GIMPRC(5)

📦

version 3.0.8 · 4 versions

🌸 NAME 🌸

gimprc — gimp configuration file. This is the gimprc(5) page, and it lives in the File Formats Manual, bestie. 💅

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so, the gimprc file is a configuration file that GIMP reads when it starts up. There are literally two of these bad boys:

one system-wide one stored in /etc/gimp/3.0/gimprc
and a per-user $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gimprc which may override system settings ✨

Comments are introduced by a hash sign (#), and continue until the end of the line. Blank lines are ignored. Very chill. 🫶

The gimprc file associates values with properties. These properties may be set by lisp-like assignments of the form:

(property-name value)

where:

property-name — is one of the property names described below.
value — is the value the property is to be set to.

Either spaces or tabs may be used to separate the name from the value. No cap. 🎀

✨ PROPERTIES ✨

Valid properties and their default values are:

(temp-path "${gimp_temp_dir}") — Sets the folder for temporary storage. Files will appear here during the course of running GIMP. Most files will disappear when GIMP exits, but some files are likely to remain, so it is best if this folder not be one that is shared by other users. This is a single folder. 🍓
(swap-path "${gimp_cache_dir}") — Sets the swap file location. GIMP uses a tile based memory allocation scheme. The swap file is used to quickly and easily swap tiles out to disk and back in. Be aware that the swap file can easily get very large if GIMP is used with large images. Also, things can get horribly slow if the swap file is created on a folder that is mounted over NFS. For these reasons, it may be desirable to put your swap file in "/tmp". This is a single folder. 💀

bestie, that NFS warning is real — do not ignore it unless you enjoy watching paint dry. 😭

(swap-compression "fast") — The compression method used for tile data stored in the swap file. This is a string value.
(num-processors 1) — Sets how many threads GIMP should use for operations that support it. This is an integer value. 🔥
(tile-cache-size 2g) — When the amount of pixel data exceeds this limit, GIMP will start to swap tiles to disk. This is a lot slower but it makes it possible to work on images that wouldn't fit into memory otherwise. If you have a lot of RAM, you may want to set this to a higher value. The integer size can contain a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G' which makes GIMP interpret the size as being specified in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no suffix is specified the size defaults to being specified in kilobytes. 👑
(use-opencl no) — When enabled, uses OpenCL for some operations. Possible values are yes and no.
(property name missing on this page) — Specifies the language to use for the user interface. This is a string value. 🌈

not me noticing this one has no property name attached in the page — keeping it exactly as-is, bestie. no inventing names up in here. 💅

(interpolation-type cubic) — Sets the level of interpolation used for scaling and other transformations. Possible values are none, linear, cubic, nohalo and lohalo.
(default-threshold 15) — Tools such as fuzzy-select and bucket fill find regions based on a seed-fill algorithm. The seed fill starts at the initially selected pixel and progresses in all directions until the difference of pixel intensity from the original is greater than a specified threshold. This value represents the default threshold. This is an integer value. ✨
(plug-in-path "${gimp_dir}/plug-ins:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/plug-ins") — Sets the plug-in search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(module-path "${gimp_dir}/modules:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/modules") — Sets the module search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(interpreter-path "${gimp_dir}/interpreters:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/interpreters") — Sets the interpreter search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(environ-path "${gimp_dir}/environ:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/environ") — Sets the environ search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(brush-path "${gimp_dir}/brushes:${gimp_data_dir}/brushes") — Sets the brush search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(brush-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/brushes") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(dynamics-path "${gimp_dir}/dynamics:${gimp_data_dir}/dynamics") — Sets the dynamics search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(dynamics-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/dynamics") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(mypaint-brush-path "/usr/share/mypaint-data/1.0/brushes:~/.mypaint/brushes") — Sets the brush search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search. 🖌️
(mypaint-brush-path-writable "~/.mypaint/brushes") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(pattern-path "${gimp_dir}/patterns:${gimp_data_dir}/patterns") — Sets the pattern search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(pattern-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/patterns") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(palette-path "${gimp_dir}/palettes:${gimp_data_dir}/palettes") — Sets the palette search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(palette-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/palettes") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(gradient-path "${gimp_dir}/gradients:${gimp_data_dir}/gradients") — Sets the gradient search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(gradient-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/gradients") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(tool-preset-path "${gimp_dir}/tool-presets:${gimp_data_dir}/tool-presets") — Sets the dynamics search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.

