GIMP(1)

📦
version 2.10.36 · 3 versions
, in ubuntu noble

💖 GIMP — the manual page, bestie edition 💖

okay so real talk, this is the manual for GIMP (that's the GNU Image Manipulation Program, and yes it's in the GIMP Manual Pages section of your friendly neighborhood man pages). sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, we're doing this together.

✨ NAME ✨

gimp — an image manipulation and paint program. that's it, that's the whole vibe. 🎨

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

gimp [-h] [--help] [--help-all] [--help-gtk] [-v] [--version]
[--license] [--verbose] [-n] [--new-instance] [-a] [--as-new] [-i]
[--no-interface] [-d] [--no-data] [-f] [--no-fonts] [-s] [--no-splash]
[--no-shm] [--no-cpu-accel] [--display display] [--session <name>] [-g]
[--gimprc <gimprc>] [--system-gimprc <gimprc>] [--dump-gimprc]
[--console-messages] [--debug-handlers] [--stack-trace-mode <mode>]
[--pdb-compat-mode <mode>] [--batch-interpreter <procedure>] [-b]
[--batch <command>] [filename] ...

like… that's a lot of flags. don't panic. we're gonna go through literally every single one together, one at a time. you got this 💪

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. it's the girlies' tool for editing and manipulating images, fr fr. it can load and save a whole buffet of image formats, and it can convert between them too — little multilingual queen. 👑

GIMP can also serve as a paint program, and honestly? it ate. it comes with a set of drawing and painting tools like airbrush, clone, pencil, and paint brush. 🖌️ those painting and drawing tools can be applied to an image with a variety of paint modes. it also offers an extensive array of selection tools — rectangle, ellipse, fuzzy select, bezier select, intelligent scissors, and select by color. the selection lineup is stacked, no cap.

GIMP offers a variety of plug-ins that perform a variety of image manipulations. examples include bumpmap, edge detect, gaussian blur, and many others. and on top of that, GIMP has several scripting extensions which allow for advanced non-interactive processing and creation of images. that's your automation era, bestie. 🤖✨

GIMP ships with a second binary called gimp-console. this binary is a console-only version and behaves as if gimp was called with the --no-interface command-line option. cute, low-maintenance sibling energy.

On platforms with the D-Bus message bus system, GIMP will by default check if an instance is already running in this user session. if it detects that, it will pass all filenames given on the command-line to the already running GIMP instance and quit. the way it just hands off your files to the girl already on stage… collaborative queen. 🫶

💅 OPTIONS 💅

GIMP accepts the following options:

  • -h, --help — Show GIMP command-line options. your little map, bestie 🗺️
  • --help-all — Show all command-line options. the full lore drop.
  • --help-gtk — Show GTK+ command-line options.
  • --help-gegl — Show GEGL command-line options.
  • -v, --version — Output version information and exit. when combined with the --verbose option, version information about libraries used by GIMP is shown as well. receipts! 🧾
  • --license — Output license information and exit.
  • --verbose — Be verbose and create information on standard output. it's giving main character monologue, and honestly we love that for it.
  • -n, --new-instance — Do not attempt to reuse an already running GIMP instance. Always start a new one. fresh start, new me energy. ✨
  • -a, --as-new — Open filenames passed on the command-line as new images, don't set the filename on them.
  • -i, --no-interface — Run without a user interface. no windows, just vibes (and processing).
  • -d, --no-data — Do not load patterns, gradients, palettes, or brushes. often useful in non-interactive situations where startup time is to be minimized. skipping the accessories to make it to the function on time. 🏃♀️
  • -f, --no-fonts — Do not load any fonts. No text functionality will be available if this option is used. so like… no text. at all. be so serious about that. 😭
  • --display display — Use the designated X display.
  • -s, --no-splash — Do not show the splash screen. skipping the intro, going straight to the episode.
  • --no-shm — Do not use shared memory between GIMP and its plug-ins. instead of using shared memory, GIMP will send the data via pipe. this will result in slower performance than using shared memory. slower, but it works, iykyk. 🐌
  • --no-cpu-accel — Do not use CPU accelerations such as MMX or SSE even if GIMP detects that your CPU provides this functionality. turning off the turbo button on purpose. weird but valid.
  • --session <name> — Use a different sessionrc for this GIMP session. the given session name is appended to the default sessionrc filename.
  • -g, --gimprc <gimprc> — Use an alternative gimprc instead of the default one. useful in cases where plug-in paths or machine specs may be different. different machine, different config, same queen. 💜
  • --system-gimprc <gimprc> — Use an alternate system gimprc file.
  • --dump-gimprc — Output a gimprc file with default settings. factory reset core. 🔄
  • --debug-handlers — Enable debugging signal handlers.
  • -c, --console-messages — Do not popup dialog boxes on errors or warnings. Print the messages on the console instead. no popups, just text. introvert mode: activated. 🙈
  • --stack-trace-mode {never|query|always} — If a stack-trace should be generated in case of fatal signals.
  • --pdb-compat-mode {off|on|warn} — If the PDB should provide aliases for deprecated functions.
  • --batch-interpreter <procedure> — Specifies the procedure to use to process batch events. the default is to let Script-Fu evaluate the commands.
  • -b, --batch <command> — Execute <command> non-interactively. This option may appear multiple times. the <command> is passed to the batch interpreter. when <command> is - the commands are read from standard input. hands-free GIMP? iconic. 🤖

