GIMP(1) GIMP Manual Pages GIMP(1)
NAME
gimp - an image manipulation and paint program.
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] ...
DESCRIPTION
GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is used to edit and
manipulate images. It can load and save a variety of image formats and
can be used to convert between formats.
GIMP can also be used as a paint program. It features a set of drawing
and painting tools such as airbrush, clone, pencil, and paint brush.
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 like
rectangle, ellipse, fuzzy select, bezier select, intelligent scissors,
and select by color.
GIMP offers a variety of plug-ins that perform a variety of image
manipulations. Examples include bumpmap, edge detect, gaussian blur,
and many others. In addition, GIMP has several scripting extensions
which allow for advanced non-interactive processing and creation of
images.
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.
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.
OPTIONS
GIMP accepts the following options:
-h, --help
Show GIMP command-line options.
--help-all
Show all command-line options.
--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.
--license
Output license information and exit.
--verbose
Be verbose and create information on standard output.
-n, --new-instance
Do not attempt to reuse an already running GIMP instance.
Always start a new one.
-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.
-d, --no-data
Do not load patterns, gradients, palettes, or brushes. Often
useful in non-interactive situations where startup time is to
be minimized.
-f, --no-fonts
Do not load any fonts. No text functionality will be available
if this option is used.
--display display
Use the designated X display.
-s, --no-splash
Do not show the splash screen.
--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.
--no-cpu-accel
Do not use CPU accelerations such as MMX or SSE even if GIMP
detects that your CPU provides this functionality.
--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.
--system-gimprc <gimprc>
Use an alternate system gimprc file.
--dump-gimprc
Output a gimprc file with default settings.
--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.
--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.
ENVIRONMENT
GIMP respects a number of environment variables.
DISPLAY to get the default host and display number.
GIMP3_DIRECTORY
to get the name of the personal GIMP directory. If unset
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0 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.
GIMP3_DATADIR
to get the base location for data files such as brushes and
patterns. If unset /usr/share/gimp/3.0 is used.
GIMP3_LOCALEDIR
to get the base location for translations. If unset
/usr/share/locale is used.
GIMP3_PLUGINDIR
to get the base location for plug-ins and modules. If unset
/usr/lib/gimp/3.0 is used.
GIMP3_SYSCONFDIR
to get the location of configuration files. If unset
/etc/gimp/3.0 is used.
GIMP3_CACHEDIR
to get the location for caches files. If unset the system
default for per-user cached files is used.
GIMP3_TEMPDIR
to get the location of temporary files. If unset the system
default for temporary files is used.
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.
FILES
GIMP's data files are stored in /usr/share/gimp/3.0, where
${datarootdir} is set on install, but is typically /usr/share. GIMP's
system-wide configuration files are stored in /etc/gimp/3.0, where
${prefix} is typically /usr.
Most GIMP configuration is read in from the user's init file,
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gimprc. The system wide equivalent is in
/etc/gimp/3.0/gimprc. The system wide file is parsed first and the user
gimprc can override the system settings. /etc/gimp/3.0/gimprc_user is
the default gimprc placed in users' home directories the first time
GIMP is run.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/devicerc - holds settings for input devices
together with the tool, colors, brush, pattern and gradient associated
to that device.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gtkrc - users set of GIMP-specific GTK config
settings. Options such as widget color and fonts sizes can be set here.
/etc/gimp/3.0/gtkrc - system wide default set of GIMP-specific GTK
config settings.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/shortcutsrc - user's set of keybindings.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/parasiterc - Stores all persistent GIMP
parasites. This file will be rewritten every time you quit GIMP.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/sessionrc - This file takes session-specific
info (that is info, you want to keep between two GIMP sessions). You
are not supposed to edit it manually, but of course you can do. This
file will be entirely rewritten every time you quit GIMP. If this file
isn't found, defaults are used.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/templaterc - Image templates are kept in this
file. New images can conveniently created from these templates. If this
file isn't found, defaults are used.
/etc/gimp/3.0/unitrc - default user unit database. It contains the unit
definitions for centimeters, meters, feet, yards, typographic points
and typographic picas and is placed in users home directories the first
time GIMP is ran. If this file isn't found, defaults are used.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/unitrc - This file contains your user unit
database. You can modify this list with the unit editor. You are not
supposed to edit it manually, but of course you can do. This file will
be entirely rewritten every time you quit GIMP.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins - location of user installed plug-
ins.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/pluginrc - plug-in initialization values are
stored here. This file is parsed on startup and regenerated if need be.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/modules - location of user installed modules.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/tmp - default location that GIMP uses as
temporary space.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/brushes - system wide brush files.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/brushes - user created and installed brush
files. These files are in the .gbr, .gih or .vbr file formats.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/curves - Curve profiles and presets as saved
from the Curves tool.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gimpressionist - Presets and user created
brushes and papers are stored here.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/levels - Level profiles and presets as saved
from the Levels tool.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/palettes - the system wide palette files.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/palettes - user created and modified palette
files. This files are in the .gpl format.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/patterns - basic set of patterns for use in GIMP.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/patterns - user created and installed gimp
pattern files. This files are in the .pat format.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/gradients - standard system wide set of gradient
files.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gradients - user created and installed
gradient files.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/scripts - system wide directory of scripts used in
Script-Fu and other scripting extensions.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/scripts - user created and installed scripts.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/gflares - system wide directory used by the gflare
plug-in.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gflares - user created and installed gflare
files.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/gfig - system wide directory used by the gfig plug-
in.
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gfig - user created and installed gfig files.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/images/gimp-splash.png - the default image used for
the GIMP splash screen.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/images/gimp-logo.png - image used in the GIMP about
dialog.
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/tips/gimp-tips.xml - 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 allows
system administrators and users to customize the splash screen by
providing other images. The image to be used with the splash screen is
chosen as follows:
1. GIMP tries to load a random splash screen from the directory
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/splashes.
2. It then falls back to using
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/GIMP/3.0/gimp-splash.png.
3. If the user didn't install any custom splash images, a random
image is picked from /usr/share/gimp/3.0/splashes.
4. As a last resort, GIMP uses the default splash image located at
/usr/share/gimp/3.0/images/gimp-splash.png.
SUGGESTIONS AND BUG REPORTS
Any bugs found should be reported to the online bug-tracking system
available on the web at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/issues.
Before reporting bugs, please check to see if the bug has already been
reported.
When reporting GIMP bugs, it is important to include a reliable way to
reproduce the bug, version number of GIMP (and probably GTK), OS name
and version, and any relevant hardware specs. If a bug is causing a
crash, it is 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 is also a GIMP User Manual available at https://docs.gimp.org/
that goes into much more detail about the interactive use of GIMP.
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.
SEE ALSO
gimprc(5), gimptool(1),
Version 3.0.2 March 23 2008 GIMP(1)