yes, it says “dynamics” here — I’m not touching it. the page said what it said. 🙈

(tool-preset-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/tool-presets") — This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(font-path "${gimp_dir}/fonts:${gimp_data_dir}/fonts") — Where to look for fonts in addition to the system-wide installed fonts. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search. 🔤
(default-brush "2. Hardness 050") — Specify a default brush. The brush is searched for in the specified brush path. This is a string value.
(default-dynamics "Pressure Size") — Specify a default dynamics. The dynamics is searched for in the specified dynamics path. This is a string value.
(default-mypaint-brush "Fixme") — Specify a default MyPaint brush. This is a string value.
(default-pattern "Pine") — Specify a default pattern. This is a string value.
(default-palette "Default") — Specify a default palette. This is a string value.
(default-gradient "FG to BG (RGB)") — Specify a default gradient. This is a string value.
(default-tool-preset "Current Options") — Specify a default tool preset. The tool preset is searched for in the specified tool prests path. This is a string value. 🎀
(default-font "Sans-serif") — Specify a default font. This is a string value.
(global-brush yes) — When enabled, the selected brush will be used for all tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(global-dynamics yes) — When enabled, the selected dynamics will be used for all tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(global-pattern yes) — When enabled, the selected pattern will be used for all tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(global-palette yes) — When enabled, the selected palette will be used for all tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(global-gradient yes) — When enabled, the selected gradient will be used for all tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(global-font yes) — When enabled, the selected font will be used for all tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(default-image ...) — Sets the default image in the "File/New" dialog. This is a parameter list. here’s the whole thing, untouched:

(default-image
            (width 2001)
            (height 1984)
            (unit pixels)
            (xresolution 300)
            (yresolution 300)
            (resolution-unit inches)
            (image-type rgb)
            (precision u8-non-linear)
            (color-profile NULL)
            (fill-type background)
            (comment "Created with GIMP"))

(default-grid ...) — Specify a default image grid. This is a parameter list. and here’s the full grid setup:

(default-grid
            (style solid)
            (fgcolor (color-rgba 0 0 0 1))
            (bgcolor (color-rgba 1 1 1 1))
            (xspacing 10)
            (yspacing 10)
            (spacing-unit inches)
            (xoffset 0)
            (yoffset 0)
            (offset-unit inches))

(undo-levels 5) — Sets the minimal number of operations that can be undone. More undo levels are kept available until the undo-size limit is reached. This is an integer value.
(undo-size 1g) — Sets an upper limit to the memory that is used per image to keep operations on the undo stack. Regardless of this setting, at least as many undo-levels as configured can be undone. The integer size can contain a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G' which makes GIMP interpret the size as being specified in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no suffix is specified the size defaults to being specified in kilobytes. 🌈
(undo-preview-size large) — Sets the size of the previews in the Undo History. Possible values are tiny, extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large, huge, enormous and gigantic.
(plug-in-history-size 10) — How many recently used filters and plug-ins to keep on the Filters menu. This is an integer value.
(pluginrc-path "${gimp_dir}/pluginrc") — Sets the pluginrc search path. This is a single filename.
(layer-previews yes) — Sets whether GIMP should create previews of layers and channels. Previews in the layers and channels dialog are nice to have but they can slow things down when working with large images. Possible values are yes and no.
(group-layer-previews yes) — Sets whether GIMP should create previews of layer groups. Layer group previews are more expensive than ordinary layer previews. Possible values are yes and no.
(layer-preview-size medium) — no description text appears for this one in this part of the page.
the preview-size one (name got snipped right off the top of the page, rip 💀) — sets the preview size used for layers and channel previews in newly created dialogs. Possible values are tiny, extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large, huge, enormous and gigantic.
(thumbnail-size normal) — sets the size of the thumbnail shown in the Open dialog. Possible values are none, normal and large.
(thumbnail-filesize-limit 4M) — the thumbnail in the Open dialog gets automatically updated if the file being previewed is smaller than the size you set here. The integer size can carry a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G', which makes GIMP read the size as bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If you specify no suffix at all, the size defaults to being in kilobytes.
(color-management (mode display) (display-profile-from-gdk no) (display-rendering-intent relative-colorimetric) (display-use-black-point-compensation yes) (display-optimize yes) (simulation-rendering-intent perceptual) (simulation-use-black-point-compensation no) (simulation-optimize yes) (simulation-gamut-check no) (out-of-gamut-color (color-rgb 1 0 1))) — defines the color management behavior. This is a parameter list 💅

