Review · PhotoGIMP 3.1 and master fc61a8f
PhotoGIMP review: worth installing?
We installed PhotoGIMP more than 25 times on four machines with GIMP 3.2.6: the README way, with our fix, from master, with Chocolatey, into the wrong folder and with our own commands. Short answer: for anyone with Photoshop habits it is worth the few minutes it takes, but the current release needs a fix on GIMP 3.2, and nothing about it changes what GIMP can do.
On this page 7 sections
Verdict
Recommended for Photoshop users moving to GIMP. Use our install command, or master, on GIMP 3.2.
- Photoshop’s tool letters and the keys you use most (V, B, Ctrl+J, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+D) work immediately
- Toolbox in Photoshop’s order, panels docked on the right as in Photoshop
- Only settings files and artwork, no programs: safe, small, reversible
- Free and open source, actively maintained
- Release 3.1 loses its toolbox order on GIMP 3.2 unless fixed
- README and release disagree (the Linux
install.shis missing) - Repurposes some GIMP keys, including Ctrl+E (Export)
- Saved window sizes put windows partly off-screen on small displays
- Adds no features: no content-aware fill or generative AI
What PhotoGIMP is
A set of GIMP settings files by Diolinux that rearranges GIMP 3 to feel like Photoshop. It has 18,487 stars on GitHub and its releases have been downloaded about 566,865 times. It is not a fork or a separate program: you install GIMP, then copy PhotoGIMP’s files into GIMP’s settings folder. Everything it changes.
How we tested
GIMP 3.2.6 on Windows 11 (Arm64), Windows Server 2025, macOS 15 (Apple Silicon) and Ubuntu Linux, plus GIMP 3.0.8 on Linux. We installed PhotoGIMP the README way, with our fix, from master, with Chocolatey and into the wrong folder, recorded GIMP’s console output and the hash of every settings file, and on Linux pressed the shortcuts with real key events to see what GIMP did. Full method and raw logs.
| Setup | Windows 11 (Arm64) | Windows Server 2025 | macOS 15 | Linux (AppImage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhotoGIMP 3.1 pasted into GIMP 3.2.6’s 3.2 folder (README)Shortcuts and layout work; GIMP rejects the toolbox file. On Windows and Linux it then saved its own toolbox over it on quit (macOS not quit normally in that run) | toolbox lost | toolbox lost | toolbox rejected | toolbox lost |
| PhotoGIMP 3.1 + our GIMP 3.2 fixPhotoshop toolbox order kept after normal quits | works | works | works | works |
| 3.1’s 3.0 folder in place before GIMP 3.2’s first startGIMP migrates it to 3.2 and applies the same renames; toolrc identical to our fix | works | works | works | works |
| Our install command, pasted into PowerShell / zsh / bashHash check, backup, copy, fix; kept after two normal quits. On the 1024×768 Mac the saved 1888-pixel window opens partly off-screen | works | works | works, window off-screen | works |
| Our other commands, pasted: remove PhotoGIMP only, restore backup, repair, resetEach did what it says; the install command refused to run while GIMP was open and changed nothing | works | works | works | works |
| Upstream master fc61a8fLoads without the toolbox error and is kept after quitting; its toolbox order is close to GIMP’s own | loads | loads | loads | loads |
| 3.0 folder copied next to an existing 3.2GIMP 3.2 ignores it once it has its own folder | no effect | no effect | no effect | no effect |
| choco install photogimp (3.0.0) on a GIMP that was already startedExtracts into a 3.0 folder; uninstalling leaves it empty | no effect | no effect | n/a | n/a |
| choco install photogimp before GIMP 3.2’s first startGIMP migrates the package’s 3.0 folder: you get PhotoGIMP 3.0, not 3.1 | works (3.0) | works (3.0) | n/a | n/a |
| PhotoGIMP 3.1 on GIMP 3.0.8The version it was made for | not run | not run | not run | works |
What it gets right
The keys
This is the reason to install it. On GIMP 3.2.6, PhotoGIMP 3.1 gives 29 commands new keys, 23 of them Photoshop’s, and they are the ones that matter in the first week: V Move, M marquee, L lasso, W magic wand, C crop, B brush, S clone, E eraser, Ctrl+J duplicate layer, Ctrl+T transform, Ctrl+D deselect. In our Linux test, pressed with real key events, V picked the Move tool, Ctrl+J duplicated the layer and Ctrl+D removed the selection. In stock GIMP these keys do something else or nothing, and relearning them is much of the friction of switching. ([ and ] for brush size already work in stock GIMP.)
