How to Install Darktable 3.0.0 in Ubuntu 18.04, 19.10

Last updated: April 2, 2024

Darktable 2.2.5

Darktable RAW image editor 3.0 was released today with new major updates. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and Ubuntu 19.10.

Darktable 3.0 comes with a complete rework of the user interface. The GUI now is fully controlled by GTK+ CSS rules, which makes the whole GUI themable. And this version comes with several different themes.

Other changes in the release include:

  • New shortcuts to collapse borders, sidebars, histogram and navigation modules, allowing a new borderless editing experience.
  • Undo/redo support in lighttable for tags, color labels, metadata, etc.
  • A new timeline view in the lighttable.
  • A new ‘culling’ mode added to the lightable view.
  • Improved support for 4K and 5K monitors.
  • Support for exporting to Google Photos
  • More camera support, white balance presets, and noise profiles
  • See the full changes in the github.

How to Install Darktable 3.0 in Ubuntu:

The darktable release PPA seems no longer being updated. I’ve uploaded the 3.0 packages into the unofficial PPA for 64-bit Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, Ubuntu 19.10.

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/darktable

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. If an old version was installed, upgrade it using Software Updater:

upgrade darktable

or run commands in terminal to install Darktable:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install darktable

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, either launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software, or run command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/darktable

To remove the RAW image editor, use Ubuntu Software.

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I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to let me know if the tutorial is outdated! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via [email protected] Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1

17 responses to How to Install Darktable 3.0.0 in Ubuntu 18.04, 19.10

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  2. Oh thank you!
    Just what I was looking for!
    I’ve now updated Darktable from 2.6.2 to 3.0.0 on my Linux Mint 19.3 install :-)

  3. Thanks Ji,

    I too just updated from 2.6.2 on LM and it worked flawlessly. Can’t understand why DT put all that great work into the 3.0 release, announce it, and then not give users a documented easy method to upgrade.

    Looking forward now to trying out the new features.

    Thanks again.

  4. Installed and working very well, thank you, much appreciated. But should we assume you will NOT be continuing to provide ongoing future Darktable updates – the buzz seems to be that the Pascal de Bruijn delay is temporary and he will be continuing with his PPA eventually. That is the one linked from Darktable’s site – should we expect to go back to it?

    • Hope he will continue updating his PPA. He wrote however in the PPA description: “This PPA should no longer be consider a primary source for packages”.

  5. Thanks for providing this PPA. Is there any chance to include 16.04 as well? I would assume that quite a number of people are still using this version as it will be officially supported for quite some time still. Thank you.

  6. Many thanks for your pre-built version of darktable 3.0.0, because I tried many times to build darktable according the hints on the official website, but I never was sucessful because of missing and not reconstructable dependencies. Once again many thanks!!

  7. Work well in Linux Mint 19.3 :)
    Many thanks Ji !!

  8. Is the OBS version mentioned on https://www.darktable.org/install/#3rdparty an option for Ubuntu 18.04 or Mint 19.3?

    • Same to the PPA, OBS version is still v2.6.2 at the moment.

      • Oh right, thanks – I see that now.

        Found this thread which seems to be tracking the packaging progress of 3.0 ‘https://discuss.pixls.us/t/darktable-3-0-0-released/15383/42’

  9. Heinz-Dieter Dahm January 5, 2020 at 6:57 am

    Hallo, habe DT 3.0 installiert, das Programm läuft aber die Schrift ist so groß das nur 2/3 auf dem Bild zu sehen sind??

  10. Ändern Sie die Datei “/usr/share/darktable/themes/darktabl.css” und suchen Sie nach “font-size” (Schriftgröße). Ersetzen Sie diese durch “12” oder weniger

  11. thanks for help!

  12. Marcondes Oliveira April 16, 2020 at 1:06 pm

    Hello, I am a user of access to the information of the Linux world and once again I need your help, when I install version 3 of Darktable, and I will change the language to Portuguese, it does not exist in the language interface. Please help me install the Portuguese language!
    PS: Brazilian Portuguese – PT-BR!
    Thank you!