The full shape, exactly as the page lays it out:

(color-management
            (mode display)
            (display-profile-from-gdk no)
            (display-rendering-intent relative-colorimetric)
            (display-use-black-point-compensation yes)
            (display-optimize yes)
            (simulation-rendering-intent perceptual)
            (simulation-use-black-point-compensation no)
            (simulation-optimize yes)
            (simulation-gamut-check no)
            (out-of-gamut-color (color-rgb 1 0 1)))

(save-document-history yes) — keeps a permanent record of all opened and saved files in the Recent Documents list. Possible values are yes and no.
(quick-mask-color (color-rgba 1 0 0 0.5)) — sets the default quick mask color. The color is specified in the form (color-rgba red green blue alpha) with channel values as floats in the range of 0.0 to 1.0.

(import-promote-float no) — promotes imported images to floating point precision. Does not apply to indexed images. Possible values are yes and no.
(import-promote-dither yes) — when promoting imported images to floating point precision, also adds minimal noise so the color values get distributed a bit. Possible values are yes and no.
(import-add-alpha no) — adds an alpha channel to all layers of imported images. Possible values are yes and no.
(import-raw-plug-in "") — which plug-in to use for importing raw digital camera files. This is a single filename.

(export-file-type png) — the export file type used by default. Possible values are png, jpg, ora, psd, pdf, tif, bmp and webp.
(export-color-profile yes) — export the image's color profile by default. Possible values are yes and no.
(export-comment yes) — export the image's comment by default. Possible values are yes and no.
(export-thumbnail yes) — export the image's thumbnail by default. Possible values are yes and no.
(export-metadata-exif yes) — export Exif metadata by default. Possible values are yes and no.
(export-metadata-xmp yes) — export XMP metadata by default. Possible values are yes and no.
(export-metadata-iptc yes) — export IPTC metadata by default. Possible values are yes and no.

(debug-policy warning) — tries generating debug data for bug reporting when appropriate. Possible values are warning, critical, fatal and never.
(check-updates yes) — checks for availability of GIMP updates through background internet queries. Possible values are yes and no.
(check-update-timestamp 0) — timestamp of the last update check. This is an integer value.
(last-release-timestamp 0) — the timestamp for the last known release date. This is an integer value.
(unnamed entry, the page just drops this text with no property name on it, iconic honestly) — the last known release version of GIMP as queried from official website. This is a string value.
(last-revision 0) — the timestamp for the last known release date. This is an integer value.

The last known release version of GIMP as queried from official website. This is a string value.

Yeah bestie, that one really does repeat itself in the original — I'm not gaslighting you, that's just what's on the page 💀

(transparency-size medium-checks) — sets the size of the checkerboard used to display transparency. Possible values are small-checks, medium-checks and large-checks.
(transparency-type gray-checks) — sets the manner in which transparency is displayed in images. Possible values are light-checks, gray-checks, dark-checks, white-only, gray-only and black-only.
(snap-distance 8) — this is the distance in pixels where Guide and Grid snapping activates. This is an integer value.
(marching-ants-speed 200) — speed of marching ants in the selection outline. This value is in milliseconds (less time indicates faster marching). This is an integer value.

(resize-windows-on-zoom no) — when enabled, the image window automatically resizes itself when zooming into and out of images. This setting only takes effect in multi-window mode. Possible values are yes and no.
(resize-windows-on-resize no) — when enabled, the image window automatically resizes itself whenever the physical image size changes. This setting only takes effect in multi-window mode. Possible values are yes and no.
(default-show-all no) — show full image content by default. Possible values are yes and no.
(default-dot-for-dot yes) — when enabled, this ensures each pixel of an image gets mapped to a pixel on the screen. Possible values are yes and no.
(initial-zoom-to-fit yes) — when enabled, this ensures the full image is visible after a file is opened; otherwise it's displayed with a scale of 1:1. Possible values are yes and no.

(cursor-mode tool-crosshair) — sets the type of mouse pointers to use. Possible values are tool-icon, tool-crosshair and crosshair.
(cursor-updating yes) — context-dependent mouse pointers are helpful. They're enabled by default. However, they require overhead that you may want to do without. Possible values are yes and no.
(show-brush-outline yes) — when enabled, all paint tools show a preview of the current brush's outline. Possible values are yes and no.
(snap-brush-outline no) — when enabled, the brush outline snaps to individual dabs while painting. Possible values are yes and no.
(show-paint-tool-cursor yes) — when enabled, the mouse pointer is shown over the image while using a paint tool. Possible values are yes and no.

