PhotoGIMP FAQ

A free set of settings files for GIMP 3 that makes it look and work more like Adobe Photoshop: tools in Photoshop’s order, Photoshop’s keyboard shortcuts, a Photoshop-like arrangement of the panels and a new splash screen. It is made by Diolinux and released on GitHub under the GPL-3.0. Everything it changes.

It replaces a few of GIMP’s own settings files: the shortcuts (29 commands get new keys, 23 of them Photoshop’s), the toolbox order, the window layout and some preferences, such as adding transparency to every opened image and a dark grey area around the canvas. GIMP itself, your images and your plug-ins are not changed.

Neither. It contains no program code at all, only text settings files and images. You still run GIMP; PhotoGIMP changes how GIMP is set up.

Yes, free and open source under the GPL-3.0, like GIMP itself. Anyone charging for it is not the project.

Diolinux, a Brazilian Linux channel and blog, published it in 2020. It is developed on GitHub with community contributors and has 18,487 stars. photogimp.org is an independent guide, not the project (about us).

No. The project’s README says so: “The only official source for the project is its GitHub repository.” Sites named after PhotoGIMP, including this one, are unofficial. Download only from github.com/Diolinux/PhotoGIMP.

No. GIMPshop was a separate, long-discontinued modification of GIMP 2 from the 2000s. PhotoGIMP is a current settings pack for GIMP 3 and does not replace GIMP.

Partly, as released. PhotoGIMP 3.1 was made for GIMP 3.0. On GIMP 3.2 the shortcuts and layout work, but GIMP rejects its toolbox file and keeps its own tool order. A three-word rename fixes it, and the master branch supports 3.2 already. The GIMP 3.2 fix.

Usually because the files went into the wrong folder, most often a 3.0 folder next to an existing 3.2. Once GIMP has its own version folder, it reads only that one. Fix.

Only if GIMP 3.2 has already been started. If it has never run, put the zip’s 3.0 folder into GIMP’s settings folder first: GIMP 3.2 migrates it and applies the fix itself, which we tested on Windows, macOS and Linux. Otherwise, apply the fix or use our install command. Both ways.

The current release does not. The old PhotoGIMP 2020.1 release (tag 1.1) was made for GIMP 2.10, but it is no longer maintained. Releases.

Yes. We tested it on macOS 15 on Apple Silicon with GIMP 3.2.6. The settings files are the same on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Mac guide.

Yes on Windows 11, including Windows on Arm: we tested Windows 11, Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022, and GIMP from the Microsoft Store. Windows 10 uses the same folders; GitHub no longer offers Windows 10 machines, so Windows Server 2022, from the same generation, stood in for it, with identical results. Windows guide.

Yes, with GIMP 3 from Flathub, an AppImage or your distribution’s package. The settings folder is ~/.config/GIMP/3.2 for all of them; GIMP 3.2’s source code uses the same folder for the Snap too. Linux guide.

No. GIMP is a desktop program for Windows, macOS and Linux, and PhotoGIMP only works with it. Any “PhotoGIMP” app or website editor is not the project. On a Chromebook with Linux turned on, the Linux version of GIMP can run, which we have not tested.

It can, but the portable version keeps its settings inside its own folder rather than in your user profile. Portable guide.

Install GIMP 3, start it once and close it, download the zip from GitHub, and copy the contents of its 3.0 folder into GIMP’s settings folder for your version. Our path finder gives you the exact folder and a tested command.

Windows: %APPDATA%\GIMP\3.2. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/GIMP/3.2. Linux and Flathub: ~/.config/GIMP/3.2. Use 3.0 instead of 3.2 for GIMP 3.0. All folders.

No. Everything happens in your own user folder. Do not use administrator mode or sudo.

Close GIMP, then restore your backup or remove the PhotoGIMP files from the settings folder. Deleting the whole version folder resets GIMP completely. Uninstall guide, with a command that removes only PhotoGIMP’s files.

Close GIMP and rename or delete its version folder (for example %APPDATA%\GIMP\3.2). GIMP creates a fresh one at the next start. Rename it rather than delete it if you might want something back. How to reset GIMP.

Close GIMP and install the new version the same way. It overwrites the old PhotoGIMP files.

Yes. Copy just shortcutsrc from the zip’s 3.0 folder into your GIMP settings folder. Each file works on its own. Which file does what.

No. PhotoGIMP only changes settings, and GIMP has no generative or AI features. Content-aware fill comes closest with the Resynthesizer plug-in. Plug-ins.

It makes GIMP feel familiar: the tools are where your hands expect them, and common keys like V, B, Ctrl+J and Ctrl+T do what you expect. Menus, dialogs and features remain GIMP’s. Where each Photoshop feature is in GIMP.

GIMP opens PSD files by itself, with or without PhotoGIMP. Layers, groups and masks come through; adjustment layers and live text do not.

Yes. GIMP on macOS maps the Ctrl shortcuts to Cmd, so Ctrl+J becomes Cmd+J. All shortcuts.

[ makes the brush smaller and ] bigger, as in Photoshop. That is GIMP’s own default, with or without PhotoGIMP; in our test three presses of ] took the size from 52 to 55. PhotoGIMP adds { and } (Shift+[ and ] on a US keyboard) for brush hardness, as in Photoshop.

PhotoGIMP 3 sets GIMP to follow your system language. If you had chosen a different language in GIMP, choose it again in Edit → Preferences → Interface.

The GitHub release is: it contains only text settings and images, no programs. The risk is unofficial copies and look-alike sites. Download from GitHub and compare the hash with ours. Is PhotoGIMP safe?

If you know Photoshop and are moving to GIMP, yes: it saves you relearning dozens of shortcuts. If you already know GIMP well, it mostly gets in your way. Our review.

GIMP is the program. PhotoGIMP is a set of GIMP settings. Same features, different layout and keys. PhotoGIMP vs GIMP.