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After seven years of active development, we are proud to announce the next major release ofGIMP –GIMP 3.0! While the original focus was on updating to a newerGUI library, this release is packed with many new features, enhancements, and usability improvements. While we can’t cover every single change from 2.10, we want to highlight some of the biggest ones as you start exploring this release.
One of the main goals of this release was to upgrade ourGUI library toGTK3. This was an intensive effort that involved changing every aspect of the code for our user interface. The benefits of this work include:
MuchbetterUI scaling on HiDPI screens, a common concern for users ofGIMP 2.10.
Muchbetter support for tablet input.
The theme system now usesCSS, which we hope will allow for users to more easily develop their own custom themes.
GIMP 3.0 now runs natively onWayland (though you can still run it onX11 as well)!
A lot of important bugfixes which could not be backported to theGTK2 library we were using.
Another big change introduced inGIMP 3.0 is non-destructive (NDE) filters. InGIMP 2.10, filters were automatically merged onto the layer, which prevented you from making further edits without repeatedly undoing your changes. Now by default, filters stay active once committed. This means you can re-edit mostGEGL filters in the
menu on the layer dockable without having to revert your work. You can also toggle them on or off, selectively delete them, or even merge them all down destructively. If you prefer the originalGIMP 2.10 workflow, you can select the “Merge Filters” option when applying a filter instead.
NDE filters can also be saved toXCF and reloaded for further editing. This means that if someone sends you anXCF project withNDE filters, you can make further adjustments on the image and text effects. You can alsosave and loadXCF using third-party filters, although they will be discarded ifyou don’t have those filters installed.
GEGL filters can now also be found directly with the/ search keyboard shortcut. This applies to third-party filters as well, which makes it easier to locate the right effect for your project.
FinallyGEGL operations (the infrastructure underlying filters inGIMP)are now even better integrated withGIMP thanks to new metadata allowinga filter to register into menus without wrapping code inGIMP. This isparticularly useful for third-party developers wishing towritefilters.
Some people might be pleased to know that a spiritual successor of thelegacyLogos feature has appeared in recent versions ofGEGL underthe name “GEGL Styles”:
Thanks to better integration with the babl andGEGL libraries,GIMP now hasmore extensive support forRGB color spaces beyond sRGB. For example, if you load an image with an AdobeRGB color profile, that information will be retained in all aspects ofGIMP – allowing you to make whatever edits you need without losing color space information. This update also lays the groundwork for futureCMYK andLAB image color modes.
This improved support ofanyRGB spaces now spans across variousdialogs, such as the Colors dockable window, the Foreground andBackground selection dialog, the Color Picker info window, and more,better showing which space a color is shown in.
Color simulation and soft-proofing has also been improved in a variety of ways. Internally, we have portedmore of it to use ourbabl color library, keeping the color processing consistent throughoutGIMP.We have alsoconsolidated soft-proofing options in a pop-over menu at the bottom-right corner of the statusbar. If aCMYK profile is already attached to the image, you can click the icon to toggle soft-proofing onor off. You can also right-click the icon to quickly change the color profile, rendering intent,black point compensation, and other relevant options.
GIMP 3.0 now displays an optional Welcome Dialogue on start. This feature provides quick access to create or load new images to begin editing via theCreate section.
ThePersonalize section makes it easy to quickly change several preference settings such as:
This release contains a lot of much requested updates to theGIMP user experience. A few of the most noticeable ones include:
It is now possible to havemultiple selected layers, channels, and paths! Previously users needed to manually clicklink icons in order to affect multiple layers. Now you can use standard shortcuts to select multiple items at once.
Layer locks have been moved from the dockable header to a pop-over menu that you can access nextto each layer’s visibility icon. This allows you to more easily see the lock status of each item, especiallynow that you can have multiple layers, channels, or paths selected at once.
You can now organize layers with the newlayer set feature. You can also search for layers by name,making it easier to find layers within a large project.
The New Image and New Layer dialogs have a new “Middle Gray (CIELAB)” fill option.
Paint tools can nowautomatically expand the width and height of a layer as you draw! You can select “Expand Layers” in the tool options to enable drawing past the current boundaries of layers.
More features such asguides and auto-expanding layers can be used to work in the off-canvas space!
GIMP’s interface further incorporatesRight-to-Left language layouts in various widgets and dialogues.
We now better respectreduce motion and animationOS settings across the interface. Several animationsand “easter eggs” no longer display based on your system settings. We implemented these fixes after feedbackfrom users that these animations could cause motion sickness and other issues for certain people.