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

GIMP respects a number of environment variables. she's observant, okay?

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number.
  • GIMP2_DIRECTORY — to get the name of the personal GIMP directory. if unset $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10 is used. if this is an absolute path, it is used as is. if it is a relative path, it is taken to be a subdirectory of $XDG_CONFIG_HOME.
  • GIMP2_DATADIR — to get the base location for data files such as brushes and patterns. if unset ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0 is used.
  • GIMP2_LOCALEDIR — to get the base location for translations. if unset ${datarootdir}/locale is used.
  • GIMP2_PLUGINDIR — to get the base location for plug-ins and modules. if unset /usr/lib/gimp/2.0 is used.
  • GIMP2_SYSCONFDIR — to get the location of configuration files. if unset /etc/gimp/2.0 is used.
  • GIMP2_CACHEDIR — to get the location for caches files. if unset the system default for per-user cached files is used.
  • GIMP2_TEMPDIR — to get the location of temporary files. if unset the system default for temporary files is used.
okay important note bestie 📌 on Linux GIMP can be compiled with support for binary relocatibility. this will cause data, plug-ins and configuration files to be searched relative to the location of the gimp executable file unless overridden by the environment variables mentioned above. so like… the env vars win. always. periodt.

📁 FILES 💖

okay bestie, this is the part where GIMP tells you where it keeps literally everything, so listen up 🫶

GIMP's data files live in ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0, where ${datarootdir} gets set at install time but is usually /usr/share. And its system-wide config files hang out in /etc/gimp/2.0, where ${prefix} is typically /usr.

Most of GIMP's configuration gets read in from your user init file, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gimprc. The system-wide twin of that is /etc/gimp/2.0/gimprc. Heads up: the system-wide file gets parsed first, so your user gimprc can override the system settings. 👑

And /etc/gimp/2.0/gimprc_user is the default gimprc that gets dropped into users' home directories the very first time GIMP is run. ✨

Here's the full tour, no skips:

