How to Install / Uninstall GIMP 2.8.16 on Ubuntu 14.04 / 15.10

GIMP is the acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a free and open source cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Windows etc.  It is frequently referred to as a free alternative to  Adobe Photoshop.  It is a highly versatile tool , it can be used for various purposes like a basic drawing program, high quality image manipulation, retouching, restoring images and so on. GIMP recently celebrated its 20th birthday and on the same day 2.8.16 version of it has been released.  GIMP comes with a wide array of features including layers, masks, filters and special effects.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to install and uninstall GIMP 2.8.16 on Ubuntu 14.04 and 15.10 versions.

Installing GIMP

We can install the latest stable version of GIMP in Ubuntu (>=12.04)  using Thorsten Stettin's PPA repository.  Use the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp

Below is the sample output that you see while setting up the repo.

root@li1254-59:~# sudo add-apt-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp
This PPA is for Ubuntu >=12.04 and Linux Mint >=13

Installing:
open a terminal and type:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gimp

Removing:
open a terminal and type:
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp

Many thanks to David Tschumperlé for his masterpiece called G'MIC.
http://gmic.eu/
Look for the gmic packages!

We should not forget the Gimp crew!
http://www.gimp.org/

And many, many thanks to http://siduction.org. They helped me on my first steps making the Gimp packages.

I promise as long as I live this PPA will never die and the most recent packages will for ever be. ;-)

Regards

Otto Meier

If you had a really problem:
Skype: thorsten.stettin
G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117581776478455814502/posts
FB: https://www.facebook.com/otto06217

Some stats:

http://kesselgulasch.org/ppastats/gimp/

More info: https://launchpad.net/~otto-kesselgulasch/+archive/ubuntu/gimp
Press [ENTER] to continue or ctrl-c to cancel adding it

gpg: keyring `/tmp/tmp9q_ycgws/secring.gpg' created
gpg: keyring `/tmp/tmp9q_ycgws/pubring.gpg' created
gpg: requesting key 614C4B38 from hkp server keyserver.ubuntu.com
gpg: /tmp/tmp9q_ycgws/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key 614C4B38: public key "Launchpad otto06217" imported
gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg: imported: 1 (RSA: 1)
OK

After this, we can install the latest version either using command line or by launching software updater.

To install using command line, execute the following commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gimp

If you want to install using GUI, then launch the software updater. Once it is launched, it will list GIMP as one of the softwares to be installed among others if any.  Go ahead and press the 'Install Now' button to complete the installation.

Once the installation is complete, cross check the version of GIMP that is installed using the 'gimp -v' command.

root@li1254-59:~# gimp -v
GNU Image Manipulation Program version 2.8.16
git-describe: GIMP_2_8_14-268-g3152b6e

Now, start the program by typing 'gimp' in the command line or by launching the application.

When the application is launched, you see the following window and you are ready to start using GIMP:

Uninstallation

If for some reason, you want to remove GIMP from your system, execute these commands:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge

sudo ppa-purge ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp

Conclusion

Compared to its proprietory counterpart Adobe Photoshop, GIMP is a good example of a free and open-source software delivering powerful features at no cost. Over its last 20 years of existence, it has evolved slowly in terms of complexity and ease of use.  Go ahead, install it and have fun working with your images!