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GIMP

Introduction to GIMP​

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation, image composition, and retouching. It is one of the most widely used graphic tools on Linux systems, providing support for multi-layer compositions, color correction, advanced masking, and an extensive collection of filters and transformations.

GIMP supports a broad variety of file formats, including standard formats (JPEG, PNG, TIFF) as well as scientific and geospatial image exports. It also offers powerful automation and batch processing capabilities through Python-Fu and Script-Fu scripting. For more details, visit the official GIMP documentation.

Using GIMP with Modules​

To use GIMP on the terrabyte HPC system, load the GIMP module with the following command:

module load gimp

Once loaded, you can start GIMP by typing:

gimp

Starting GIMP Graphically​

GIMP can also be started graphically via the remote desktop on the terrabyte portal. To do this:

  1. Log in to the terrabyte portal.
  2. Open the remote desktop environment.
  3. GIMP is available from the App-Menu under Terrabyte Modules (or can be launched from the terminal with module load gimp; gimp).

Usage Examples​

Example 1: Open an Image​

To open an image in GIMP from the terminal:

gimp figure.png

Example 2: Multi-layer Image Composition​

Create multi-layer graphics, overlays, and annotations for publications, reports, or scientific presentations using the Layers dialog and blending modes.

Example 3: Non-GUI / Batch Image Processing​

GIMP can be run in batch mode without launching the graphical user interface (gimp -i -b ...) to automate tasks such as resizing, format conversion, or color adjustments.

gimp -i -b '(batch-resize "*.png" 1920 1080)' -b '(gimp-quit 0)'

For additional usage instructions and configuration details, refer to the GIMP documentation.