How to convert a linux executable file (binary) to windows exe file?
Is there any way to convert a Linux binary file to windows exe file? For example if in Linux create a very simple binary file like this:
echo "main()" >> main.c gcc main.c -o main Although technically possible, would be insanely complicated, headers change, change all dynamically linked libraries etc. What are your requirements?
thanks alot, i know that it is not too easy, but assume we have a simple binary file like «main» as i mentioned above how can i convert it to a windows exe file?
@Mojtaba In your place I looked for a runtime binary emulator, and tried to link it statically with the linux binary. It will be slow and dirty, but this is how you can get what you wanted with the smallest possible development effort.
4 Answers 4
You can not convert a linux executeable into a windows executeable. But you can compile the source with cross-compiler.
sudo apt-get install mingw32 i586-mingw32msvc-cc main.c -o main.exe thanks alot i know tha it is not too easy but assume we have a simple binary file like «main» as i mention a bove how can i convert tis to an exe file
If you only have an linux executable file and no chance to access the source code of that binary you can only use cygwin in windows to execute the program. A conversion is not possible due to the compiler binds the systemcalls (like consoleoutput) to the system in which the program was compiled. in your case the program was compiled in linux so the mashinecode calls the linux systemcalls. you have no chance to convert it to a windows exe
Cygwin emulates a linux enviroment on the windows mashine, it does not convert the binary. Cygwin starts the binary in a sandbox so that the program can find the needed libraries and «endpoints» for the system calls.
If you had some incredibly simple program (such as ‘int main() < return 0; >‘), would that be feasible to port just from the binary?
@Kevin No, Direct conversation is not possible. Maybe you can try to decompile the excecutable in the source language and recompile it on you target platform. I do not know if this works.
There are no means to convert the binary.
- Recompile for other platform, but this requires the source (and cross-platform support in the source or the used libraries must be available on the other platform as well). cygwin / mingw , for example, can help providing the required support/libraries.
- wine could be used to run Windows binaries on Linux (but not the other way around)
@veger Cygwin cannot run Linux binaries — see its home page: «Cygwin is not: a way to run native Linux apps on Windows. You must rebuild your application from source if you want it to run on Windows.»
If you have the lastest windows 10. Just install linux subsystem in the appstore. you can run whatever linux binary in windows you want
If you need to run your code/app/program in linux/mac/windows under another OS (linux to win or reverse exc..) but you don’t want to use virtual machines or wsl systems you can use docker. Here is link: https://www.docker.com But you will need to learn first. What Is Docker? Docker is similar in concept to Virtual Machines, except it’s much more lightweight. Instead of running an entire separate operating system (which is a massive overhead), Docker runs containers, which use the same host operating system, and only virtualize at a software level
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How to Convert Linux Text File to Windows — Linux File Conversion
Some months ago, I had emailed the final edits for some web content to the designer, when he anxiously wrote back that he couldn’t read the text files I had sent. As the deadline was fast approaching we did some frantic digging to realize he was using Windows Notepad and I had written them on my Linux box. Strange, I thought, text files are as basic as you can get. Aren’t they all the same?
Different Line Endings
For text files, the difference between operating systems is the character used to mark the end of each line. Unix and Linux use LF (Line Feed) and DOS/ Windows use CR/LF (Carriage Return/ Line Feed). A quick way to see the type of line endings is to open a terminal and use the File command. If File reports “ASCII text” then the line endings are Unix. Instead, if it says, “with CRLF line terminators,” then the file is ready for Windows. Many Linux text editors can edit either, but that’s not always the case with Windows editors. Luckily, if you use Linux, it’s easy to change the endings.
GUI Text Editors
Two popular Linux text editors have the built-in ability to change line endings. Unfortunately, the bundled GNOME editor in Ubuntu, gedit, does not have this. Instead, try Geany, a small GTK programmer’s and text editor. To install Geany, open up a terminal and type: “sudo apt-get install geany”. Choose your desired line ending from the the Document Menu. Then save. For those who prefer KDE, the bundled editor, Kate, has the same function under the Tools menu.
Terminal Line Ending Converts
There are also Linux command line applications to convert text files. These are useful for batches of files or if you only have to make this conversion occasionally. The first is Tofrodos. To install in Ubuntu or similar, open a terminal and “type sudo apt-get install tofrodos”. The only dependency is libc6 which most likely is already installed.
