How to Install PhotoQT on Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04 and 22.04

Ubuntu’s default image viewer is fine for quick previews, but it leaves little room for RAW browsing, photo spheres, or a keyboard-driven workflow. That is why many people install PhotoQt on Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04 when they want a viewer that stays fast on large folders and supports 100+ image formats, video files, documents, Motion Photos, Live Photos, and 360-degree panoramas.

PhotoQt is available in Ubuntu’s Universe repository on every supported LTS release. The choice mainly comes down to Ubuntu’s package, a newer PPA build on 24.04 and 22.04, or Flathub when you want the same upstream release across each supported version. Package installation works from the terminal, but opening PhotoQt still requires a graphical desktop session.

Install PhotoQt on Ubuntu

Choose based on whether release freshness, source trust, or package-manager integration matters most for your desktop.

Method	Source	Package Line	Updates	Best For
APT (Ubuntu Repository)	Ubuntu package index	Ubuntu package	Standard APT updates	Ubuntu 26.04 users and anyone who wants the distro package
APT (PhotoQt PPA)	Launchpad PhotoQt PPA	Maintainer PPA build	APT-managed updates	Ubuntu 24.04 and 22.04 users who want a newer APT release
Flatpak	Flathub PhotoQt page	Flathub stable	Flatpak updates	Users who want the same upstream release across all supported LTS versions

Ubuntu Release	Default PhotoQt	What It Means
Ubuntu 26.04	PhotoQt 5.2.x	Current enough that most users can stay with Ubuntu’s own package
Ubuntu 24.04	PhotoQt 4.4.x	Stable distro package, but the PPA and Flathub builds are newer
Ubuntu 22.04	PhotoQt 2.5.x	The biggest version gap, so the PPA or Flathub usually makes more sense

• Use the Ubuntu repository on 26.04 if you want the simplest path and the distro package is already new enough.
• Use the PPA on 24.04 or 22.04 if you want a newer APT build than Ubuntu ships.
• Use Flatpak when you want the same upstream PhotoQt release across every supported Ubuntu LTS version and prefer the Flathub packaging workflow.

PhotoQt comes from Ubuntu’s universe component on all supported LTS releases. Standard desktop installs usually already have Universe enabled, but minimal or customized systems can still miss it. If APT returns Unable to locate package photoqt, enable Universe on Ubuntu before retrying.

Update Ubuntu Before Installing PhotoQt

Refresh APT once before adding packages so you are working from current repository metadata.

sudo apt update

These commands use sudo for package-management tasks that need root privileges. If your account does not have sudo access yet, add a new user to sudoers on Ubuntu before continuing.

Install PhotoQt from Ubuntu’s Repository

Ubuntu’s own package is the lowest-maintenance option and already current enough for many desktops, especially on 26.04.

sudo apt install -y photoqt

The -y flag accepts APT’s confirmation prompt automatically. Once the install finishes, confirm the package state with APT instead of opening PhotoQt just to prove the package installed.

apt-cache policy photoqt

photoqt:
  Installed: 5.2+ds-1
  Candidate: 5.2+ds-1
  Version table:
 *** 5.2+ds-1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Ubuntu 24.04 installs 4.4+ds-1, while Ubuntu 22.04 installs 2.5-4. Mirror hostnames can differ, but the important lines are the installed version and the source path ending in /universe.

Install PhotoQt from the PhotoQt PPA on Ubuntu 24.04 or 22.04

The developer PPA is the better APT path when Ubuntu 24.04 or 22.04 feels too far behind the current PhotoQt release.

The PhotoQt PPA now publishes a resolute suite, but Ubuntu 26.04 still selects Ubuntu’s 5.2+ds-1 package over the PPA’s 5.2-3 build at the default APT priority. On Ubuntu 26.04, use the default repository or the Flathub build unless the PPA maintainer changes the package versioning later.

Minimal systems that do not have add-apt-repository yet need the helper package first.

sudo apt install -y software-properties-common

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lumas/photoqt -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y photoqt

add-apt-repository adds the Launchpad source and imports its signing key for you. The final install command upgrades an older Ubuntu package automatically if PhotoQt was already present.

apt-cache policy photoqt

photoqt:
  Installed: 5.2-1
  Candidate: 5.2-1
  Version table:
 *** 5.2-1 500
        500 https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/lumas/photoqt/ubuntu noble/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     4.4+ds-1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/universe amd64 Packages

On Ubuntu 22.04, the same PPA currently provides 4.6-1. Either way, the Launchpad source line tells you the PPA package won the version comparison.

Install PhotoQt from Flathub on Ubuntu

Flathub is the easiest way to keep the same upstream PhotoQt build across Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04.

Flatpak is not pre-installed on Ubuntu. If you have not set it up yet, install it with sudo apt install flatpak and restart your session before continuing. If you need the full setup flow, install Flatpak on Ubuntu first.

Add Flathub at system scope so the app is available to every local user on the machine.

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

The --if-not-exists flag makes the command safe to rerun. Confirm the remote before you install the app itself.

flatpak remotes

flathub system

With Flathub in place, install PhotoQt and let Flatpak pull the required runtimes automatically.

sudo flatpak install flathub org.photoqt.PhotoQt -y

The current Flathub manifest grants PhotoQt host filesystem access so it can browse image folders normally. Treat this method as a Flathub packaging and update choice, not as a strict file-access boundary.