ManyLegacy icons have been converted toSVG, allowing for cleaner scaling when the icon theme size is increased. New icons have also been created to better distinguish certain actions, like the multiple zoomoptions on the Navigation dockable.
The title bar on Windows now adapts todark mode if you use a dark variant theme. You can also chooseto merge the title bar with the menu to reduce the space it takes up on the screen.
Number range sliders have been updated to be larger and easier to grab. Due toGTK3, they also now use+ and- icons rather than the more ambigious^ andv icons.
A long-standing bug on macOS caused theUI text to become garbled for some users. This has been fixed thanksto an update to the Pango library bundled withGIMP 3.0!
Copying and pasting now creates a new layer by default rather than a “floating selection”, which many users found confusing. Floating layers can still be created with the “Paste as Floating Data” option for those who prefer that workflow.
The search menu results now show themenu location for each action. If you’ve ever wondered where aparticular filter or feature was located before, now you can quickly discover them! We’ve also added ahelp buttonto the action search, making it easier to learn more about how to use each feature.
Brush dynamics can now be turned off via the “Enable Dynamics” checkbox in tool options, rather than having to search forthe “Dynamics Off” option in the list.
You can now customize theactions performed with right or middle clicks (or any other buttons, except the primary button which is reserved for tools) inEdit > Preferences > Canvas Interaction > Modifiers. For instance, you want to change your brush size with a right click rather than displaying the menu? You can do it! You want to disable Canvas Rotation because you don’t use this feature? It’s possible too! You want to activate your favorite filter onAlt +middle click? No problem!
On Wayland, you can alsomap tablet buttons to different actions as well. This update gives moreoptions for tablet users to customize their workflow and easily apply important actions without switchinginput devices.
2 New Snapping options appeared in theView menu:
GIMP 3.0 brings support for many new file formats. Icon creators can now import and export macOSICNS icons and WindowsCUR andANI cursors. Amiga enthusiasts can now load images from a number ofILBM/IFF formats.Newer formats likeQOI andJPEGXL are also now supported, and import support for older formats likeDCX,PAM, andWBMP allow for accessing archived images.
Existing formats also received important updates. We’ve improved compatibility for importing and exportingPSD project files. JPEGs and TIFFs withPhotoshop-specific metadata such as clipping paths, guides, and layers can now be loaded as well. Game developers can now importDDS textures with modernBC7 compression.GIMP also supports importing and exportingCMYK JPEGs, TIFFs, PSDs, andJPEGXL.
In addition to images, a number of new palette formats can now be imported intoGIMP. This includes proprietary formats likeAdobe Color Book (ACB) andAdobe Swatch Exchange (ASE), as well as the open source Swatchbooker palette. As a result of the color space invasion, we’ve also improved support for loading palettes in theCIE Lab color model.
Note that these are just a few of the many updates to file format support inGIMP 3.0.
GIMP 3.0’s internal text engine has a number of great improvements. Fonts are more accurately stored anddisplayed to users; this allows us tobetter distinguish fonts in the same family rather than just showingthem with a differentID number. This also allows users to better see the font’s true bold or italic,rather than just using the faux version. Furthermore, we’ve improved font loading and backwards compatibility.Additionally, as part of the color space invasion we now support text colors with floating point precision rather than just 8 bit.
The updated Text Tool now has options fornon-destructive text outlines. You can specify the outline width, style, and color or pattern type right from the tool options. You can also applyNDE filters such asGEGL Styles to create outlines as well. Furthermore, you can now hide or show the on-canvas text editor - this should help when editing text while zoomed in.
Wilber went to the stylist and got a fresh relooking!
This new version was designed by the film director and designer AryeomHan, underCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International,with the help of the rest of theGIMP team.
All past versions of Wilber are stillavailable from ourgimp-datarepository,including the original version created by Tuomas Kuosmanen (tigert).
GIMP 3.0 includes a new experimental selection tool,Paint Select. This tool allows you to use a brushto progressively select an object or area in an image. While it is a very nice feature, it still has somestability issues. Therefore, it is not visible by default - you will need to enable it in thePlayground section of the Preferences Dialog to test it out. You can access this section by runningGIMP 3.0with the--show-playground flag.
Since this is a major version release, we’re taking the opportunity to update our publicAPI for scripts and plug-ins. This allows us to give third-party developers access to new features likeoperating on multiple layers at once andusingGEGL filters directly. It also lets us clean up and remove duplicate or obsolete functions.