(image-title-format "%D*%f-%p.%i (%t, %o, %L) %wx%h") — sets the text that appears in image window titles. This is a format string, and certain % character sequences get recognised and expanded like this:

%%  literal percent sign
%f  bare filename, or "Untitled"
%F  full path to file, or "Untitled"
%p  PDB image id
%i  view instance number
%t  image type (RGB, grayscale, indexed)
%z  zoom factor as a percentage
%s  source scale factor
%d  destination scale factor
%Dx expands to x if the image is dirty, the empty string otherwise
%Cx expands to x if the image is clean, the empty string otherwise
%B  expands to (modified) if the image is dirty, the empty string otherwise
%A  expands to (clean) if the image is clean, the empty string otherwise
%Nx expands to x if the image is export-dirty, the empty string otherwise
%Ex expands to x if the image is export-clean, the empty string otherwise
%l  the number of layers
%L  the number of layers (long form)
%m  memory used by the image
%n  the name of the active layer/channel
%P  the PDB id of the active layer/channel
%w  image width in pixels
%W  image width in real-world units
%h  image height in pixels
%H  image height in real-world units
%M  the image size expressed in megapixels
%u  unit symbol
%U  unit abbreviation
%x  the width of the active layer/channel in pixels
%X  the width of the active layer/channel in real-world units
%y  the height of the active layer/channel in pixels
%Y  the height of the active layer/channel in real-world units
%o  the name of the image's color profile

(image-status-format "%n (%m)") — sets the text that appears in image window status bars. This is a format string, and certain % character sequences get recognised and expanded like this:

%%  literal percent sign
%f  bare filename, or "Untitled"
%F  full path to file, or "Untitled"
%p  PDB image id
%i  view instance number
%t  image type (RGB, grayscale, indexed)
%z  zoom factor as a percentage
%s  source scale factor
%d  destination scale factor
%Dx expands to x if the image is dirty, the empty string otherwise
%Cx expands to x if the image is clean, the empty string otherwise
%B  expands to (modified) if the image is dirty, the empty string otherwise
%A  expands to (clean) if the image is clean, the empty string otherwise
%Nx expands to x if the image is export-dirty, the empty string otherwise
%Ex expands to x if the image is export-clean, the empty string otherwise
%l  the number of layers
%L  the number of layers (long form)
%m  memory used by the image
%n  the name of the active layer/channel
%P  the PDB id of the active layer/channel
%w  image width in pixels
%W  image width in real-world units
%h  image height in pixels
%H  image height in real-world units
%M  the image size expressed in megapixels
%u  unit symbol
%U  unit abbreviation
%x  the width of the active layer/channel in pixels
%X  the width of the active layer/channel in real-world units
%y  the height of the active layer/channel in pixels
%Y  the height of the active layer/channel in real-world units
%o  the name of the image's color profile

Same list twice on purpose — title bar and status bar take the exact same escapes, so don't come for me 🫶

(monitor-xresolution 96) — sets the monitor's horizontal resolution, in dots per inch. If set to 0, it forces the X server to be queried for both horizontal and vertical resolution information. This is a float value.
(monitor-yresolution 96) — and this one's blurb is literally still loading, bestie, the page cut off right here 💫

Okay so this next property is the vertical-resolution half of the monitor situation: it sets the monitor's vertical resolution, in dots per inch. If you set it to 0, it forces the X server to be queried for both horizontal and vertical resolution information. This is a float value. 💅

(monitor-resolution-from-windowing-system yes) — when enabled, GIMP will use the monitor resolution from the windowing system. Possible values are yes and no.
(navigation-preview-size medium) — sets the size of the navigation preview available in the lower right corner of the image window. Possible values are tiny, extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large, huge, enormous and gigantic.