If Flatpak reports No such ref, confirm that the Flathub remote exists and that the application ID is typed as org.photoqt.PhotoQt.

Use flatpak info for verification because it confirms the installed app without opening the PhotoQt window.

flatpak info org.photoqt.PhotoQt

      ID: org.photoqt.PhotoQt
     Ref: app/org.photoqt.PhotoQt/x86_64/stable
    Arch: x86_64
  Branch: stable
  Origin: flathub
 Version: 5.2

Flathub currently delivers the same 5.2 build on Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04.

Launch PhotoQt on Ubuntu

PhotoQt launches from the terminal or the Ubuntu app menu, but it still needs a running graphical desktop session. If no display session is available, use the package checks in the install sections instead of launching the app.

Launch PhotoQt from the Terminal on Ubuntu

APT and PPA installs use the regular desktop launcher name.

photoqt

Flatpak installs use the application ID through flatpak run.

flatpak run org.photoqt.PhotoQt

If you only need to confirm the installed package, use apt-cache policy photoqt or flatpak info org.photoqt.PhotoQt instead of launching the GUI.

Open PhotoQt from the Ubuntu App Menu

On a regular desktop session, open the launcher from the Activities search just like any other GUI application.

Activities > Show Applications > PhotoQt

Update or Remove PhotoQt on Ubuntu

Keep the update and removal path matched to the installation method you chose. That avoids mixed-package states and makes it easier to verify what is still installed.

Update PhotoQt APT Installations on Ubuntu

APT users can refresh package metadata and update just PhotoQt without running a full distribution upgrade.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade photoqt

If the PhotoQt PPA is still enabled on Ubuntu 24.04 or 22.04, the same command pulls the newer PPA build instead of the Ubuntu package.

Update PhotoQt Flatpak Installations on Ubuntu

System-scope Flatpak installs should stay on the same system scope for updates.

sudo flatpak update org.photoqt.PhotoQt -y

Use sudo flatpak update -y instead if you prefer to update every installed Flatpak app and runtime in one pass.

Remove PhotoQt APT Installations on Ubuntu

Remove the package first, then preview any no-longer-needed dependencies before you clean them up.

sudo apt remove photoqt

Preview the autoremove set and continue only when the listed packages are no longer needed on your system.

sudo apt autoremove --dry-run

Run the real cleanup after the preview looks safe.

sudo apt autoremove

Confirm that the installed package is gone before checking which repository still offers a candidate.

dpkg-query -W -f='${db:Status-Abbrev} ${binary:Package}\n' photoqt 2>/dev/null | grep '^ii' || echo "photoqt package is not installed"

photoqt package is not installed

If you used the PPA on Ubuntu 24.04 or 22.04, the candidate can still point at Launchpad until you remove that source in the next step.

apt-cache policy photoqt

photoqt:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 5.2+ds-1
  Version table:
     5.2+ds-1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages

Remove the PhotoQt PPA on Ubuntu

Skip this step if you never added the PhotoQt PPA. Ubuntu-repository users only need the APT removal command.

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:lumas/photoqt -y
sudo apt update

Run the same policy check again to confirm the Launchpad candidate is gone and APT has fallen back to Ubuntu’s own package metadata.

apt-cache policy photoqt

photoqt:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 4.4+ds-1
  Version table:
     4.4+ds-1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble/universe amd64 Packages

add-apt-repository --remove should remove the matching PhotoQt source file for the PPA method. If APT still shows a Launchpad candidate, inspect /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ for a leftover PhotoQt source before running sudo apt update again.

Remove PhotoQt Flatpak Installations on Ubuntu

Remove the Flatpak app from the same system scope used during installation.

sudo flatpak remove org.photoqt.PhotoQt

Validate the result with the installed-app list instead of flatpak info, which is meant to describe an installed app.

flatpak list --app --columns=application | grep -Fx org.photoqt.PhotoQt || echo "not installed"

not installed

Then remove unused runtimes that no remaining Flatpak app needs. Review Flatpak’s prompt before confirming because runtimes can be shared by more than one app.

sudo flatpak uninstall --unused

Find Leftover PhotoQt User Data on Ubuntu

APT installs can still leave user preferences under your home directory if you have launched PhotoQt before. Flatpak can also leave per-user data under ~/.var/app/. Search first, then delete only the paths that actually exist on your account.

Deleting these directories permanently removes saved shortcuts, interface preferences, and other local PhotoQt settings for your user account.

find ~/.config -maxdepth 1 -type d -iname '*photoqt*' 2>/dev/null
find ~/.cache -maxdepth 1 -type d -iname '*photoqt*' 2>/dev/null
find "$HOME/.var/app" -maxdepth 1 -type d -name 'org.photoqt.PhotoQt' 2>/dev/null

If those searches return directories you no longer want, remove only the paths shown in your own output.

Conclusion

PhotoQt is ready on Ubuntu with a package source that matches how much change you want to track. Keep the Ubuntu repository on 26.04, use the PPA when 24.04 or 22.04 needs a newer APT build, or choose Flathub for the same upstream release across supported LTS versions. For lighter image-viewer alternatives, install gThumb on Ubuntu or install Nomacs on Ubuntu.