Plug-in developers can also automatically create aUI with the newGimpProcedureDialogAPI.You just specify the function parameters, and when you create and run the dialog, the options will begenerated for you. You can of course customize the type of widget created for each parameter, adjust thelayer, or even add your own custom widgets. You can see all the options on ourAPI reference page.
We also support more languages for developing scripts and plug-ins forGIMP. In addition to C and Script-fu’sTinyScheme, you can also run scripts and plug-ins written withJavascript, Lua (though this binding was marked asexperimentalbecause of instabilities), and Vala on platforms that buildGIMP tosupport these languages. We’ve also switched fromGIMP 2.10’s Python-futo usestandard Python 3 for 3.0. You can see examples of plug-insin each language by checking outour demoplug-ins.
Unfortunately, these improvements break compatibility withGIMP 2.10 plug-ins and scripts, so some of your favorite plug-ins may not work just yet. Since theAPI is now stable for allGIMP 3.x releases, we hope developers will begin porting their plug-ins and scripts in earnest (some popular add-ons like Resynthesizer and G’MIC have already done so)! On our new developer site, we’ve beguncreating tutorials to make this porting process easier – feel free to share with the developers of your favorite scripts.
Much work has been done over the course ofGIMP 3.0’s development to improve our build processes. A bigchange was switching from autotools toMeson for compiling. This has resulted in a major speed-up whenbuildingGIMP, allowing for quicker testing and development.
We have also improved multi-threading and thread safety in several key areas. The changes are most noticablein theXCF code which resulted in much faster saving, and in the painting code which improved performance and stability.
Our publicAPI for plug-ins is now based on theGObject-Introspectioninfrastructure, which means that more languages than listed above (inthe“API updates” section) can actually be used (thoughnot all bindings have been tested and some are quite unstable).
Some most needed work has been done on making OpenCL implementationsmore robust though it is still disabled by defaultsinceGIMP2.10.22.We hope to be able to soon make experimental builds for wider testing inorder to eventually bring back hardware acceleration.
Out of the 85 languages whichGIMP is available in, 47 translations were updated: Asturian, Basque, Belarusian, Brazilian Portuguese, British English, Bulgarian, Catalan, Central Kurdish, Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kabyle, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian Nynorsk, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.
GIMP 3.0’s development has been a long journey for developers and the community alike. We want to speed up this process. Going forward, we will only introduce new features during minor releases (such asGIMP 3.2), and 3.0.x releases will be reserved for bugfixes (as it used to be untilGIMP 2.8 series; the 2.10 series was anexception when we added features even in micro point releases).
However, we also intend for minor releases to be much more frequent. Rather than having another 6+ years development schedule forGIMP 3.2, we plan to release it within a year of 3.0. As a result, it will include less features, but those features will be available to users much sooner. We’ve already set upseveral “feature groups” in our post-3.0 roadmap – each of which might become a newGIMP 3.x release. Several features already have initial code developed and posted for review, and we’re looking forward to discussing those more in future news posts!
During 3.0’s development, we also began work on a communityUX Design group. We’ve already implemented several suggestions based on user feedback, and now that 3.0 has been released, we’re looking forward to expanding the scope of that effort. We know many people have strong opinions ofGIMP’sUI, and we want to make good, well-reasoned decisions aboutUX improvements in the future. We encourage you to contribute your voice to the discussion so that there’s input from a wider range of users!
You can downloadGIMP 3.0 from ourDownloads page. We have a few new packages in addition to our Windows, macOS, and Linux flatpak options. For Windows, you can also downloadGIMP from the Microsoft Store. This will enable auto-updates whenever we release a new version. For Linux, we now have an AppImage if you prefer that over flatpak.
We deeply appreciate everyone who has reviewed the development builds ofGIMP 3.0 and reported bugs, issues, and regressions over the years. We’ve managed to fix a lot of bugs inGIMP as a result! However, we are well aware that many more people will be experiencingGIMP 3.0 for the first time now that it is the stable release, and we expect that you may find some lingering bugs that we missed. Please report any issue you encounter toour bug tracker – that helps us know there’s a problem so we can fix it. You’re also welcome to post requests for new features or enhancements for future versions!
GIMP is a community project, and it relies on support from users like you to continue to grow. There are many ways to participate!
Working onGIMP itself is not the only way to participate of course. We’re always happy to see people sharing how they useGIMP to create artistic, scientific, or even just fun images!