Install GIMP 3.0.4 on Debian 13

This guide walks through building and installing GIMP 3.0.4 from source on Debian 13 (Trixie) using a clean prefix install at $HOME/gimp-install.

Prerequisites

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \
  build-essential \
  meson \
  ninja-build \
  gettext \
  git \
  pkg-config \
  libtool \
  cmake \
  bison \
  flex \
  python3 \
  python3-pip \
  libgirepository1.0-dev \
  gobject-introspection \
  libjson-glib-dev \
  libgtk-3-dev \
  libgegl-dev \
  libbabl-dev \
  libgdk-pixbuf2.0-dev \
  libglib2.0-dev \
  libgexiv2-dev \
  liblcms2-dev \
  libpoppler-glib-dev \
  libxmu-dev \
  libxext-dev \
  libxfixes-dev \
  libtiff-dev \
  libjpeg-dev \
  libwebp-dev \
  libwebpmux3 \
  libwebpdemux2 \
  libarchive-dev \
  libopenjp2-7-dev \
  iso-codes \
  appstream-util \
  glib-compile-resources \
  glib-genmarshal \
  gettext \
  desktop-file-utils

Ensure the following runtime tools are available:

sudo apt install -y \
  appstream \
  appstream-glib \
  xdg-utils \
  dbus-x11

Set Environment Variables

Add these lines to your ~/.bashrc or run in the current shell:

export PATH="$HOME/gimp-install/bin:$PATH"
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$HOME/gimp-install/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH"
export XDG_DATA_DIRS="$HOME/gimp-install/share:$XDG_DATA_DIRS"

Build GEGL (required)

git clone https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gegl.git
cd gegl
git checkout 0.4.63
meson setup _build --prefix=$HOME/gimp-install
ninja -C _build
ninja -C _build install

Build GIMP 3.0.4

git clone https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp.git gimp-3.0.4
cd gimp-3.0.4
git checkout 3.0.4
meson setup --wipe _build \
  --prefix=$HOME/gimp-install \
  --buildtype=release \
  --pkg-config-path=$HOME/gimp-install/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pkgconfig
ninja -C _build
ninja -C _build install

Launch GIMP

$HOME/gimp-install/bin/gimp-3.0

You may want to symlink it:

ln -s $HOME/gimp-install/bin/gimp-3.0 ~/bin/gimp3

Notes

If the build fails at the introspection phase (.gir files), ensure GEGL and its GIR files are correctly installed to $XDG_DATA_DIRS.
Optional plug-ins and formats (e.g., JPEG-XL, OpenEXR) require additional libraries and development packages.
GIMP plug-ins should be placed in: ~/.config/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins/

Optional: Verify Plugins Directory

ls ~/.config/GIMP/3.0/plug-ins/

Troubleshooting

If a Gegl-0.4.gir or similar include cannot be found, verify it was installed under gimp-install/share/gir-1.0/
Use meson configure _build to inspect and adjust options
Build logs are in _build/meson-logs/