1GIMPRC(5) File Formats Manual GIMPRC(5)
3
7 gimprc - gimp configuration file
8
10 The gimprc file is a configuration file read by GIMP when it starts up.
11 There are two of these: one system-wide one stored in
12 /etc/gimp/2.0/gimprc and a per-user $HOME/.gimp-2.8/gimprc which may
13 override system settings.
14 Comments are introduced by a hash sign (#), and continue until the end
16 of the line. Blank lines are ignored.
17 The gimprc file associates values with properties. These properties
19 may be set by lisp-like assignments of the form:
20 (property-name value)
22 where:
24 property-name
26 is one of the property names described below.
27 value is the value the property is to be set to.
29 Either spaces or tabs may be used to separate the name from the value.
31
33 Valid properties and their default values are:
34 (temp-path "${gimp_dir}/tmp")
37 Sets the folder for temporary storage. Files will appear here
39 during the course of running GIMP. Most files will disappear
40 when GIMP exits, but some files are likely to remain, so it is
41 best if this folder not be one that is shared by other users.
42 This is a single folder.
43 (swap-path "${gimp_dir}")
46 Sets the swap file location. GIMP uses a tile based memory allo‐
48 cation scheme. The swap file is used to quickly and easily swap
49 tiles out to disk and back in. Be aware that the swap file can
50 easily get very large if GIMP is used with large images. Also,
51 things can get horribly slow if the swap file is created on a
52 folder that is mounted over NFS. For these reasons, it may be
53 desirable to put your swap file in "/tmp". This is a single
54 folder.
55 (num-processors 1)
58 Sets how many processors GIMP should try to use simultaneously.
60 This is an integer value.
61 (tile-cache-size 1421926k)
64 When the amount of pixel data exceeds this limit, GIMP will
66 start to swap tiles to disk. This is a lot slower but it makes
67 it possible to work on images that wouldn't fit into memory oth‐
68 erwise. If you have a lot of RAM, you may want to set this to a
69 higher value. The integer size can contain a suffix of 'B',
70 'K', 'M' or 'G' which makes GIMP interpret the size as being
71 specified in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no
72 suffix is specified the size defaults to being specified in
73 kilobytes.
74 Specifies the language to use for the user interface. This is a string
78 value.
79 (interpolation-type cubic)
82 Sets the level of interpolation used for scaling and other
84 transformations. Possible values are none, linear, cubic and
85 lanczos.
86 (default-threshold 15)
89 Tools such as fuzzy-select and bucket fill find regions based on
91 a seed-fill algorithm. The seed fill starts at the initially
92 selected pixel and progresses in all directions until the dif‐
93 ference of pixel intensity from the original is greater than a
94 specified threshold. This value represents the default thresh‐
95 old. This is an integer value.
96 (plug-in-path "${gimp_dir}/plug-ins:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/plug-ins")
99 Sets the plug-in search path. This is a colon-separated list of
101 folders to search.
102 (module-path "${gimp_dir}/modules:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/modules")
105 Sets the module search path. This is a colon-separated list of
107 folders to search.
108 (interpreter-path "${gimp_dir}/interpreters:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/inter‐
111 preters")
112 Sets the interpreter search path. This is a colon-separated
114 list of folders to search.
115 (environ-path "${gimp_dir}/environ:${gimp_plug_in_dir}/environ")
118 Sets the environ search path. This is a colon-separated list of
120 folders to search.
121 (brush-path "${gimp_dir}/brushes:${gimp_data_dir}/brushes")
124 Sets the brush search path. This is a colon-separated list of
126 folders to search.
127 (brush-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/brushes")
130 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
132 (dynamics-path "${gimp_dir}/dynamics:${gimp_data_dir}/dynamics")
135 Sets the dynamics search path. This is a colon-separated list
137 of folders to search.
138 (dynamics-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/dynamics")
141 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
143 (pattern-path "${gimp_dir}/patterns:${gimp_data_dir}/patterns")
146 Sets the pattern search path. This is a colon-separated list of
148 folders to search.
