GIMP image editor released a new update for the 2.10 series few days ago! Here are what’s new and how to install guide for Ubuntu Linux users.

GIMP 2.10.34 is a new stable release features a lot of bug-fixes and a few enhancements. The official announcement is NOT ready somehow at the moment, though it’s released in gitlab project age. And, the source code is available to download at FTP web page.

For macOS, the DBus is now fully disabled as it in some cases could even cause app freeze. Open With feature still work fine, but other features using dbus (such as opening files or running batch commands from a separate GIMP process) won’t work. As well, check for updates function in macOS now works again.

The release also has some backports from the 2.99.x development releases. The “Canvas Size” dialog has been redesigned to use more horizontal space. And, it has new Template selector in resize dialog.

For PDF with transparent area, there’s new “Fill transparent areas with white” option which enabled by default on file import. And export dialog has “Fill transparent areas with background color” option to decide whether use transparent background.

Other changes in GIMP 2.10.34 include:

• Symmetry dockable contents is now shown, yet deactivated, when no images are opened
• Color scale preferences are now remembered across sessions.
• Import JPEG-XL metadata support.
• Export JPEG-XL support, always in 8bit lossless.
• New header with “visible” and “link” icons in item dockables
• Clipping layers better supported when importing PSD files
• Paths are now exported to PSD
• New option “Show reduced images” when loading TIFF images
• 16-bit per channel export for raw image data

How to Install GIMP 2.10.34 in Ubuntu Linux

Option 1: Flatpak

GIMP provides official Linux packages through universal Flatpak package, though it runs in sandbox environment.

Ubuntu user can press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run the following 2 commands one by one to install it:

1. Make sure the flatpak daemon installed by running command:

   sudo apt install flatpak

   

2. Then, install GIMP as Flatpak via command:

   flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

   

Once installed, start it either from app launcher or run flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP in terminal.

Option 2: Ubuntu PPA

For those prefer the classic .deb package format. I’ve uploaded the package into the unofficial PPA, with support for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 22.10.

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to add PPA:

   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

2. Then either upgrade GIMP using Software Updater, or run command in terminal to install it:

   sudo apt install gimp libgegl-0.4-0 libbabl-0.1-0

   For Linux mint, you may need to run sudo apt update to update package index first.

Uninstall GIMP:

For GIMP package installed as Flatpak, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove it:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.gimp.GIMP

Also run flatpak uninstall --unused to clean useless runtime.

For .deb package from PPA, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

The command above will remove PPA and downgrade the GIMP package into stock version in system repository.

For choice, you may remove the PPA instead by running command:

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

And remove the GIMP image editor via:

sudo apt remove --autoremove gimp libgegl-0.4-0

Krita graphics editor 5.1.5 released few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 22.04 and/or Ubuntu 22.10 via PPA repository.

Krita 5.1 was released months ago with improved Webp, photoshop files support, extended fill tools, and configurable touch controls. The 5.1.5 is a new point release with following bug-fixes:

• Fixed issue with banding when using the gradient map filter as a filter layer.
• Only center paste into active layer if contents are outside image bounds.
• EXR: Fixed opening EXR files that have only a luma channel.
• Fixed an issue building with XSIMD 10.0 and up.
• Properly use the resolution of a .KRA file when that file is used as a file layer.
• Fixed a regression in loading PSD files.
• Android: Fixed loading and creating images on Android and ChromeOS.
• Android: Fixed an issue with loading translations.

How to Install Krita 5.1.5 in Ubuntu:

Krita now provides official Linux package as universal AppImage available to download in its website. It’s a non-install package that can run directly (after adding executable permission) to launch the editor.

For those prefer the native .deb package, either keep an eye on Krita Community PPA (NOT updated for stable build at the moment of writing), maintained by the guy behind the old official Krita Lime PPA.

Or, use my personal PPA that contains amd64 (64-bit) and arm64/hf packages for Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 22.10. Ubuntu 20.04 is NOT supported since Krita 5.1.x switched to XSIMD which is not available in old Ubuntu repositories.

JPEG-XL is NOT supported in this PPA, since the library is not available in Ubuntu repository so far. And, building it also needs to update highway and libavif libraries that may cause potential risk factors of conflict to other packages.

1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/krita

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. Then, either launch Software Updater and upgrade the graphics editor from an old version:

or run the command below in terminal to install/upgrade it:

sudo apt install krita

NOTE: Linux Mint may have to run sudo apt update first.

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA as well as downgrade the Krita package to stock version, run command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/krita

Or, open Software & Updates and remove the repository source line under “Other Software” tab (Linux Mint users go to Software Sources -> PPA).

And, remove Krita graphics editor via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove krita krita-data

That’s all. Enjoy!

For Pinta users who do NOT like the Snap and Flatpak packages that run in sandbox. Here’s how to build the 2.1 release from source tarball in Ubuntu 22.04 & 22.10.

Pinta has switch to .NET 6.0 framework since version 2.0. Which however needs internet connection to fetch something for the first time during the build time. And, most Linux so far still has Pinta v1.x in their system repositories.

Thankfully, building Pinta 2.1 from source is not hard. And, here’s the step by step guide show you how!

1. Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to install .NET 6 as well as dev libraries for building the package.

sudo apt install dotnet-sdk-6.0 debhelper autotools-dev autoconf-archive gettext intltool libgtk-3-dev

NOTE: If you’ve already installed dotnet 7.0 from Microsoft repository, skip dotnet-sdk-6.0 in command.