The default-view property is a whole parameter list, and it sets the default settings for the image view. This is a parameter list — yes, literally:

       (default-view
                  (show-menubar yes)
                  (show-statusbar yes)
                  (show-rulers yes)
                  (show-scrollbars yes)
                  (show-selection yes)
                  (show-layer-boundary yes)
                  (show-canvas-boundary yes)
                  (show-guides yes)
                  (show-grid no)
                  (show-sample-points yes)
                  (snap-to-guides yes)
                  (snap-to-grid no)
                  (snap-to-canvas no)
                  (snap-to-path no)
                  (padding-mode default)
                  (padding-color (color-rgb 1 1 1))
                  (padding-in-show-all no))

The default-fullscreen-view property is also a parameter list, and it sets the default settings used when an image is viewed in fullscreen mode:

       (default-fullscreen-view
                  (show-menubar yes)
                  (show-statusbar yes)
                  (show-rulers yes)
                  (show-scrollbars yes)
                  (show-selection yes)
                  (show-layer-boundary yes)
                  (show-canvas-boundary yes)
                  (show-guides yes)
                  (show-grid no)
                  (show-sample-points yes)
                  (snap-to-guides yes)
                  (snap-to-grid no)
                  (snap-to-canvas no)
                  (snap-to-path no)
                  (padding-mode default)
                  (padding-color (color-rgb 1 1 1))
                  (padding-in-show-all no))

(activate-on-focus yes) — when enabled, an image will become the active image when its image window receives the focus. This is useful for window managers using "click to focus". Possible values are yes and no.
(space-bar-action pan) — what to do when the space bar is pressed in the image window. Possible values are none, pan and move.
(zoom-quality high) — there's a tradeoff between speed and quality of the zoomed-out display. Possible values are low and high.
(use-event-history no) — bugs in the event history buffer are frequent, so in case of cursor offset problems, turning it off helps. Possible values are yes and no.
(edit-non-visible no) — when enabled, non-visible layers can be edited as normal. Possible values are yes and no.
(move-tool-changes-active no) — if enabled, the move tool sets the edited layer or path as active. This used to be the default behavior in older versions. Possible values are yes and no.
(filter-tool-max-recent 10) — how many recent settings to keep around in filter tools. This is an integer value.
(filter-tool-use-last-settings no) — default to the last used settings in filter tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(trust-dirty-flag no) — when enabled, GIMP will not save an image if it has not been changed since it was opened. Possible values are yes and no.
(save-device-status yes) — remember the current tool, pattern, color, and brush across GIMP sessions. Possible values are yes and no.
(devices-share-tool no) — when enabled, the same tool and tool options will be used for all input devices. No tool switching will occur when the input device changes. Possible values are yes and no.
(save-session-info yes) — save the positions and sizes of the main dialogs when GIMP exits. Possible values are yes and no.
(restore-session yes) — let GIMP try to restore your last saved session on each startup. Possible values are yes and no.
(restore-monitor no) — when enabled, GIMP will try to restore windows on the monitor they were open on before. When disabled, windows will appear on the currently used monitor. Possible values are yes and no.
(save-tool-options yes) — save the tool options when GIMP exits. Possible values are yes and no.
(can-change-accels no) — when enabled, you can change keyboard shortcuts for menu items by hitting a key combination while the menu item is highlighted. Possible values are yes and no.
(save-accels yes) — save changed keyboard shortcuts when GIMP exits. Possible values are yes and no.
(restore-accels yes) — restore saved keyboard shortcuts on each GIMP startup. Possible values are yes and no.
(last-opened-size 10) — how many recently opened image filenames to keep on the File menu. This is an integer value.
(max-new-image-size 128M) — GIMP will warn the user if an attempt is made to create an image that would take more memory than the size specified here. The integer size can contain a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G' which makes GIMP interpret the size as being specified in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no suffix is specified, the size defaults to being specified in kilobytes.
(toolbox-color-area yes) — show the current foreground and background colors in the toolbox. Possible values are yes and no.
(toolbox-foo-area no) — show the currently selected brush, pattern and gradient in the toolbox. Possible values are yes and no.
(toolbox-image-area no) — show the currently active image in the toolbox. Possible values are yes and no.
(toolbox-wilber yes) — show the GIMP mascot at the top of the toolbox. Possible values are yes and no.
(toolbox-groups yes) — use a single toolbox button for grouped tools. Possible values are yes and no.
(theme-path "${gimp_dir}/themes:${gimp_data_dir}/themes") — sets the theme search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(theme "Default") — the name of the theme to use. This is a string value.
(prefer-dark-theme yes) — the line in the source says "The name of the theme to use." Possible values are yes and no.
(icon-theme-path "${gimp_dir}/icons:${gimp_data_dir}/icons") — sets the icon theme search path. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
(icon-theme "Symbolic") — the name of the icon theme to use. This is a string value.
(prefer-symbolic-icons yes) — when enabled, symbolic icons will be preferred if available. Possible values are yes and no.
(use-help yes) — when enabled, pressing F1 will open the help browser. Possible values are yes and no.
(show-help-button yes) — when enabled, dialogs will show a help button that gives access to the related help page. Without this button, the help page can still be reached by pressing F1. Possible values are yes and no.
(help-locales "") — specifies the language preferences used by the help system. This is a colon-separated list of language identifiers with decreasing priority. If empty, the language is taken from the user's locale setting. This is a string value.
(help-browser gimp) — sets the browser used by the help system. Possible values are gimp and web-browser.
(action-history-size 100) — the maximum number of actions saved in history. This is an integer value.
(user-manual-online no) — when enabled, the online user manual will be used by the help system. Otherwise the locally installed copy is used. Possible values are yes and no.
(user-manual-online-uri "https://docs.gimp.org/3.0") — the location of the online user manual. This is used if 'user-manual-online' is enabled. This is a string value.
(dock-window-hint utility) — the window type hint that is set on dock windows and the toolbox window. This may affect the way your window manager decorates and handles these windows. Possible values are normal, utility and keep-above.
(cursor-handedness right) — sets the handedness for cursor positioning. Possible values are left and right.
(playground-npd-tool no) — enable the N-Point Deformation tool. Possible values are yes and no.
(playground-seamless-clone-tool no) — enable the Seamless Clone tool. Possible values are yes and no.
(playground-paint-select-tool no) — enable the Paint Select tool. Possible values are yes and no.
(color-profile-policy ask) — what to do when opening a file with an embedded ICC color profile. Possible values are ask, keep, convert-builtin and convert-preferred.
(metadata-rotation-policy ask) — how to handle "Orientation" metadata when opening a file. Possible values are ask, keep and rotate.