  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/devicerc — holds settings for input devices, together with the tool, colors, brush, pattern and gradient associated to that device.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gtkrc — the user's set of GIMP-specific GTK+ config settings. Stuff like widget color and font sizes gets set here.
  • /etc/gimp/2.0/gtkrc — the system-wide default set of GIMP-specific GTK+ config settings.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/menurc — the user's set of keybindings.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/parasiterc — stores all persistent GIMP parasites. This file gets rewritten every single time you quit GIMP.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/sessionrc — this file takes session-specific info (meaning info you want to keep between two GIMP sessions). You're not supposed to edit it manually, but of course you can, bestie, live your truth. This file gets entirely rewritten every time you quit GIMP. If it isn't found, defaults are used.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/templaterc — image templates are kept in this file, and new images can conveniently be created from these templates. If it isn't found, defaults are used.
  • /etc/gimp/2.0/unitrc — the default user unit database. It contains the unit definitions for centimeters, meters, feet, yards, typographic points and typographic picas, and it's placed in users' home directories the first time GIMP is run. If it isn't found, defaults are used.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/unitrc — this file contains your user unit database. You can modify this list with the unit editor. You're not supposed to edit it manually, but of course you can. This file gets entirely rewritten every time you quit GIMP.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/plug-ins — location of user installed plug-ins. 🔌
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/pluginrc — plug-in initialization values are stored here. This file is parsed on startup and regenerated if need be.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/modules — location of user installed modules.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/tmp — the default location that GIMP uses as temporary space.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/brushes — system-wide brush files.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/brushes — user created and installed brush files. These files are in the .gbr, .gih or .vbr file formats.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/curves — curve profiles and presets as saved from the Curves tool.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gimpressionist — presets and user created brushes and papers are stored here.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/levels — level profiles and presets as saved from the Levels tool.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/palettes — the system-wide palette files.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/palettes — user created and modified palette files. These files are in the .gpl format.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/patterns — the basic set of patterns for use in GIMP.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/patterns — user created and installed gimp pattern files. These files are in the .pat format.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/gradients — the standard system-wide set of gradient files.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gradients — user created and installed gradient files.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/scripts — system-wide directory of scripts used in Script-Fu and other scripting extensions.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/scripts — user created and installed scripts.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/gflares — system-wide directory used by the gflare plug-in.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gflares — user created and installed gflare files.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/gfig — system-wide directory used by the gfig plug-in.
  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gfig — user created and installed gfig files.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/images/gimp-splash.png — the default image used for the GIMP splash screen.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/images/gimp-logo.png — the image used in the GIMP about dialog.
  • ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/tips/gimp-tips.xml — the tips as displayed in the "Tip of the Day" dialog box.

🌈 SPLASH IMAGES 🎀

GIMP comes with a default image for the splash screen, but it lets system administrators and users customize that splash screen by providing other images. The image used with the splash screen is chosen like this, in order:

  1. GIMP tries to load a random splash screen from the directory $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/splashes.
  2. It then falls back to using $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/2.10/gimp-splash.png.
  3. If the user didn't install any custom splash images, a random image is picked from ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/splashes.
  4. As a last resort, GIMP uses the default splash image located at ${datarootdir}/gimp/2.0/images/gimp-splash.png.

so basically it's a whole vibe-check cascade and the default is the final safety net 💅

🐛 SUGGESTIONS AND BUG REPORTS 🫶

Found a bug? Okay so, any bugs found should be reported to the online bug-tracking system available on the web at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/issues. And bestie, before reporting, please check to see if the bug has already been reported. Do your due diligence, it's giving considerate 💖

When reporting GIMP bugs, it is important to include:

  • a reliable way to reproduce the bug,
  • the version number of GIMP (and probably GTK+),
  • OS name and version,
  • and any relevant hardware specs.

If a bug is causing a crash, it's very useful if a stack trace can be provided. And of course, patches to rectify the bug are even better. 👑

🌸 OTHER INFO 💜

The canonical place to find GIMP info is at https://www.gimp.org/. Here you can find links to just about many other GIMP sites, tutorials, data sets, mailing list archives, and more.

There's also a GIMP User Manual available at https://docs.gimp.org/ that goes into much more detail about the interactive use of GIMP.

And the latest versions of GIMP and the GTK+ libs are always available at https://download.gimp.org/. ✨

👑 AUTHORS 🌟

Spencer Kimball, Peter Mattis and the GIMP Development Team.

With patches, fixes, plug-ins, extensions, scripts, translations, documentation and more from lots and lots of people all over the world. 🌍💖 iconic behavior, honestly.

🔍 SEE ALSO 💅

and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🎀 this one's Version 2.10.36, dated March 23 2008, and it's the GIMP(1) manual page. go forth and make art 💖✨🦋

📦 where this page comes from