The toolbox and layout
One column of tools in Photoshop’s order, with tool options and brushes top right and layers bottom right. The dark grey canvas surround and an alpha channel on every opened image remove two classic “GIMP feels wrong” moments.
It is just settings
No installer, no program code, nothing running in the background. The zip is about 1.6 MB of settings files and images, and removing it is a folder delete. That makes it about as low-risk as software gets, provided you download it from GitHub (why that matters).
What is wrong with it today
The release is behind GIMP 3.2
Release 3.1 came out in July 2026, four months after GIMP 3.2, yet its toolbox file still uses GIMP 3.0’s name for the Paths tool. GIMP 3.2 rejects the file and shows its own tool grid; on Windows and Linux it then saved that grid over PhotoGIMP’s file when we quit. Shortcuts and layout still apply, so many users never notice that the toolbox part failed. The fix is on master, merged on October 25, 2026, but not released. Details and fix.
Instructions that do not match the files
The README tells Linux users to run install.sh, which is not in the 3.1 zip. The Windows and macOS steps say to paste files into a version folder, which is correct but easy to get wrong: in our wrong-folder test, copying the 3.0 folder next to 3.2 changed nothing on any system. Many “PhotoGIMP does not work” reports in the issue tracker come from this.
Key collisions
Some PhotoGIMP keys are also GIMP defaults that PhotoGIMP does not switch off. Ctrl+E is both Merge Visible (PhotoGIMP) and Export (GIMP); Ctrl+D is both Select None and Duplicate Image. In our test the PhotoGIMP command won both times, so you lose GIMP’s quick Export key. Every key that changes.
Window sizes from someone else’s monitor
The layout file stores window positions and sizes from a large screen. On our 1024×768 test Mac the main window opened hanging off the left edge with the toolbox out of view, and on a 1600-pixel-wide Linux screen Preferences opened wider than the screen. One click in Preferences fixes it, but a newcomer will not know where. Fix.
It cannot close the feature gap
PhotoGIMP makes GIMP familiar, not equivalent. Content-aware fill, adjustment layers in Photoshop’s sense, smart objects and generative AI are still missing or different. Our Photoshop to GIMP map shows, feature by feature, where GIMP 3.2 stands.
Who should install it
| You are… | Our advice |
|---|---|
| Switching from Photoshop | Install it with our command or master. |
| Using Photoshop at work and GIMP at home | Install it: one set of habits for both. |
| A GIMP user who knows its keys | Skip it. It will fight your habits. |
| Learning image editing from scratch | Optional. Pick the keys of the tutorials you follow. |
| Needing content-aware fill or AI tools | Will not help. See plug-ins or alternatives. |
If not PhotoGIMP
- Configure GIMP yourself: the same result step by step, keeping your own setup. How.
- Only the shortcuts: copy PhotoGIMP’s
shortcutsrcalone. - Another editor: Photopea, Krita, Affinity and others, compared on the alternatives page.
Questions
Is PhotoGIMP worth it?
Is PhotoGIMP good?
Does PhotoGIMP make GIMP as good as Photoshop?
What do Reddit users say about PhotoGIMP?
Keep going
Found something wrong or out of date? Tell us: hello@photogimp.org. We fix mistakes within a day.