
Shotwell, the digital photo organizer for GNOME, released new major 33.0 version a day ago.
The new version of this Ubuntu default/pre-installed app (when Ubuntu installed in Extended selection mode) is finally ported to GTK4.
News, Tutorials, Howtos for Ubuntu Linux

Shotwell, the digital photo organizer for GNOME, released new major 33.0 version a day ago.
The new version of this Ubuntu default/pre-installed app (when Ubuntu installed in Extended selection mode) is finally ported to GTK4.
This tutorial shows how to install the most recent Shotwell photo manager and viewer (version 33.0 updated) in Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 26.04.
Shotwell is a free open-source photo manager designed for the GNOME Desktop. It’s pre-installed and default in Ubuntu Desktop, when you installed the system with default or full installation mode.
The photo manager features import photos from disk or camera, organize by time-based events, tags (keywords), folders, and more. It supports basic image editing, such as crop, rotate, color adjust, straighten, and enhance photos.
As well, it supports video and RAW photos, create wallpaper slideshow, and share your photos to major web services, including Flickr, Tumblr and YouTube.

Shotwell photo manager released version 0.32.5, then 0.32.6 with quick fixes, few days ago.
The release has better HiDPI displays support, with new .svg app icon that looks way better (perfectly sharp).
The release also fixed that the viewer application always opens in maximized window size, as well as missing viewer app icon in dock, app switcher, and overview screen.
OAUTH authentication now is moved to external browser, so webkit2gtk-4.1 is no longer required as a dependency for building the binary package.
Other changes include remove “Import from Application” menu item, and translation updates.
Shotwell photo viewer and organizer released new version 0.32.4 a few days ago.
The new release added basic .mpo file support, which is a stereoscopic image consisting of two overlapping 2D images in JPG format.
Besides that, the release also has improved slideshow support. It now supports for shuffled slideshows, allow setting wallpaper slideshows even if videos are selected, though videos are automatically excluded in slideshow in my case. And, fixes left/right navigation and not start issue in slideshow, when video is the first selected item.
Other changes in Shotwell 0.32.4 include:
Shotwell is available to install as Flatpak package, which is however not updated to the latest release at the moment of writing.
For those who prefer the classic .deb package format, I’ve upload the package into this unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 23.04, Ubuntu 23.10 on amd64, arm64/armhf CPU architecture types.
1. First, search for and open terminal from your system application menu, or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/shotwell
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
2. Next, launch Software Updater (Update Manager), then install the updates for the software package.
Or, run command in terminal to install/upgrade the Shotwell package:
sudo apt install shotwell heif-gdk-pixbuf
NOTE: Linux Mint user may need to run sudo apt update first to refresh package cache.
Finally, either right-click on your photo images to select open with the photo manager, or search for and launch shotwell from ‘Activities’ overview and enjoy!
For any issue, it’s recommended to purge the Ubuntu PPA. Which, will remove PPA and downgrade shotwell to the pre-installed version.
To do so, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/shotwell
The Shotwell photo manager and viewer got a new point release few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 22.04 and 23.04.
The new Shotwell 0.32.2 added .hif file format support. It’s a HEIF variant usually taken by Sony Mirrorless Cameras.
Other changes are mostly bug-fixes, they include:
Shotwell provides official package for Linux through universal Flatpak package. Ubuntu user can install the package by running the 2 commands below one by one.
Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Run command to make sure flatpak daemon is installed:
sudo apt install flatpak
Then, run command to install Shotwell as Flatpak package:
flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gnome.Shotwell.flatpakref
For those prefer the classic .deb package, I’ve upload Shotwell 0.32.2 into this unofficial PPA for Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 23.04.
1. First, search for and open terminal from your system application menu, or press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/shotwell
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
2. Next, launch Software Updater (Update Manager), then install the updates for the software package.
Or, run command in terminal to install/upgrade the Shotwell package:
sudo apt install shotwell heif-gdk-pixbuf
NOTE: Linux Mint user may need to run sudo apt update first to refresh package cache.
Finally, either right-click on your photo images to select open with the photo manager, or search for and launch shotwell from ‘Activities’ overview and enjoy!
For any issue, it’s recommended to purge the Ubuntu PPA. Which, will remove PPA and downgrade shotwell to the pre-installed version.
To do so, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/shotwell
For shotwell flatpak package, remove it by running command:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.gnome.Shotwell
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Shotwell 0.30.8 was released today as the latest stable version. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.
Shotwell 0.30.8 comes with updated translations and some bug-fixes, including:

