How to Install GIMP on Linux - AppImage, Flatpak, and apt/dnf

Linux users have more GIMP installation options than any other platform - Each with different trade-offs around version freshness, sandboxing, and system integration. This guide explains every method so you can choose the right one for your distribution. For general security guidance, see Is GIMP safe? before downloading.

Comparison of All Installation Methods

The most important factor for most users is which GIMP version they get. Distribution package managers often ship older GIMP versions that can lag months or even years behind the current release. If you need GIMP 3.x features, AppImage or Flatpak are the recommended approaches.

Recommendation: For GIMP 3.x on Ubuntu/Debian LTS, use AppImage or Flatpak. For Arch Linux, use pacman. For Fedora, the dnf package is usually recent enough. Before installing, check the disk space requirements - The Flatpak install with runtime can use 400–600 MB.

Method 1 - AppImage (Recommended for Latest Version)

An AppImage is a self-contained executable that bundles GIMP and all its dependencies into a single file. It requires no installation and can be run from any directory, including a USB drive.

Running GIMP as an AppImage

After downloading the AppImage from the Download page, mark it as executable and run it:

chmod +x GIMP-3.2.4-x86_64.AppImage
./GIMP-3.2.4-x86_64.AppImage

Or if you have moved it to a specific location:

chmod +x ~/Applications/GIMP-3.2.4-x86_64.AppImage
~/Applications/GIMP-3.2.4-x86_64.AppImage

Integrating with your desktop (optional)

By default, AppImages do not appear in your application menu or file manager's "Open With" list. To integrate GIMP AppImage with your desktop, use AppImageLauncher - A utility that manages AppImages and automatically adds them to your application launcher.

Install AppImageLauncher from your package manager or from its GitHub releases page. After installation, double-clicking the AppImage will prompt you to either run it directly or install it into your system launcher.

Alternatively, you can manually create a .desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/ pointing to the AppImage path.

Method 2 - Flatpak via Flathub

Flatpak is a universal Linux packaging system that sandboxes applications. GIMP is available on Flathub, the main Flatpak repository, and is kept up to date with current releases.

Installing Flatpak (if not already installed)

Most modern distros include Flatpak. If yours does not:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install flatpak

# Fedora (usually pre-installed)
sudo dnf install flatpak

Add the Flathub remote and install GIMP

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP

Running GIMP via Flatpak

flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

After installation, GIMP also appears in your system application menu (GNOME, KDE, etc.) and can be launched normally from there.

Updating GIMP via Flatpak

flatpak update org.gimp.GIMP

Or update all installed Flatpaks at once:

flatpak update

Method 3 - Apt (Debian / Ubuntu)

The apt package is the simplest way to install GIMP on Debian and Ubuntu-based distributions, but is often not the most up-to-date.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gimp

You can check which GIMP version is available in your apt repository before installing:

apt-cache show gimp | grep Version

Removing the apt version to switch to AppImage or Flatpak

If you want to upgrade from the apt-installed GIMP 2.10 to GIMP 3.x via AppImage or Flatpak, remove the apt package first to avoid confusion between two versions:

sudo apt remove gimp gimp-data
sudo apt autoremove

Method 4 - Dnf (Fedora / RHEL / CentOS)

Fedora typically ships a fairly recent GIMP version - Often within one or two releases of the current stable.

sudo dnf install gimp

Check the available version first:

dnf info gimp

For RHEL 9 and CentOS Stream, the GIMP version available through the default repositories is much older. Use Flatpak on RHEL-based systems if you need GIMP 3.x:

sudo dnf install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP

Method 5 - Pacman (Arch Linux / Manjaro)

Arch Linux's rolling release model means the extra repository usually has the latest stable GIMP within days of release.

sudo pacman -S gimp

To update GIMP along with all other packages:

sudo pacman -Syu

Manjaro (Arch-based) also carries a current GIMP in its repositories, though it may be one release behind Arch due to Manjaro's stabilisation period.

Method 6 - Snap

Snap is available as an option on Ubuntu and other distros using snapd. Install with:

sudo snap install gimp --classic

The Snap package is maintained by the community. Verify the version before choosing Snap over Flatpak - In most cases, the Flatpak on Flathub is more frequently updated and more actively maintained for GIMP.

Troubleshooting Linux Installation Issues

AppImage: "cannot execute binary file" or "Exec format error"

What it means: You either did not set the executable bit, or you downloaded an ARM64 AppImage on an x86_64 system (or vice versa).

Fix: Confirm you set execute permission: chmod +x GIMP*.AppImage. Check your system architecture with uname -m - If it returns x86_64, use the x86_64 AppImage. If it returns aarch64, use the ARM64 AppImage.

AppImage: Missing FUSE / "dlopen(): error loading libfuse.so.2"

What it means: AppImages use FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace) to mount themselves. Some minimal or hardened Linux installations do not have FUSE installed, or the kernel lacks the FUSE module.

Fix: Install FUSE: sudo apt install fuse libfuse2 (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install fuse (Fedora). Alternatively, extract and run the AppImage without FUSE:

./GIMP-3.2.4-x86_64.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

AppImage: missing shared libraries on run

What it means: The AppImage bundles most libraries but not all. Some very minimal distros may be missing libc or libstdc++ versions that the AppImage expects.

Fix: Use the --appimage-extract-and-run flag as above. If the issue persists, consider using Flatpak instead, which manages its own runtime entirely.

Flatpak GIMP cannot see files outside home directory

What it means: The Flatpak sandbox restricts filesystem access by default. GIMP running as a Flatpak can only access your home directory and certain standard paths.

Fix: To allow access to a specific external path (like a network drive or /media), grant additional filesystem access:

flatpak override --user --filesystem=host org.gimp.GIMP

Or to run with full home access temporarily:

flatpak run --filesystem=home org.gimp.GIMP

Flatpak GIMP cannot find custom fonts

What it means: Fonts installed in system directories (like /usr/share/fonts/) are visible to Flatpak GIMP, but fonts in unusual locations may not be accessible from the sandbox.

Fix: Place custom fonts in ~/.local/share/fonts/ (user fonts directory). Flatpak GIMP has access to home directory font locations. Run fc-cache -fv after adding fonts to refresh the font cache.

Flatpak GIMP plugins (Script-Fu / Python-Fu) don't work

What it means: The Flatpak sandbox has a separate plugin directory from your system GIMP user config folder.

Fix: Install plugins to the Flatpak-specific user data directory: ~/.var/app/org.gimp.GIMP/config/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins/. See the GIMP plugin installation guide for full details on folder paths and plugin types.

Wayland vs X11 - Tablet and stylus issues

GIMP 3.x works on both Wayland and X11. However, drawing tablet support (pressure sensitivity, tilt, barrel rotation) is more reliable and fully-tested on X11. If you use a drawing tablet and experience issues under Wayland, try forcing GIMP to run on XWayland:

GDK_BACKEND=x11 gimp

Wayland tablet support in GTK3/GIMP is improving in each release - Check the GIMP release notes for your version to see the current status.