply this fix if you do not have a HiDPI screen or are using 1.0x scaling.

## Step 2: Install mp3tag Portable

1. Download the latest mp3tag version to e.g., the "Downloads" folder
2. Open the mp3tag bottle
3. Click "Run Executable...", navigate to the file location, and double-click `mp3tag-v3.xx.x-x64-setup.exe`
4. In the Windows installer, choose "Portable Installation" when prompted
5. In the Windows installer, choose the path `C:\portable\Mp3tag\` when prompted
6. Keep clicking "Next" and "Install" until the installer finishes
7. In Bottles, click "Add Shortcuts..."
8. Navigate to `drive_c/portable/Mp3tag/` and double-click `Mp3tag.exe`
9. To open mp3tag, click the "Play" icon next to the shortcut in the Bottles GUI

## Step 3: Import mp3tag Settings

1. On Linux, close mp3tag
2. On Windows, in mp3tag, export your current settings: "File \> Save Configuration..." and click "Save"
3. On Windows, extract the file to a new folder named `Mp3tagSettings`
4. On Linux, navigate to the mp3tag install folder: open the "Files" application, then press `Ctrl+L` (or click the path bar) to edit the address
5. On Linux, paste `~/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/mp3tag/dosdevices/c:/portable/Mp3tag` and press Enter
6. On Linux, copy the contents of the Mp3tagSettings` folder into the installation path, and overwrite all files if prompted

Note: You can also unpack the `Mp3tagSettings.zip` on Linux. Depending on your archive software, you may need to convert backslashes (`\`) to forward slashes (`/`) manually.

## Step 4: Create Desktop Shortcut

This is equivalent to a "Start menu entry" under Windows. Because Bottles runs as a Flatpak, we need to patch the `Exec` line in the `.desktop` entry.

1. In Bottles, click the three dots next to the shortcut and select "Add Desktop Entry"
2. Open a Terminal, either from the Start menu or with `Ctrl+Alt+T`
3. Paste `sed -i 's|^Exec=bottles-cli run |Exec=flatpak run --command=bottles-cli com.usebottles.bottles run |' ~/.local/share/applications/*.desktop` and press Enter

## Step 5: Grant File Access

By default, Flatpak (and therefore Bottles) isolates applications from the filesystem. For this example, we will grant access to the `/data` folder (located at the root directory) and the home directory `~`. Note that home directory access excludes hidden folders (those starting with a `.`) for security.

1. Open a Terminal, either from the Start menu or with `Ctrl+Alt+T`
2. Add "/data": `flatpak override --user com.usebottles.bottles --filesystem=/data`
3. Add "~": `flatpak override --user com.usebottles.bottles --filesystem=home`
4. Restart Bottles: `flatpak kill com.usebottles.bottles`

Note: This grants file access to _all_ bottles by default. You can restrict access per bottle by enabling sandbox mode in the Bottles GUI.

## Step 6: Fix Drag & Drop

Wine needs to translate your Linux file paths to paths mp3tag can understand. Replace `<username>` with your actual Linux username.

1. Open a Terminal, either from the Start menu or with `Ctrl+Alt+T`
2. Navigate to the bottle location: `cd ~/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/mp3tag/dosdevices/`
3. Add "/data" as drive "D:\\": `ln -s /data d:`
4. Add "~" as drive "H:\\": `ln -s /home/<username> h:`

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### Author: ![Casual\_Tea](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/casual_tea/32/18886_2.png) [@Casual\_Tea](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Casual_Tea)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-mint-via-wine-bottles-flatpak/71445/2 "2026-06-14T19:47:00Z")

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Interesting approach. Having multiple ways to achieve a goal is always good.

One small correction:

> [@sruxd](#):
>
> If you are on an Arch-based distro, check out @Casual\_Tee's guide: [Mp3tag on Linux via Wine](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-via-wine/71343).

My guide is not Arch specific (except for the part where I mention installing Mp3tag via the AUR as an alternative to my approach). I use the same portable Mp3tag instance on CachyOS KDE and Fedora 44 KDE and I don't see why it shouldn't work on other distributions as well.

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![sruxd](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@sruxd](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/sruxd)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-on-linux-mint-via-wine-bottles-flatpak/71445/3 "2026-06-14T20:25:06Z")

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That's a worthwhile note, I updated the post.