The Long-Awaited GIMP 3.0 Closing In On Its First Release Candidate

The long-in-development GIMP 3.0 open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop hopes to ship its release candidate in the near future.

GIMP 3.0 continues trekking behind schedule. After failing to make their previously expressed May target and then there was hope for a June release, we're now into October and without any release candidate yet.

The GIMP blog put out an update today that work is still ongoing toward GIMP 3.0. The string freeze is in place and the RC1 release is running late in part due to GIMP developers falling ill after this year's Libre Graphics Meeting conference.

They are now 96% complete for GIMP 3.0 RC1 with just 11 issues remaining. They hope to release GIMP 3.0 RC1 soon.

GIMP developers have been finalizing the v3.0 API, adapting plug-ins for the latest API, continued color space work, and more updates on non-destructive editing. There's also been work on Darktable integration, build process improvements, and better documentation.

Those wanting to learn more can see the GIMP.org development update for the latest details as they close in on the GIMP 3.0 release candidate.