Using Tofrodos is simple using the two aliased commands. To change a file from Unix to DOS, type “todos [filename]”. To change a file from DOS to Unix, type “fromdos [filename]”. The program works with pipes and accepts multiple file names and wild cards. For instance, typing “todos s*” would convert to DOS line endings all files in the current directory starting with “s”.
Tofrodos also has some useful options. To make a backup of the file before converting, use -b. If the file is read only and write permission is not granted, using the -f will still make the conversion. Unfortunately, there isn’t a recursive option, so without using other utilities, the files in each directory must be changed one at a time.
Another similar command line app is Flip. Using it is also simple, “flip -u [filename]” changes files to Unix, and “flip -m [filename]” converts the file to DOS. Like Tofrodos, Flip accepts multiple files and file name wild-cards. Install Flip in Ubuntu by typing “sudo apt-get install flip”. It has the same dependency as tofrodos.
How To Convert Files from Linux/Unix Format to Windows and vice versa
If you’ve ever transferred a text file from a UNIX based system to a Windows system directly, you know that when you open the text file on the Windows system, it is usually not displayed correctly. Windows based text reader programs (like Notepad) may not be able to display the text. In most cases, when you open the text file, all the words get displayed on a single giant line, without any breaks. This is because there is a slight difference in the way a text document is written (and read) on Windows and UNIX.
If a file was written on a Windows based system and it is opened by a text editor on a UNIX system, it is very common for the “Ctrl-M” characters (^M) being displayed at the end of each line of text. If a file was written on a UNIX system and opened by a text editor on a Windows system, the line break character (EOL) may not be displayed correctly. The carriage return character is also different for both UNIX and Windows.
While dealing with files, you don’t want to be limited by whether the file was created on Linux or Windows. So how do you convert a file from UNIX to Windows (or vice versa) without having the formatting go all crazy? We’ll walk you through the steps.
Converting Files from Linux/UNIX format to Windows Format
If you’re using a UNIX based system to transfer the files to a Windows system, there are some commands that let you convert the text file(s) you are transferring to a format Windows can understand.
The dos2unix and unix2dos command
You can use command line to safely convert files from UNIX to Windows and vice versa. To convert a Windows text file to a UNIX text file, enter this:
The above command converts and replaces “windows.txt” file to “unix.txt”. To convert a UNIX text file to a Windows text file, enter this command:
The above command will convert a UNIX created text file called “unix.txt” to a windows compatible text file called “windows.txt”.
The awk command also lets you convert a file from UNIX to Windows and vice versa. To convert a Windows file to a UNIX file, enter the following command:
To convert a UNIX text file called “unix.txt” to a Windows text file called “windows.txt”, enter the following command:
The tr command (transliterate) can be used to remove the carriage return characters and the “Ctrl-Z” characters from a Windows file. This can only be done if you are converting a file from Windows to UNIX. The command will be written as follows:
The tr command transliterates one character with another. In this case, it is helping you omit unnecessary characters.
Using the Visual Editor (Vi)
If you are using the Visual Editor to view a file created on a Windows system, you can remove the carriage return characters by typing the following command line:
To get the computer to input the ^M character, you need to hit “Ctrl + v” and then press Return.
Using File Transfer Protocol Programs
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) programs are available both for UNIX and Windows system. If you need to convert a lot of files from Windows to UNIX (or the other way around), then it’s a good idea to download a FTP program. There are many available for free on the internet. The Hummingbird FTP is one of the more popular FTP programs out there. It is secure and easy to use.
Most FTP programs will transfer files from UNIX to Windows in the ASCII format. Sometimes you have to specify the format for yourself (if you are using command line based FTP programs). To do that, just enter this in the command line:
The easiest way to convert a file from a UNIX format to Windows (and the other way around) is to use a FTP program. The conversion commands are your next best bet. If you are looking for additional commands that perform the same task, you can search for perl and sed commands. However, do keep in mind that these commands may not work across all systems.
How To Convert Files from Linux/Unix Format to Windows and vice versa Harshavardhan Reddy 2014-04-02T18:56:00+05:30 5.0 stars based on 35 reviews If you’ve ever transferred a text file from a UNIX based system to a Windows system directly, you know that when you open the text file on .