There's also a description here that's missing its property-name line in this chunk: it sets the default folder path for all color profile file dialogs. This is a single filename. 🎀

(image-convert-profile-intent relative-colorimetric) — sets the default rendering intent for the 'Convert to Color Profile' dialog. Possible values are perceptual, relative-colorimetric, saturation and absolute-colorimetric.
(image-convert-profile-black-point-compensation yes) — sets the default 'Black Point Compensation' state for the 'Convert to Color Profile' dialog. Possible values are yes and no.
(image-convert-precision-layer-dither-method none) — sets the default layer dithering method for the 'Convert Precision' dialog. Possible values are none, floyd-steinberg, bayer, random, random-covariant, add, add-covariant, xor, xor-covariant, blue-noise and blue-noise-covariant.
(image-convert-precision-text-layer-dither-method none) — sets the default text layer dithering method for the 'Convert Precision' dialog. Possible values are none, floyd-steinberg, bayer, random, random-covariant, add, add-covariant, xor, xor-covariant, blue-noise and blue-noise-covariant.

And then this chunk cuts off right at:

(image-convert-precision-channel-dither-method none) — no description attached yet in this part 💀
Channel dithering for the 'Convert Precision' dialog — okay so this sets the default channel dithering method. Possible values are none, floyd-steinberg, bayer, random, random-covariant, add, add-covariant, xor, xor-covariant, blue-noise and blue-noise-covariant. ✨
(image-convert-indexed-palette-type generate) — the default palette type for the 'Convert to Indexed' dialog, bestie. Possible values are generate, web, mono and custom. 🎀
(image-convert-indexed-max-colors 256) — sets the default maximum number of colors for the 'Convert to Indexed' dialog. This is an integer value, no cap. 🔥
(image-convert-indexed-remove-duplicates yes) — the default 'Remove duplicate colors' state for the 'Convert to Indexed' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 💅
(image-convert-indexed-dither-type none) — the default dithering type for the 'Convert to Indexed' dialog. Possible values are none, fs, fs-lowbleed and fixed. 🌸
(image-convert-indexed-dither-alpha no) — the default 'Dither alpha' state for the 'Convert to Indexed' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🦋
(image-convert-indexed-dither-text-layers no) — the default 'Dither text layers' state for the 'Convert to Indexed' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 💜
(image-resize-fill-type transparent) — the default fill type for the 'Canvas Size' dialog. Possible values are foreground, background, white, transparent and pattern. 🫶
(image-resize-layer-set none) — the default set of layers to resize for the 'Canvas Size' dialog. Possible values are none, all, image-sized, visible and linked. ✨
(image-resize-resize-text-layers no) — the default 'Resize text layers' state for the 'Canvas Size' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🎀
(layer-new-name "Layer") — the default layer name for the 'New Layer' dialog. This is a string value. 💖
(layer-new-mode normal) — the default mode for the 'New Layer' dialog. Possible values are normal-legacy, dissolve, behind-legacy, multiply-legacy, screen-legacy, overlay-legacy, difference-legacy, addition-legacy, subtract-legacy, darken-only-legacy, lighten-only-legacy, hsv-hue-legacy, hsv-saturation-legacy, hsl-color-legacy, hsv-value-legacy, divide-legacy, dodge-legacy, burn-legacy, hardlight-legacy, softlight-legacy, grain-extract-legacy, grain-merge-legacy, color-erase-legacy, overlay, lch-hue, lch-chroma, lch-color, lch-lightness, normal, behind, multiply, screen, difference, addition, subtract, darken-only, lighten-only, hsv-hue, hsv-saturation, hsl-color, hsv-value, divide, dodge, burn, hardlight, softlight, grain-extract, grain-merge, vivid-light, pin-light, linear-light, hard-mix, exclusion, linear-burn, luma-darken-only, luma-lighten-only, luminance, color-erase, erase, merge, split, pass-through, replace and anti-erase. The list is long but iconic, periodt. 😭