149 (pattern-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/patterns")
152 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
154 (palette-path "${gimp_dir}/palettes:${gimp_data_dir}/palettes")
157 Sets the palette search path. This is a colon-separated list of
159 folders to search.
160 (palette-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/palettes")
163 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
165 (gradient-path "${gimp_dir}/gradients:${gimp_data_dir}/gradients")
168 Sets the gradient search path. This is a colon-separated list
170 of folders to search.
171 (gradient-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/gradients")
174 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
176 (tool-preset-path "${gimp_dir}/tool-presets:${gimp_data_dir}/tool-pre‐
179 sets")
180 Sets the dynamics search path. This is a colon-separated list
182 of folders to search.
183 (tool-preset-path-writable "${gimp_dir}/tool-presets")
186 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
188 (font-path "${gimp_dir}/fonts:${gimp_data_dir}/fonts")
191 Where to look for fonts in addition to the system-wide installed
193 fonts. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
194 (default-brush "Round Fuzzy")
197 Specify a default brush. The brush is searched for in the spec‐
199 ified brush path. This is a string value.
200 (default-dynamics "Dynamics Off")
203 Specify a default dynamics. The dynamics is searched for in the
205 specified dynamics path. This is a string value.
206 (default-pattern "Pine")
209 Specify a default pattern. This is a string value.
211 (default-palette "Default")
214 Specify a default palette. This is a string value.
216 (default-gradient "FG to BG (RGB)")
219 Specify a default gradient. This is a string value.
221 (default-tool-preset "Current Options")
224 Specify a default tool preset. The tool preset is searched for
226 in the specified tool prests path. This is a string value.
227 (default-font "Sans")
230 Specify a default font. This is a string value.
232 (global-brush yes)
235 When enabled, the selected brush will be used for all tools.
237 Possible values are yes and no.
238 (global-dynamics yes)
241 When enabled, the selected dynamics will be used for all tools.
243 Possible values are yes and no.
244 (global-pattern yes)
247 When enabled, the selected pattern will be used for all tools.
249 Possible values are yes and no.
250 (global-palette yes)
253 When enabled, the selected palette will be used for all tools.
255 Possible values are yes and no.
256 (global-gradient yes)
259 When enabled, the selected gradient will be used for all tools.
261 Possible values are yes and no.
262 (global-font yes)
265 When enabled, the selected font will be used for all tools.
267 Possible values are yes and no.
268 (default-image
271 (width 640)
272 (height 400)
273 (unit pixels)
274 (xresolution 72.000000)
275 (yresolution 72.000000)
276 (resolution-unit inches)
277 (image-type rgb)
278 (fill-type background-fill)
279 (comment "Created with GIMP"))
280 Sets the default image in the "File/New" dialog. This is a
282 parameter list.
283 (default-grid
286 (style solid)
287 (fgcolor (color-rgba 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000))
288 (bgcolor (color-rgba 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000))
289 (xspacing 10.000000)
290 (yspacing 10.000000)
291 (spacing-unit inches)
292 (xoffset 0.000000)
293 (yoffset 0.000000)
294 (offset-unit inches))
295 Specify a default image grid. This is a parameter list.
297 (undo-levels 5)
300 Sets the minimal number of operations that can be undone. More
302 undo levels are kept available until the undo-size limit is
303 reached. This is an integer value.
304 (undo-size 64M)
307 Sets an upper limit to the memory that is used per image to keep
309 operations on the undo stack. Regardless of this setting, at
310 least as many undo-levels as configured can be undone. The
311 integer size can contain a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G' which
312 makes GIMP interpret the size as being specified in bytes, kilo‐
313 bytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no suffix is specified the
314 size defaults to being specified in kilobytes.
315 (undo-preview-size large)
318 Sets the size of the previews in the Undo History. Possible
320 values are tiny, extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large,
321 huge, enormous and gigantic.
322 (plug-in-history-size 10)
325 How many recently used plug-ins to keep on the Filters menu.
327 This is an integer value.
328 (pluginrc-path "${gimp_dir}/pluginrc")
331 Sets the pluginrc search path. This is a single filename.
333 (layer-previews yes)
336 Sets whether GIMP should create previews of layers and channels.
338 Previews in the layers and channels dialog are nice to have but
339 they can slow things down when working with large images. Pos‐
340 sible values are yes and no.
341 (layer-preview-size medium)
344 Sets the preview size used for layers and channel previews in
346 newly created dialogs. Possible values are tiny, extra-small,
347 small, medium, large, extra-large, huge, enormous and gigantic.
348 (thumbnail-size normal)
351 Sets the size of the thumbnail shown in the Open dialog. Possi‐
353 ble values are none, normal and large.
354 (thumbnail-filesize-limit 4M)
357 The thumbnail in the Open dialog will be automatically updated
359 if the file being previewed is smaller than the size set here.
360 The integer size can contain a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G'
361 which makes GIMP interpret the size as being specified in bytes,
362 kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no suffix is specified the
363 size defaults to being specified in kilobytes.
364 (color-management
367 (mode display)
368 (display-profile-from-gdk no)
369 (display-rendering-intent perceptual)
370 (simulation-rendering-intent perceptual)
371 (simulation-gamut-check no)
372 (out-of-gamut-color (color-rgb 0.501961 0.501961 0.501961))
373 (display-module "CdisplayLcms"))
374 Defines the color management behavior. This is a parameter
376 list.
377 (color-profile-policy ask)
380 How to handle embedded color profiles when opening a file. Pos‐
382 sible values are ask, keep and convert.
383 (save-document-history yes)
386 Keep a permanent record of all opened and saved files in the
388 Recent Documents list. Possible values are yes and no.
389 (quick-mask-color (color-rgba 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.500000))
392 Sets the default quick mask color. The color is specified in
394 the form (color-rgba red green blue alpha) with channel values
395 as floats in the range of 0.0 to 1.0.
396 (transparency-size medium-checks)
399 Sets the size of the checkerboard used to display transparency.
401 Possible values are small-checks, medium-checks and large-
402 checks.
403 (transparency-type gray-checks)
406 Sets the manner in which transparency is displayed in images.
408 Possible values are light-checks, gray-checks, dark-checks,
409 white-only, gray-only and black-only.
410 (snap-distance 8)
413 This is the distance in pixels where Guide and Grid snapping
415 activates. This is an integer value.
416 (marching-ants-speed 200)
419 Speed of marching ants in the selection outline. This value is
421 in milliseconds (less time indicates faster marching). This is
422 an integer value.
423 (resize-windows-on-zoom no)
426 When enabled, the image window will automatically resize itself
428 when zooming into and out of images. Possible values are yes
429 and no.
430 (resize-windows-on-resize no)
433 When enabled, the image window will automatically resize itself
435 whenever the physical image size changes. Possible values are
436 yes and no.
437 (default-dot-for-dot yes)
440 When enabled, this will ensure that each pixel of an image gets
442 mapped to a pixel on the screen. Possible values are yes and
443 no.
444 (initial-zoom-to-fit yes)
447 When enabled, this will ensure that the full image is visible
449 after a file is opened, otherwise it will be displayed with a
450 scale of 1:1. Possible values are yes and no.
451 (perfect-mouse yes)
454 When enabled, the X server is queried for the mouse's current
456 position on each motion event, rather than relying on the posi‐
457 tion hint. This means painting with large brushes should be
458 more accurate, but it may be slower. Conversely, on some X
459 servers enabling this option results in faster painting. Possi‐
460 ble values are yes and no.
461 (cursor-mode tool-icon)
464 Sets the type of mouse pointers to use. Possible values are
466 tool-icon, tool-crosshair and crosshair.
467 (cursor-updating yes)
470 Context-dependent mouse pointers are helpful. They are enabled
472 by default. However, they require overhead that you may want to
473 do without. Possible values are yes and no.
474 (show-brush-outline yes)
477 When enabled, all paint tools will show a preview of the current
479 brush's outline. Possible values are yes and no.
480 (show-paint-tool-cursor yes)
483 When enabled, the mouse pointer will be shown over the image
485 while using a paint tool. Possible values are yes and no.
486 (image-title-format "%D*%f-%p.%i (%t, %L) %wx%h")
489 Sets the text to appear in image window titles. This is a for‐
491 mat string; certain % character sequences are recognised and
492 expanded as follows:
493 %% literal percent sign
495 %f bare filename, or "Untitled"
496 %F full path to file, or "Untitled"
497 %p PDB image id
498 %i view instance number
499 %t image type (RGB, grayscale, indexed)
500 %z zoom factor as a percentage
501 %s source scale factor
502 %d destination scale factor
503 %Dx expands to x if the image is dirty, the empty string other‐
504 wise
505 %Cx expands to x if the image is clean, the empty string other‐
506 wise
507 %B expands to (modified) if the image is dirty, the empty
508 string otherwise
509 %A expands to (clean) if the image is clean, the empty string
510 otherwise
511 %l the number of layers
512 %L the number of layers (long form)
513 %m memory used by the image
514 %n the name of the active layer/channel
515 %P the PDB id of the active layer/channel
516 %w image width in pixels
517 %W image width in real-world units
518 %h image height in pixels
519 %H image height in real-world units
520 %M the image size expressed in megapixels
521 %u unit symbol
522 %U unit abbreviation
523 (image-status-format "%n (%m)")
527 Sets the text to appear in image window status bars. This is a
529 format string; certain % character sequences are recognised and
530 expanded as follows:
531 %% literal percent sign
533 %f bare filename, or "Untitled"
534 %F full path to file, or "Untitled"
535 %p PDB image id
536 %i view instance number
537 %t image type (RGB, grayscale, indexed)
538 %z zoom factor as a percentage
539 %s source scale factor
540 %d destination scale factor
541 %Dx expands to x if the image is dirty, the empty string other‐
542 wise
543 %Cx expands to x if the image is clean, the empty string other‐
544 wise
545 %B expands to (modified) if the image is dirty, the empty
546 string otherwise
547 %A expands to (clean) if the image is clean, the empty string
548 otherwise
549 %l the number of layers
550 %L the number of layers (long form)
551 %m memory used by the image
552 %n the name of the active layer/channel
553 %P the PDB id of the active layer/channel
554 %w image width in pixels
555 %W image width in real-world units
556 %h image height in pixels
557 %H image height in real-world units
558 %M the image size expressed in megapixels
559 %u unit symbol
560 %U unit abbreviation
561 (monitor-xresolution 96.000000)
565 Sets the monitor's horizontal resolution, in dots per inch. If
567 set to 0, forces the X server to be queried for both horizontal
568 and vertical resolution information. This is a float value.
569 (monitor-yresolution 96.000000)
572 Sets the monitor's vertical resolution, in dots per inch. If
574 set to 0, forces the X server to be queried for both horizontal
575 and vertical resolution information. This is a float value.
576 (monitor-resolution-from-windowing-system yes)
579 When enabled, GIMP will use the monitor resolution from the win‐
581 dowing system. Possible values are yes and no.
582 (navigation-preview-size medium)
585 Sets the size of the navigation preview available in the lower
587 right corner of the image window. Possible values are tiny,
588 extra-small, small, medium, large, extra-large, huge, enormous
589 and gigantic.
590 (default-view
593 (show-menubar yes)
594 (show-statusbar yes)
595 (show-rulers yes)
596 (show-scrollbars yes)
597 (show-selection yes)
598 (show-layer-boundary yes)
599 (show-guides yes)
600 (show-grid no)
601 (show-sample-points yes)
602 (padding-mode default)
603 (padding-color (color-rgb 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000)))
604 Sets the default settings for the image view. This is a parame‐
606 ter list.
607 (default-fullscreen-view
610 (show-menubar yes)
611 (show-statusbar yes)
612 (show-rulers yes)
613 (show-scrollbars yes)
614 (show-selection yes)
615 (show-layer-boundary yes)
616 (show-guides yes)
617 (show-grid no)
618 (show-sample-points yes)
619 (padding-mode default)
620 (padding-color (color-rgb 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000)))
621 Sets the default settings used when an image is viewed in
623 fullscreen mode. This is a parameter list.
624 (default-snap-to-guides yes)
627 Snap to guides by default in new image windows. Possible values
629 are yes and no.
630 (default-snap-to-grid no)
633 Snap to the grid by default in new image windows. Possible val‐
635 ues are yes and no.
636 (default-snap-to-canvas no)
639 Snap to the canvas edge by default in new image windows. Possi‐
641 ble values are yes and no.
642 (default-snap-to-path no)
645 Snap to the active path by default in new image windows. Possi‐
647 ble values are yes and no.
648 (activate-on-focus yes)
651 When enabled, an image will become the active image when its
653 image window receives the focus. This is useful for window man‐
654 agers using "click to focus".
655 Possible values are yes and no.
656 (space-bar-action pan)
659 What to do when the space bar is pressed in the image window.
661 Possible values are none, pan and move.
662 (zoom-quality high)
665 There's a tradeoff between speed and quality of the zoomed-out
667 display. Possible values are low and high.
668 (use-event-history no)
671 Bugs in event history buffer are frequent so in case of cursor
673 offset problems turning it off helps. Possible values are yes
674 and no.
675 (move-tool-changes-active no)
678 If enabled, the move tool sets the edited layer or path as
680 active. This used to be the default behaviour in older ver‐
681 sions. Possible values are yes and no.
682 (image-map-tool-max-recent 10)
685 How many recent settings to keep around in color correction
687 tools This is an integer value.
688 (trust-dirty-flag no)
691 When enabled, GIMP will not save an image if it has not been
693 changed since it was opened. Possible values are yes and no.
694 (save-device-status no)
697 Remember the current tool, pattern, color, and brush across GIMP
699 sessions. Possible values are yes and no.
700 (save-session-info yes)
703 Save the positions and sizes of the main dialogs when GIMP
705 exits. Possible values are yes and no.
706 (restore-session yes)
709 Let GIMP try to restore your last saved session on each startup.
711 Possible values are yes and no.
712 (save-tool-options no)
715 Save the tool options when GIMP exits. Possible values are yes
717 and no.
718 (show-tooltips yes)
721 Show a tooltip when the pointer hovers over an item. Possible
723 values are yes and no.
724 (tearoff-menus yes)
727 When enabled, menus can be torn off. Possible values are yes
729 and no.
730 (can-change-accels no)
733 When enabled, you can change keyboard shortcuts for menu items
735 by hitting a key combination while the menu item is highlighted.
736 Possible values are yes and no.
737 (save-accels yes)
740 Save changed keyboard shortcuts when GIMP exits. Possible val‐
742 ues are yes and no.
743 (restore-accels yes)
746 Restore saved keyboard shortcuts on each GIMP startup. Possible
748 values are yes and no.
749 (last-opened-size 10)
752 How many recently opened image filenames to keep on the File
754 menu. This is an integer value.
755 (max-new-image-size 128M)
758 GIMP will warn the user if an attempt is made to create an image
760 that would take more memory than the size specified here. The
761 integer size can contain a suffix of 'B', 'K', 'M' or 'G' which
762 makes GIMP interpret the size as being specified in bytes, kilo‐
763 bytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If no suffix is specified the
764 size defaults to being specified in kilobytes.
765 (toolbox-color-area yes)
768 Show the current foreground and background colors in the tool‐
770 box. Possible values are yes and no.
771 (toolbox-foo-area no)
774 Show the currently selected brush, pattern and gradient in the
776 toolbox. Possible values are yes and no.
777 (toolbox-image-area no)
780 Show the currently active image in the toolbox. Possible values
782 are yes and no.
783 (toolbox-wilber yes)
786 Show the GIMP mascot at the top of the toolbox. Possible values
788 are yes and no.
789 (theme-path "${gimp_dir}/themes:${gimp_data_dir}/themes")
792 Sets the theme search path. This is a colon-separated list of
794 folders to search.
795 (theme "Default")
798 The name of the theme to use. This is a string value.
800 (use-help yes)
803 When enabled, pressing F1 will open the help browser. Possible
805 values are yes and no.
806 (show-help-button yes)
809 When enabled, dialogs will show a help button that gives access
811 to the related help page. Without this button, the help page
812 can still be reached by pressing F1. Possible values are yes
813 and no.
814 (help-locales "")
817 Specifies the language preferences used by the help system. This
819 is a colon-separated list of language identifiers with decreas‐
820 ing priority. If empty, the language is taken from the user's
821 locale setting. This is a string value.
822 (help-browser gimp)
825 Sets the browser used by the help system. Possible values are
827 gimp and web-browser.
828 (user-manual-online no)
831 When enabled, the online user manual will be used by the help
833 system. Otherwise the locally installed copy is used. Possible
834 values are yes and no.
835 (user-manual-online-uri "http://docs.gimp.org/2.8")
838 The location of the online user manual. This is used if 'user-
840 manual-online' is enabled. This is a string value.
841 (dock-window-hint utility)
844 The window type hint that is set on dock windows and the toolbox
846 window. This may affect the way your window manager decorates
847 and handles these windows. Possible values are normal, utility
848 and keep-above.
849 (cursor-format pixbuf)
852 Sets the pixel format to use for mouse pointers. Possible val‐
854 ues are bitmap and pixbuf.
855 (cursor-handedness right)
858 Sets the handedness for cursor positioning. Possible values are
860 left and right.
861 (fractalexplorer-path "${gimp_dir}/fractalex‐
864 plorer:${gimp_data_dir}/fractalexplorer")
865 Where to search for fractals used by the Fractal Explorer plug-
867 in. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
868 (gfig-path "${gimp_dir}/gfig:${gimp_data_dir}/gfig")
871 Where to search for Gfig figures used by the Gfig plug-in. This
873 is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
874 (gflare-path "${gimp_dir}/gflare:${gimp_data_dir}/gflare")
877 Where to search for gflares used by the GFlare plug-in. This is
879 a colon-separated list of folders to search.
880 (gimpressionist-path "${gimp_dir}/gimpressionist:${gimp_data_dir}/gim‐
883 pressionist")
884 Where to search for data used by the Gimpressionist plug-in.
886 This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
887 (script-fu-path "${gimp_dir}/scripts:${gimp_data_dir}/scripts")
890 This path will be searched for scripts when the Script-Fu plug-
892 in is run. This is a colon-separated list of folders to search.
893
896 Strings of type PATH are expanded in a manner similar to bash(1).
897 Specifically: tilde (~) is expanded to the user's home directory. Note
898 that the bash feature of being able to refer to other user's home
899 directories by writing ~userid/ is not valid in this file.
900 ${variable} is expanded to the current value of an environment vari‐
902 able. There are a few variables that are pre-defined:
903 gimp_dir
905 The personal gimp directory which is set to the value of the
906 environment variable GIMP2_DIRECTORY or to ~/.gimp-2.8.
907 gimp_data_dir
909 Base for paths to shareable data, which is set to the value of
910 the environment variable GIMP2_DATADIR or to the compiled-in
911 default value /usr/share/gimp/2.0.
912 gimp_plug_in_dir
914 Base to paths for architecture-specific plugins and modules,
915 which is set to the value of the environment variable
916 GIMP2_PLUGINDIR or to the compiled-in default value
917 /usr/lib64/gimp/2.0.
918 gimp_sysconf_dir
920 Path to configuration files, which is set to the value of the
921 environment variable GIMP2_SYSCONFDIR or to the compiled-in
922 default value /etc/gimp/2.0.
923
926 /etc/gimp/2.0/gimprc
927 System-wide configuration file
928 $HOME/.gimp-2.8/gimprc
930 Per-user configuration file
931
934 gimp(1)
935GIMP Manual Pages Version 2.8.22 GIMPRC(5)