GIMP 3.2 RC1 – Vector Power, Better Text, and a Polished UI

en / graphics / gimp — 2025-11-17 00:00:00

On 17 November 2025 the GIMP team announced GIMP 3.2 RC1, the first release candidate on the road to GIMP 3.2
It’s still a development snapshot, but the feature set already gives a very clear picture of what the final 3.2 release will look like.

This post is my personal summary of the highlights and why they matter if you use GIMP for illustration, photo editing or design.

A fresh face: new splash screen

GIMP 3.2 RC1 ships with a new splash screen created by astronomer Mark McCaughrean. It shows the Orion Nebula in infrared, processed with the James Webb Space Telescope data — of course in GIMP. It’s a nice symbolic start: GIMP 3.2 is about polishing the modern 3.x series and pushing it a bit further into “deep space”.

Proper SVG export and vector layer workflow

One of the big complaints in the past: exporting true vector graphics from GIMP was painful.

GIMP 3.2 RC1 changes that in a big way:

  • Vector layers can now be exported as real SVG vectors, not just baked bitmaps.
  • Raster layers can be embedded in the SVG as PNG or JPEG, so you can mix vector and bitmap content in one export.
  • The PDF plug-in also exports vector layers as actual vectors.
  • The new rasterize workflow lets you move between “rasterized” and “revert rasterize” states more easily for text, link and vector layers.

If you create logos, UI assets or diagrams in GIMP, this makes it much more usable as a vector-friendly tool.

Text editing and on-canvas improvements

3.2 RC1 continues the work that started in GIMP 3.x on the text tools:​

  • Better text editor integration, with more flexible on-canvas editing.
  • You can move the on-canvas editor around, which helps on small screens or complex layouts.
  • The new link and vector layers play nicer with text, so mixed documents are easier to manage.

It’s still not a full DTP system (and it doesn’t want to be), but for posters, thumbnails and web graphics the workflow becomes smoother.

Non-destructive filters and UX / UI polish

GIMP 3.0 introduced a more modern, non-destructive filter framework. In 3.2 RC1 that area gets further love:​

  • More improvements to non-destructive filters, especially how they interact with link/vector layers and groups.
  • Various UX tweaks: better behaviour of docks and panels, clearer icons, and small quality-of-life fixes.
  • A new dark mode option in the Windows installer, so even the installation experience feels more consistent with modern desktops. These are the kind of changes that don’t look dramatic in screenshots, but you feel them in daily use.

Plug-ins, file formats and compression

File format support is also getting broader and cleaner in this RC:​

  • Native import of PVR textures (PowerVR), interesting for game and mobile developers.
  • Better handling of ZIP compression in plug-ins.
  • SVG and PDF plug-ins updated to support the new vector-layer export.
  • More work on robustness and security in plug-ins and core.

The GIMP team clearly wants 3.2 to be a solid base for people who move images between many different tools.

API updates for plug-in developers

If you write plug-ins, 3.2 RC1 is also good news.

GIMP 3.0 introduced auto-generated GUIs for plug-ins based on the procedure’s parameters. GIMP 3.2 extends that with new GimpImage and GimpItem widgets for GimpProcedureDialog.

In practice this means:

  • You can easily let the user pick an image or item in a consistent way.
  • You write less custom UI boilerplate and can focus on the actual processing logic.
  • Plug-ins will look and feel more native, even when written by third parties.

Release candidate, not final: how to test

Important reminder from the GIMP team: RC1 is not the final 3.2.0 release. It’s meant for testing and feedback. If you hit crashes or weird behaviour, report them — that’s the whole point of this phase. You can grab the development builds here:​

  • AppImage builds for Linux (x86_64 and ARM64),
  • development builds for Windows and macOS,
  • downloads are listed on the official “development versions” page.

Why this matters (for me)

For me, GIMP 3.2 RC1 shows three important trends:

  1. GIMP is taking vectors more seriously – you still won’t replace Inkscape for pure vector work, but hybrid documents are much better supported.
  2. The 3.x series is maturing – less “big bang features”, more stability, polish and developer APIs.
  3. The project is alive and moving – 3.2 RC1 arrives not long after 3.0, exactly as the team hoped.

I’ll definitely be testing this RC in my own workflow (graphics, blog banners, screenshots) and keeping an eye on how the final 3.2 release shapes up.

Have you tried GIMP 3.2 RC1 yet? If you notice any interesting behaviour or killer features I missed here, let me know — I’m curious how it behaves on different systems and use-cases.