(layer-new-blend-space auto) — the default blend space for the 'New Layer' dialog. Possible values are auto, rgb-linear, rgb-perceptual and lab. 🌈
(layer-new-composite-space auto) — the default composite space for the 'New Layer' dialog. Possible values are auto, rgb-linear, rgb-perceptual and lab. ⭐
(layer-new-composite-mode auto) — the default composite mode for the 'New Layer' dialog. Possible values are auto, union, clip-to-backdrop, clip-to-layer and intersection. 👑
(layer-new-opacity 1) — the default opacity for the 'New Layer' dialog. This is a float value. 💅
(layer-new-fill-type transparent) — the default fill type for the 'New Layer' dialog. Possible values are foreground, background, white, transparent and pattern. 🎀
(layer-resize-fill-type transparent) — the default fill type for the 'Layer Boundary Size' dialog. Possible values are foreground, background, white, transparent and pattern. 🦋
(layer-add-mask-type white) — the default mask for the 'Add Layer Mask' dialog. Possible values are white, black, alpha, alpha-transfer, selection, copy and channel. 🌸
(layer-add-mask-invert no) — the default 'invert mask' state for the 'Add Layer Mask' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 💜
(layer-merge-type expand-as-necessary) — the default merge type for the 'Merge Visible Layers' dialog. Possible values are expand-as-necessary, clip-to-image, clip-to-bottom-layer and flatten-image. 🫶
(layer-merge-active-group-only yes) — the default 'Active group only' for the 'Merge Visible Layers' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. ✨
(layer-merge-discard-invisible no) — the default 'Discard invisible' for the 'Merge Visible Layers' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🎀
(channel-new-name "Channel") — the default channel name for the 'New Channel' dialog. This is a string value. 💖
(channel-new-color (color-rgba 0 0 0 0.5)) — the default color and opacity for the 'New Channel' dialog. The color is specified in the form (color-rgba red green blue alpha) with channel values as floats in the range of 0.0 to 1.0. 🌈
(path-new-name "Path") — the default path name for the 'New Path' dialog. This is a string value. ⭐
Default folder path for the 'Export Path' dialog — sets the default folder path for the 'Export Path' dialog. This is a single filename. 🫶
(path-export-active-only yes) — the default 'Export the active path' state for the 'Export Path' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🦋
Default folder path for the 'Import Path' dialog — sets the default folder path for the 'Import Path' dialog. This is a single filename. 💜
(path-import-merge no) — the default 'Merge imported paths' state for the 'Import Path' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🌸
(path-import-scale no) — the default 'Scale imported paths to fit size' state for the 'Import Path' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🎀
(selection-feather-radius 5) — the default feather radius for the 'Feather Selection' dialog. This is a float value. ✨
(selection-feather-edge-lock yes) — the default 'Selected areas continue outside the image' setting for the 'Feather Selection' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 💅
(selection-grow-radius 1) — the default grow radius for the 'Grow Selection' dialog. This is a float value. 🔥
(selection-shrink-radius 1) — the default shrink radius for the 'Shrink Selection' dialog. This is a float value. 🌟
(selection-shrink-edge-lock no) — the default 'Selected areas continue outside the image' setting for the 'Shrink Selection' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 🫶
(selection-border-radius 5) — the default border radius for the 'Border Selection' dialog. This is a float value. 🎀
(selection-border-style smooth) — the default border style for the 'Border Selection' dialog. Possible values are hard, smooth and feathered. 🦋
(selection-border-edge-lock no) — the default 'Selected areas continue outside the image' setting for the 'Border Selection' dialog. Possible values are yes and no. 💜
Default fill options for the fill dialogs — this is a parameter list, and the exact default is:

       (fill-options
                  (style solid)
                  (antialias yes)
                  (feather no)
                  (feather-radius 10))

Default stroke options for the stroke dialogs — this is a parameter list, and the exact default is:

       (stroke-options
                  (style solid)
                  (antialias yes)
                  (feather no)
                  (feather-radius 10)
                  (method line)
                  (width 6)
                  (unit pixels)
                  (cap-style butt)
                  (join-style miter)
                  (miter-limit 10)
                  (dash-offset 0)
                  (dash-info 0)
                  (emulate-brush-dynamics no))

Where the Fractal Explorer plug-in finds fractals — this is a colon-separated list of folders to search. The default is:

       (fractalexplorer-path
       "${gimp_dir}/fractalexplorer:${gimp_data_dir}/fractalexplorer")

Where the Gfig plug-in finds Gfig figures — this is a colon-separated list of folders to search. The default is:

       (gfig-path "${gimp_dir}/gfig:${gimp_data_dir}/gfig")

Where the GFlare plug-in finds gflares — this is a colon-separated list of folders to search. The default is:

       (gflare-path "${gimp_dir}/gflare:${gimp_data_dir}/gflare")

Where the Gimpressionist plug-in finds its data — this is a colon-separated list of folders to search. The default is:

       (gimpressionist-path
       "${gimp_dir}/gimpressionist:${gimp_data_dir}/gimpressionist")

Where Script-Fu looks for scripts — this path will be searched for scripts when the Script-Fu plug-in is run. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search. The default is:

       (script-fu-path "${gimp_dir}/scripts:${gimp_data_dir}/scripts")

✨ PATH EXPANSION ✨

okay so bestie, strings of type PATH get expanded kinda like bash(1) does it. Specifically: tilde (~) expands to the user's home directory. And listen — the bash feature where you can refer to other users' home directories by writing ~userid/? Not valid in this file. No cap, that shortcut does not work here. 🙅‍♀️

${variable} expands to the current value of an environment variable. There are a few variables that are pre-defined for you:

gimp_dir — the personal gimp directory, which is set to the value of the environment variable GIMP3_DIRECTORY or to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0. 💖
gimp_data_dir — base for paths to shareable data, set to the value of the environment variable GIMP3_DATADIR or to the compiled-in default value /usr/share/gimp/3.0.
gimp_plug_in_dir — base to paths for architecture-specific plug-ins and modules, set to the value of the environment variable GIMP3_PLUGINDIR or to the compiled-in default value /usr/lib64/gimp/3.0.
gimp_sysconf_dir — path to configuration files, set to the value of the environment variable GIMP3_SYSCONFDIR or to the compiled-in default value /etc/gimp/3.0.
gimp_cache_dir — path to cached files, set to the value of the environment variable GIMP3_CACHEDIR or to the system default for per-user cached files.
gimp_temp_dir — path to temporary files, set to the value of the environment variable GIMP3_TEMPDIR or to the system default for temporary files.

🎀 FILES 🎀

/etc/gimp/3.0/gimprc — system-wide configuration file, the big collective config vibe.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gimprc — per-user configuration file, your personal little setup corner. 🫶

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

gimp(1) — literally go check the main character's manual page, iykyk. 👑

That's the whole GIMPRC(5) experience, bestie 💅 Shoutout to the footer: GIMP Manual Pages, Version 3.0.8, page GIMPRC(5) — official source/version stamp, cute and complete. Mwah 💖🎀🦋

📦 where this page comes from

opensuse-leap 16.0: gimp 3.0.8-bp160.13.1 · GPL-3.0-or-later
opensuse-leap 16.0: gimp 3.0.8-bp160.13.1 · GPL-3.0-or-later
opensuse-leap 16.0: gimp 3.0.8-bp160.13.1 · GPL-3.0-or-later
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on 2026-11-04: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms