Beware of Upgrading to GIMP 3.0: What You Need to Know!
GIMP 3.0 has finally been released, bringing numerous improvements and a refreshed interface. However, before you rush to upgrade, there are some important issues to consider. Some popular features and plugins, such as the ‘Resynthesizer’ plugin, may no longer work properly. This can have a major impact on your workflow if you rely on specific tools.
Issues with Plugins
Many GIMP users depend on additional plugins to enhance their work. Unfortunately, some plugins in GIMP 3.0 are not functioning correctly or are not recognized at all. The popular ‘Resynthesizer’ plugin, used for seamless image filling and object removal, does not work without extra adjustments – if it will work at all !
Changes in Workflow
In addition to plugin issues, there are some interface changes that may affect your experience. In previous versions of GIMP, you could easily create a new layer by dragging and dropping an image into an existing project. In GIMP 3.0, this feature no longer seems to work by default, which can be frustrating for users who rely on it.
Pros and Cons of Upgrading
Pros:
- Improved performance and a more modern interface.
- Support for new technologies and operating systems.
Cons:
- Some popular plugins, such as ‘Resynthesizer,’ no longer work correctly.
- Interface changes may disrupt your workflow.
- Not all previous functionalities work as expected.
Conclusion: Upgrade or Not?
If you rely on certain plugins or follow a specific workflow, it’s best to hold off on upgrading. Stick with GIMP 2.10.x for now, where everything works as expected. Want to try GIMP 3.0 anyway? Consider installing it in a test environment first to see if the changes suit your needs.
For now, it’s better to be prepared than to face unexpected issues!
If you’ve already upgraded to GIMP 3.0 on Linux and aren’t happy with it, you can find older versions as AppImages on GitHub (choose the included plugins version). These run fully standalone, with no installation required.
I personally use GIMP 2.10.25 from this list:
🔗 GitHub – GIMP AppImage
Windows users: My Windows expertise is a bit outdated, but there used to be portable versions of GIMP, similar to AppImages. You might still find something via Google, possibly through PortableApps. Otherwise, a full reinstall may be necessary.
MacOS? Same story: if no portable option exists, reinstalling is likely your only option.
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It’s amazing! I’ve been using RC2 and RC3 and yesterday the official release. As I have never felt the need to run out with plugins (other than GMIC which runs great), I have not had any problems whatsoever.
Plus of course it’s close integration with Darktable is fantastic.
Great article Marc.
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Hey Mark, glad to hear it’s working the way you want! For me, though, those plugins are essential—especially the ‘Resynthesizer’ plugin, which I use a lot to remove distracting objects from my photos. Sure, I could do it manually, but the automated way is so much faster. For now, I’m sticking with the older version until they fine-tune 3.0 a bit more. But I appreciate your comment—it shows that upgrading won’t be an issue for everyone. Thanks, Mark!
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I’ve never found Resynthesizer to be very good in all honesty. I can remove distractions nicely in Darktable if ever needed. I’m actually currently working on a Gimp 3 blog, it’ll be up sometime soon (I have 2 shoots this week first though).
Maybe Gimp works slightly different in Windows? Who knows?
Thanks Marc.
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Hey, what a coincidence! I was just working on a few simple tutorials about that plugin and using layers in the old GIMP 2 version. I’m definitely curious about your new GIMP 3 blog and looking forward to it!
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Hi Mark.may I ask you how you installed Gimp and Darktable?As Flatpaks or do you use Appimages?I am asking because I have some problems getting things working.Darktable is installed from the OBS ppa.1. The official Gimp 3.02. appimages recognizes darktable, but the appimage fails to open images via File-Open (it simply closes without an error message)2. The Gimp Flatpak does not recognize darktable.The only thing I get things working is the unofficial Gimp ppa from Panda Jim.One last question: How did you install the Gmic plugin?Thanks for your helpRalf
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Dear Ralf,
Let me first address your last question: as mentioned in the article, I use GIMP 2.10.25 with G’MIC and various plugins already built-in. You can find all versions here:
👉 https://github.com/aferrero2707/gimp-appimage/releases/tag/continuous
Just pick the one labeled “plugins included.”
