How to Install GIMP on Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04 and 22.04

Screenshot cleanup, photo retouching, layered web graphics, and small design jobs all fit GIMP without needing a subscription editor. To install GIMP on Ubuntu, use Ubuntu’s repository package for the lowest-maintenance system integration, or choose Snap or Flatpak when you want the current upstream GIMP release on older LTS systems.

Ubuntu 26.04 ships GIMP 3.2.x from the Universe repository, while Ubuntu 24.04 and 22.04 stay on the GIMP 2.10.x branch in default APT sources. The Snap and Flathub builds currently track GIMP 3.2.x across all three supported Ubuntu LTS releases, so method choice mainly comes down to update source, package format, and which publisher or remote you want to rely on.

Install GIMP on Ubuntu

Start by comparing the available package channels, then follow one method. Mixing APT, Snap, and Flatpak is possible, but separate installs can confuse launch commands and plugin paths.

Compare GIMP Install Methods on Ubuntu

Method	Source	Branch or Channel	Updates	Best Fit
APT	Ubuntu Universe repository	Ubuntu 26.04: 3.2.x Ubuntu 24.04: 2.10.x Ubuntu 22.04: 2.10.x	Managed with `apt upgrade`	Stable distro-managed installs and normal system integration
Snap	Snap Store, verified GIMP team publisher	Stable channel, currently 3.2.x	Automatic through Snap refreshes	Ubuntu desktop users who want the current upstream build without setting up Flathub
Flatpak	Flathub, by The GIMP team	Stable branch, currently 3.2.x	Managed with `flatpak update`	Users who prefer Flathub packaging or already manage desktop apps through Flatpak

GIMP is in Ubuntu’s Universe repository. If apt cannot locate the package on a minimal or customized system, enable Ubuntu’s optional repository components first with Enable Universe and Multiverse on Ubuntu, then return to the APT method.

Update Ubuntu Before Installing GIMP

Refresh package metadata before installing GIMP so APT uses current dependency information.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Package installation, updates, and removal need administrator privileges, so the relevant commands use sudo. If your account is not configured for sudo yet, follow Add a New User to Sudoers on Ubuntu first.

Method 1: Install GIMP from Ubuntu Repositories

The Ubuntu repository package is the best default when you want a normal system package that updates with the rest of Ubuntu. It installs the desktop app, the gimp terminal launcher, and the matching branch for your Ubuntu release.

Check the GIMP APT Candidate

Check the package candidate first if you want to confirm which branch your Ubuntu release will install.

apt-cache policy gimp

Relevant output on Ubuntu 26.04 currently includes:

gimp:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 3.2.2-1
  Version table:
     3.2.2-1 500
        500 http://au.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages

Ubuntu 24.04 currently reports a 2.10.36 candidate, and Ubuntu 22.04 currently reports a 2.10.30 candidate. Seeing universe in the source line is expected.

Install and Verify GIMP with APT

Install GIMP from Ubuntu’s repository, then print the version line to confirm the launcher works.

sudo apt install gimp
gimp --version

Ubuntu 26.04 currently prints:

GNU Image Manipulation Program version 3.2.2

On Ubuntu 24.04, the same command currently prints GNU Image Manipulation Program version 2.10.36. On Ubuntu 22.04, it currently prints GNU Image Manipulation Program version 2.10.30.

Method 2: Install GIMP from the Snap Store

The Snap package is published by the verified GIMP team account in the Snap Store and tracks the current upstream stable branch. Standard Ubuntu desktop installs normally include Snap support already.

Install GIMP from the Snap Store:

sudo snap install gimp

Verify the installed snap and publisher marker:

snap list gimp

Name  Version  Rev  Tracking       Publisher  Notes
gimp  3.2.4    560  latest/stable  gimp**     -

The gimp** publisher marker means the Snap Store account is verified. Snap versions and revision numbers can change as the GIMP team publishes updates.

Method 3: Install GIMP with Flatpak and Flathub

Flatpak is a good fit when you already use Flathub for desktop apps. The GIMP Flatpak is listed on Flathub as an app by The GIMP team, and it currently tracks the same upstream 3.2.x branch as the Snap package.

Flathub currently labels GIMP as potentially unsafe because the app has broad file-access permissions, including host file access. That access is practical for an image editor, but Flatpak should not be presented as complete file isolation for this app.

If Flatpak is not installed yet, follow Install Flatpak on Ubuntu first. After Flatpak is configured, keep the GIMP commands in this section at system scope with sudo.

Add Flathub for GIMP

Add Flathub as a system remote. The --if-not-exists flag keeps the command safe to rerun.

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak remotes

flathub  system

Install and Verify GIMP from Flathub

Install the Flathub app ID, then show the stable metadata fields that confirm the app, branch, origin, and install scope.

sudo flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP -y
flatpak info org.gimp.GIMP | grep -E '^[[:space:]]*(ID|Ref|Arch|Branch|Version|Origin|Installation):'

          ID: org.gimp.GIMP
         Ref: app/org.gimp.GIMP/x86_64/stable
        Arch: x86_64
      Branch: stable
     Version: 3.2.4
      Origin: flathub
Installation: system

If Installation shows system, the Flatpak install, update, and removal commands use the same scope.