If you’re OK with the flatpak package, which runs in sandbox, Shotwell 0.30.8 flatpak is available HERE.
Also Shotwell stable PPA maintains native .deb packages for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, and v0.30.8 will be available in a few days (You may check the PPA link before getting started).
1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell

2. To upgrade Shotwell from a previous, launch Software Updater and install available updates.

NOTE: To undo the installation, and downgrade shotwell to the stock version in your Ubuntu repository, run command to purge the PPA:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
Shotwell, an open-source Gnome photo manager, has reached the 0.25 release with various improvements, bug-fixes, and translation updates. Here’s how to install or upgrade it in Ubuntu 16.04 and / or Ubuntu 16.10.
As a frequent updated software, Shotwell 0.25.0 is a ‘big’ release with following changes:
The official Shotwell binaries for Ubuntu are maintained in the PPA repository. However, it seems to be an auto-build PPA and the 0.25.0 builds are broken due to the updated dependencies.
1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
2. To upgrade Shotwell from a previous, launch Software Updater and install available updates.
NOTE: To undo the installation, and downgrade shotwell to the stock version in your Ubuntu repository, run command to purge the PPA:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
The Gnome photo management software, Shotwell 0.23.5, was released a few days ago with user experience improvements, bug fixes, and translation updates.
Shotwell 0.23.5 adds an option under View menu allows users to hide the bottom toolbar. Tags below the thumbnails now behave like hyperlinks, so that clicking it brings you to the page with all other photos with that tag.
Other changes in the 0.23.5 release:
For Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and derivatives, you can install or upgrade to Shotwell 0.23.5 using Jens Georg’s PPA.
1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
2. Then updated package index and upgrade shotwell:
sudo apt update sudo apt install shotwell
3. To restore the stock Shotwell 0.22 version, run command to purge the PPA:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
Shotwell photo manager has recently reached the 0.23.1 release. While Ubuntu 16.04 contains the old 0.22 release, you can now install the latest release and receive future updates through the maintainer, Jens Georg’s PPA.
Notable changes in Shotwell 0.23.1:
How to Install / Upgrade Shotwell in Ubuntu 16.04:
1. Add the maintainer’s PPA.
Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T), paste the command below and hit run:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
Type in your password (no visual feedback) when it asks and hit Enter.
2. Launch Software Updater and upgrade Shotwell.
Launch Software Updater, after checking for updates, you’ll see the new release of “Digital photo manager” available for upgrade under Other updates -> Ubuntu Base.
3. (Optional) To revert back to the stock version of Shotwell in Ubuntu 16.04, run command in terminal to install ppa-purge and purge the PPA which also downgrade the photo manager:
sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:yg-jensge/shotwell
That’s it. Enjoy!
Gnome 3 photo manager shotwell 0.19.0, an unstable pre-release of the upcoming version 0.20, has been released with support for Rajce.net and Gallery 3 photo services.
Shotwell is a popular photo manager for Gnome 3 with below great features:
The latest 0.19.0 has been released as a pre-release of the upcoming version 0.20 with below changes:
The .deb installer is available in Yorba’s daily build PPA for Ubuntu 14.04 and Ubuntu 14.10. Check your OS type: 32-bit = i386 or 64-bit = amd64, and download & install the appropriate package from the link below:
The .deb package can be installed by double-click on it to open with Ubuntu Software Center and click the install button.