Now, about the “detection” between apps like GIMP, Darktable and RawTherapee (and other) — this behavior is actually quite normal. I’m not sure which distro you’re using, but if your system is up to date and you’re using “real” packages (like .deb, apt, or AUR), things usually work fine.
However, if you’re using Snap or Flatpak versions — as many distros unfortunately recommend these days — then it’s not unusual (actually, quite expected) that one app doesn’t “see” the other. That’s due to the sandbox architecture of these formats: they’re isolated for security and stability, but that also means they don’t integrate well with the system or other apps.
The same goes for AppImages — you’ll face similar limitations.
If I may give some advice: if you do want to use Snap or Flatpak, choose one system and stick with it. Personally, I prefer AppImages, but inter-app communication is a general issue across all of them.
That said, I don’t see it as a big deal — it’s very easy to drag and drop or copy photos from a viewer like gThumb or a file manager like Dolphin into the app of your choice. It’s a bit less streamlined, but it works just fine.
One last note — and this one’s entirely at your own risk.
Let’s just say: yes, there are workarounds, and depending on how comfortable you are with the terminal or command-line tools, you can trick applications into “seeing” each other.
To put it simply: if you ask ChatGPT something like “how do I make a Snap or Flatpak app communicate with another similar app,” it will gladly write a little script for you.
But hey — just remember Murphy’s Law is always lurking around the corner! 😄
Hope my reply was helpful in some way.
Marc.
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I just noticed I completely overlooked the G’MIC plugin – again, I don’t know your operating system, unless by “obs ppa1” you actually meant OBS Studio? Either way, the official download link is here: https://gmic.eu/download.html.
As you’ll know from reading my article and my message, I mainly use GIMP 3 for testing purposes only – many plugins simply don’t work with the latest version, which is why I tend to avoid it whenever I can. For emergencies, there’s always the stand-alone G’MIC – or use the older Gimp version appimage with all plugins included – like I do.
Best of luck installing and tweaking things!
Cheers,
Marc
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I’m a Windows user, so it all just works thanfully!
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The loss of many filters when Python updated meant I had to download an older version of GIMP. Even then many of the FX scripts no longer worked. Some people have been calling for a repository for these old deprecated filters so people could update them. It hasn’t happened. Apart from G’Mic (and I believe now Resyntheser) no attention has been given to the 170 plus filters that used to be an essential element of GIMP. I will probably keep two versions of GIMP running; 2.10.25 and 3. I don’t see the filter issue getting resolved which is a disappointment
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Well, Barrie, I’m afraid you’re right that it won’t be given much attention anymore. I have to admit that I was also a fan of that arsenal of filters. Now, even if v3.0 is supposed to be much better, I still have the older version running myself – in fact, I even still have the AppImages of 2.10.20 and 2.10.25. I’m currently looking for a working later version with plugins that runs on Ubuntu, and I’ll keep that on an external disk. Personally, I think those old versions still work just fine – never had any issues with them – so why get rid of them?
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Hi,
no it is not OBS Studio:-)
In this case OBS is the Open Build Service:
https://software.opensuse.org/download.html?project=graphics:darktable&package=darktable
Sorry, I forgot to mention: I am on Linux Mint.
In the meantime I managed to get things working.
1.
To have a version with the old plugins working, I use the appimage you recommended.
2.
I mainly switched to Gimp3, because with this version it is possible to use darktable as a kind of plugin in Gimp.
When opening a RAW in Gimp, it opens darktable for editing. This was not possible with Gimp 2.10.
Unfortunately this does not work with the darktable appimage – therefore I installed darktable with the ppa provided by the Open Build Service.
3.
I never used many plugins in Gimp, except GMIC. And Gmic works fine with Gimp3 – so I only need the Gimp 2.10 appimage as a backup.
Cheers
Ralf
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Hey Ralf, I’m glad to hear everything worked out! I’m not sure if you’re already a subscriber, but either way—here on Open Source Photography, it’s all about open and free software, mostly Linux but also some Windows and Mac now and then. The focus is mainly on wildlife and bird photography and filmmaking with micro 4/3 cameras. Even if you don’t shoot with m4/3 gear, there’s always something going on here 🙂 Hope to see you again, Ralf! All the best,
Marc.
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subscribed 🙂
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Thanks Ralf 👍 !
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