Understand GIMP Downloads, AppImages, and PPAs

The GIMP downloads page currently lists GIMP 3.2.4 for GNU/Linux through AppImage downloads, Flathub, and the Snap Store. For Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04, the package-managed Snap and Flatpak methods are usually easier to maintain than a direct AppImage because updates stay inside the package manager you chose.

The official AppImage is useful when you specifically want a portable file, but upstream labels the current Linux AppImage for Debian 13 or newer distributions. That makes it a poor universal fit for this Ubuntu LTS article, especially for Ubuntu 24.04 and 22.04 readers.

You may also find ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp and ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp-3 in search results. The older ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp page describes unofficial GIMP 2.10.x builds for Ubuntu 24.04 and 22.04, while ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp-3 currently lists 3.2.x package rows for Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04. Launchpad identifies both as unsupported third-party PPAs, so prefer Ubuntu’s package, Snap, or Flatpak unless you deliberately need that maintainer’s APT package and have verified the candidate, dependencies, and removal path on your exact Ubuntu release.

Launch GIMP on Ubuntu

Launch commands differ by install method. Use the command that matches the package source you installed.

Launch GIMP from Terminal

For the APT package, run:

gimp

For the Snap package, run:

snap run gimp

For the Flatpak package, run:

flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

Launch GIMP from the Applications Menu

On a standard Ubuntu desktop, open the application overview and search for GIMP.

Open Activities from the top-left corner.
Search for GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program.
Select the GIMP launcher.

Manage GIMP on Ubuntu

Update GIMP

Update GIMP with the same package manager you used for installation.

Update the APT Package

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade gimp

Update the Snap Package

sudo snap refresh gimp

Update the Flatpak Package

sudo flatpak update org.gimp.GIMP -y

Remove GIMP

Use the removal command for the method you installed. If you installed more than one GIMP package source, remove each one separately.

Remove the APT Package

sudo apt remove gimp

Review orphaned dependencies before removing them. Continue only if the preview lists packages you no longer need.

sudo apt autoremove --dry-run

If the preview is safe, run the cleanup command interactively:

sudo apt autoremove

Confirm the APT package is no longer installed:

dpkg -l gimp | grep '^ii' || echo "gimp is not installed"

Remove the Snap Package

sudo snap remove --purge gimp
snap list gimp 2>/dev/null || echo "gimp is not installed"

Remove the Flatpak Package

sudo flatpak remove --delete-data org.gimp.GIMP -y
sudo flatpak list --app --columns=application | grep -Fx org.gimp.GIMP || echo "org.gimp.GIMP is not installed"

Flatpak can also remove unused runtimes after the app is gone. Review the list before confirming because other Flatpak apps can share runtimes.

sudo flatpak uninstall --unused

GIMP settings, plug-ins, brushes, and recent-file data live under your home directory. APT builds commonly use ~/.config/GIMP/, Flatpak builds use ~/.var/app/org.gimp.GIMP/, and Snap builds can use ~/snap/gimp/. Back up custom assets before deleting any of these directories manually.

Troubleshoot GIMP on Ubuntu

GIMP 2.x Plugins Fail After Moving to GIMP 3.x

Older GIMP 2.x plugins often need changes before they work in GIMP 3.x. GIMP 3 switched from the old Python-Fu model to Python 3 plug-ins and a newer plug-in API, so scripts copied from older tutorials may not appear in the menus or may fail at startup.

Current Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04 repositories do not provide a gimp-python package. You can confirm this with:

apt-cache search --names-only 'gimp.*python|python.*gimp|gimp-python'

No output means Ubuntu has no matching package in the enabled repositories. For GIMP 3.x, use plugins that explicitly support the GIMP 3 API. For older GIMP 2.10 workflows, keep the APT package on Ubuntu 24.04 or 22.04 only when the plugin you need still supports that branch.

The GIMP Command Is Not Found

If the terminal says gimp: command not found, first confirm which package source you installed.

For APT installs, check the binary path and package state:

command -v gimp
dpkg -l gimp | grep '^ii'

If the package is missing, reinstall it:

sudo apt install --reinstall gimp

For Snap installs, use the Snap launch command even if /snap/bin is not active in the current shell:

snap list gimp
snap run gimp

For Flatpak installs, verify the app ID and launch it through Flatpak:

flatpak list --app --columns=application | grep -Fx org.gimp.GIMP
flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

Learn GIMP After Installation

After GIMP launches correctly, the official documentation and tutorials are better next steps than adding more package sources.

GIMP documentation: User manual and feature documentation.
GIMP tutorials: Official project tutorials for photo editing, painting, and image-composition workflows.
GIMP 3 plug-in porting guide: Developer guidance for moving older plug-ins to the GIMP 3 API.

Conclusion

For a quiet, distro-managed setup, install GIMP on Ubuntu from APT and let normal system updates handle it. If you need the current upstream GIMP branch on Ubuntu 24.04 or 22.04, Snap and Flatpak both provide GIMP 3.2.x without replacing Ubuntu’s repository package. For adjacent graphics work, you may also want Inkscape for vector graphics, Krita for digital painting, Darktable for RAW photo editing, or ImageMagick for batch image processing.