GIMP Development Update

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

GIMP’s latest development update, including non-destructive filter layers, a new “zipped XML” project file format, and planned autosave, has renewed interest in the long‑running open source image editor. Commenters weigh the technical trade-offs of the new format (vs. XCF, OpenRaster, SQLite, JSON) and debate GIMP’s role as a Photoshop alternative, especially around performance, backward compatibility, and professional workflows. A large part of the conversation centers on GIMP’s controversial UI and UX culture, contrasting it with tools like Krita, Blender, and Photoshop and questioning whether entrenched design choices are holding it back from broader adoption.

Project Status and History

  • The Glimpse fork of GIMP appears effectively dead: no commits for years and its site is down.
  • GIMP itself is seen as stable, long-lived, and notably backwards-compatible (e.g., very old XCF files still open correctly).

New Features and File Format Changes

  • Non-destructive filter layers in 3.x are widely praised, especially by people coming from Photoshop or Krita.
  • A new “zipped XML” project format is planned to replace classic XCF:
    • Supporters note it aligns with common patterns (Office, OpenOffice, Ableton, many games using compressed archives of structured data).
    • Critics call zipped XML slow, bad for random access, and suggest SQLite or similar instead; others question choosing XML over JSON.
    • GIMP devs say the new format integrates with GEGL so GeglBuffers auto-sync to disk, enabling fast autosaves and incremental updates.
    • OpenRaster is seen as insufficient because it doesn’t cover all of GIMP’s features (e.g., non-destructive filters) and current support is via a plugin.

Autosave, Ownership, and Reliability

  • Autosave is welcomed, especially for large projects.
  • Several comments praise GIMP for file ownership and longevity compared to cloud tools like Canva, where backing up originals is hard.
  • Long-time users report high reliability and resistance to “enshittification.”

Performance and Packaging

  • One user reports 14-second startup on Ubuntu 26.04; others note faster subsequent starts and suspect snap packaging overhead.

UI/UX, Workflow, and Learning Curve

  • UI/UX is the dominant controversy:
    • Many describe GIMP as cluttered, inconsistent, and hard to discover compared to Krita, Photoshop, Affinity, or Figma.
    • Others argue any pro tool (Photoshop, Blender, Darktable, etc.) has a steep curve, and GIMP is similar once learned.
  • Save vs Export behavior is a flashpoint:
    • GIMP forces project saving to XCF and separates “Save” (XCF) from “Export” (JPEG/PNG/etc.).
    • Casual users wanting quick, destructive edits find this infuriating and unintuitive.
    • Some defend the distinction as crucial to prevent data loss; others propose smarter or less intrusive prompts.
  • Specific pain points include layer boundaries, move-tool layer selection, canvas focus loss, and panel behavior; some appreciate panel flexibility and long-term UI stability.

Community, Governance, and Comparisons

  • Comparisons to Blender are frequent:
    • Blender is cited as an example of radically improving UX to meet industry expectations; critics say GIMP has not had a similar “epiphany.”
  • Some see GIMP’s culture as resistant to UX change and dismissive (“patches welcome”), others note an active UX tracker and recent UX-driven changes that sometimes upset existing users.
  • Krita is viewed by many as a more intuitive FOSS alternative, though some stress it targets digital painting more than general image editing.
  • The name “GIMP” is contentious: some find it clever, others consider it offensive or embarrassing, calling it self-sabotaging.