How to Install GIMP on macOS - Apple Silicon and Intel Guide

This guide covers the full installation process on macOS - Choosing the right build for your Mac, bypassing Gatekeeper, and fixing the common first-launch issues that catch new users off guard. Before downloading, see Is GIMP safe? to learn how to identify official download sources and avoid fake sites.

Which GIMP Build Should You Download?

GIMP for macOS comes in multiple builds. Choosing the wrong one is the most common cause of "GIMP is damaged" errors and Rosetta prompts. Use this table to find the right build for your Mac:

If you download the ARM64 build on an Intel Mac, GIMP will fail to open with a "wrong architecture" error. If you download the x86_64 build on an Apple Silicon Mac, GIMP will run but macOS will prompt you to install Rosetta 2 first - It works, but native ARM performance is noticeably better for large images.

How to Tell Which Mac You Have

If you are unsure whether your Mac has Apple Silicon or an Intel processor:

1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen
2. Choose About This Mac
3. Look at the Chip field (Apple Silicon) or the Processor field (Intel)

All Macs released from November 2020 onwards use Apple Silicon. All Macs before that use Intel. The MacBook Air (M1, late 2020) was the first Apple Silicon Mac.

macOS Version Requirements

GIMP 3.x requires macOS 10.15 Catalina at minimum. However, for the best experience and fewest compatibility issues, a more recent macOS version is strongly recommended. Check the disk space requirements before installing - The macOS app bundle uses approximately 350 MB.

Step-by-Step Installation

Step 1 - Open the downloaded .dmg file

Double-click the downloaded .dmg file in your Downloads folder. macOS will mount it as a disk image and a Finder window will open showing the GIMP icon alongside an Applications folder alias.

Step 2 - Drag GIMP.app to Applications

Drag the GIMP application icon directly onto the Applications folder alias in the same window. This copies GIMP into your /Applications folder. The copy takes 5–15 seconds. Wait for it to complete before proceeding.

If you are prompted about replacing an older version of GIMP, click Replace.

Step 3 - Eject the disk image

After the copy finishes, eject the disk image by clicking the eject button next to it in the Finder sidebar, or by dragging the mounted disk to the Trash. You can then delete the original .dmg file from Downloads to free up space.

Step 4 - First launch: bypass Gatekeeper

Do not double-click GIMP to open it the first time. This will trigger a Gatekeeper block. Instead:

1. Open your Applications folder in Finder
2. Right-click (or Control+click) the GIMP icon
3. Choose Open from the context menu
4. A dialog will appear saying "macOS cannot verify the developer of GIMP" - Click Open in this dialog

After you have opened GIMP this way once, macOS remembers your choice. All future launches work normally - You can double-click or use Spotlight.

Why Gatekeeper Blocks GIMP

Apple's Gatekeeper system requires software distributed outside the Mac App Store to be notarized by Apple. The notarization process involves paying Apple a $99/year developer fee and submitting the app for automated security scanning.

The GIMP project is a community-run, volunteer-maintained open source project. The maintainers have historically opted not to pay Apple's annual fee for notarization - Meaning Gatekeeper cannot verify the app through Apple's servers and blocks it by default.

This does not mean GIMP is unsafe. The source code is publicly available, the build process is documented, and GIMP is used by millions of users worldwide. The Gatekeeper warning is a consequence of Apple's distribution model, not a reflection of GIMP's actual safety.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"GIMP is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash."

What it means: macOS Quarantine has flagged the app. This often happens if you opened the DMG but transferred the app in a way that preserved a quarantine flag without going through the right-click Open workaround.

Fix: Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal) and run:

xattr -cr /Applications/GIMP.app

This removes the quarantine attribute from GIMP. Then try launching GIMP again normally. The -c flag clears all extended attributes; -r applies recursively to all files inside the app bundle.

"This app needs to be updated. Contact the developer for a version compatible with this version of macOS."

What it means: You are trying to run a very old GIMP 2.10.x build on a newer macOS version that has dropped support for the 32-bit app frameworks that older GIMP builds used.

Fix: Download the current GIMP 3.2.4 release from the Download page. GIMP 3.x is built with modern GTK3 and does not have this issue.

Rosetta 2 prompt on Apple Silicon Mac

What it means: You downloaded the x86_64 (Intel) build of GIMP on an Apple Silicon Mac. macOS is offering to install Rosetta 2 (an x86-to-ARM translation layer) so the app can run.

If you want to proceed with the Intel build: Click "Install" to install Rosetta 2. GIMP will work but will use more memory and be slower on large files than the native ARM build.

Recommended fix: Click "Not Now", delete the Intel GIMP from Applications, and download the ARM64 build instead for native Apple Silicon performance.

GIMP takes very long to open the first time

What it means: This is normal. On first launch, GIMP scans your system's font library (which can be large on a Mac with many fonts installed), compiles its brush database, and initialises its plugin registry. This one-time initialisation can take 1–4 minutes on some systems.

Subsequent launches are much faster (typically 5–15 seconds). If GIMP consistently takes more than 2 minutes to launch even after the first run, it may indicate a problem with a specific font file. You can diagnose this by temporarily moving fonts out of ~/Library/Fonts/.

Color profile mismatch - Colors look different in GIMP vs other apps

What it means: GIMP is using a different display color profile than your monitor's calibration profile, causing slight color shifts.

Fix: Go to Edit → Preferences → Color Management → Display. Set the "Monitor Profile" to match the profile your Mac is using. You can check which profile your Mac uses in System Settings → Displays → Color Profile.

Updating GIMP on macOS

GIMP does not have a built-in auto-updater on macOS. To update to a new version:

1. Download the new .dmg from the Download page
2. Open the DMG and drag GIMP to Applications
3. When prompted to replace the existing version, click Replace

Your user profile - Including all custom brushes, presets, scripts, and installed plugins - Is stored separately at ~/Library/Application Support/GIMP/3.0/ and is not touched by the update. All your settings carry over automatically.

Installing GIMP via Homebrew

If you use Homebrew, you can install GIMP with a single command:

brew install --cask gimp

Homebrew installs the latest stable GIMP release into /Applications/GIMP.app. It handles the architecture automatically - On Apple Silicon Macs, it will install the ARM64 build.

To update GIMP via Homebrew later:

brew upgrade --cask gimp

And to remove it:

brew uninstall --cask gimp

Homebrew is a convenient choice if you already manage software with it. The resulting installation is identical to a manual DMG install. Note that Homebrew Cask may lag behind the official GIMP release by a day or two while the cask recipe is updated.