2. Next, download the source tarball from github release page (under ‘Assets’ section):

3. Then, extract the tarball in file manager. Right-click on source folder and select “Open in Terminal”.

4. The last step will open a terminal window and automatically navigate to the Pinta source folder as working directory.

In the terminal window, run command to configure the source:

./configure

And, finally compile and install it via:

sudo make install

NOTE: This step needs internet connection if you’re first time using dotnet to build a package. And, it may fail if you’ve ever installed .NET 7.0 but removed (not completely) and use .NET 6.0 now.

If everything’s done without any error, you should now be able to search for and launch Pinta from system start menu (‘Activities’ overview).

Uninstall:

Until you remove the source folder, you can run sudo make uninstall at any time from in that folder to uninstall Pinta package.

If you’ve removed the source folder, re-do the previous steps and replace the last command with sudo make uninstall.

The free and open-source Paint.Net 3.0 clone, Pinta image editor got a new major release after 1 year of development.

The new Pinta 2.1 came with some exciting new features, including WebP image support via webp-pixbuf-loader library, and updated icons with improved support for dark theme and HiDPI displays.

The Gradient tool now has a ‘Transparency Mode‘. The release also adds support for loading files from network drive, meaning user can now open pictures from Google Drive folder.

Other changes in Pinta 2.1 include:

• Update screenshot tool to make it work in Wayland.
• Support images with unknown extension but valid contents.
• Improve canvas rendering performance
• Improve .ora files support.
• Update to .NET7, though .NET6 also supported.
• Various bug-fixes.

How to Install Pinta 2.1 in Ubuntu Linux

Pinta offers official Linux package through both Snap and Flatpak package. Choose either one that you prefer.

NOTE: Both packages now do NOT support for WebP images. Try to build it from source by yourself if you like this feature.

Option 1: Snap package

Ubuntu 20.04 | 22.04 and higher user can easily install the package from Ubuntu Software. NOTE: There are 2 Pinta packages in Software Center, choose the one from Snap Store.

Option 2: Flatpak package

Pinta is also available to install as another universal Flatpak package format. Just press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, then run commands below one by one to install it.

1. First, install the daemon package in case you don’t have it:

   sudo apt install flatpak

   For the old Ubuntu 18.04, add this PPA first before installing Flatpak.

   

2. Then, install Pinta as flatpak by running command:

   flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.github.PintaProject.Pinta.flatpakref

   

Tip: if you’ve already installed Pinta as Flatpak, run the command below to check updates:

flatpak update com.github.PintaProject.Pinta

Uninstall Pinta:

For the Pinta Snap package, just remove it either using Ubuntu Software app or by running command in a terminal window:

snap remove pina

To remove the Flatpak package, run command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data com.github.PintaProject.Pinta

Also run flatpak uninstall --unused to remove useless run-time libraries.

GIMP image editor got a new update for its 2.99 development release this Friday. Here’s the new features as well as how to install guide for Ubuntu users.

GIMP 2.99.14 is the 7th development release for the next major 3.0 release. It reworked the Align and Distribute tool to make it easy to use. Target items to align or distribute are now the selected layers and/or paths. For layers in particular, a new option “Use extents of layer contents” is available to align or distribute target layers based on their pixel contents.

The Text tool now has new “outline” and “fill” options, to insert text in different styles. For me, it’s no longer required to use ‘Grow…’ and then ‘Stroke Selection’ to do similar job.

This release also introduced a new ‘Gray‘ theme, as well as “Override icon sizes set by the theme” option to resize icons among small, medium, large and huge.

XCF file support is greatly improved with multi-threading support. Saving with default RLE and zlib is now much faster! And, this release introduced initial Apple Silicon package support for macOS users.

Other changes in GIMP 2.99.14 include:

• Transform tools activated automatically
• New “Paste as Single Layer” and “Paste as Single Layer in Place” options in the Edit > Paste as submenu.
• Moving to GApplication and GtkApplication
• Add ‘Root layers only’ option on PDF export.
• export PSD images as CMYK(A) support.
• Metadata import and export for JPEG-XL support.
• Initial support for Apple’s ICNS files.
• Add “Show reduced images” option when importing TIFF.

How to Install GIMP 2.99.14:

The image editor has an official download page for the development releases. It offers the official package for Linux as Flatpak, though there’s also an unofficial PPA for Ubuntu users.

Option 1: Install GIMP 2.99.14 as Flatpak

Ubuntu and most other Linux can install the editor as Flatpak that runs in sandbox. For Ubuntu users, they are generally 3 commands for installing it:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Run command to install the daemon package in case you don’t have it.

   sudo apt install flatpak

2. Then, add the flathub beta repository by running command:flatpak remote-add –user flathub-beta https://flathub.org/beta-repo/flathub-beta.flatpakrepo
3. Finally, install GIMP beta release via command:

   flatpak install --user flathub-beta org.gimp.GIMP

If you already installed the previous GIMP 2.99.12, use flatpak update --user org.gimp.GIMP beta command to update it.

And, if you also have GIMP 2.10 stable release installed as Flatpak, only one of them can be visible in system app launcher. Use either command below to switch between them:

flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP beta

flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP stable

NOTE: skip --user flag if you installed the package system wide without this parameter.

Option 2: install GIMP 2.99.14 from PPA

For those who prefer the classic .deb package format, there’s an unofficial PPA contains the package for Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 22.10.

Simply, open terminal from start menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard, then run the commands below one by one to add the PPA, update, and install GIMP 2.99.x:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mati75/gimp30

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gimp

NOTE: If you have GIMP 2.10 stable installed as .deb package, the commands above will upgrade it to the latest development release.

To restore the stock GIMP package in system repository, run command to purge the Ubuntu PPA which also downgrade all installed packages:

sudo apt install ppa-purge & sudo ppa-purge ppa:mati75/gimp30