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what is paint.software fr?

univers4craft/paint.software — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

9C++Audience · generalComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

tl;dr

A free, open source image editor for Linux that mirrors Paint.NET's layer-based workflow, with dozens of effects, adjustments, and a plugin system.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((paint.software))
    What it does
      Paint.NET style editor
      Layers and blend modes
      Native Linux app
    Tech stack
      C++17
      Qt6
      CMake
    Features
      30 plus effects
      Adjustments panel
      Plugin system
    Install options
      APT repository
      AppImage
      Flatpak
      Build from source
    Use cases
      Photo editing
      Effect plugin dev
      Linux Paint.NET alternative

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Edit photos and images on Linux with a familiar Paint.NET-style layer-based workflow.

VIBE 2

Apply and preview effects like blurs, sharpening, and edge detection before committing to them.

VIBE 3

Write a custom effect plugin that appears alongside the built-in effects menu.

VIBE 4

Build the editor from source on distributions without prebuilt packages, like Fedora or Arch.

what's the stack?

C++Qt6CMake

how it stacks up fr

univers4craft/paint.softwarekhenderson20/clearcoremeerzulee/generalsxweb
Stars999
LanguageC++C++C++
Setup difficultyeasymoderatehard
Complexity2/54/55/5
Audiencegeneraldeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · easy time til it works · 5min

Requires Qt 6.4 or newer for the packaged installers, older distributions like Ubuntu 22.04 need to build from source instead.

MIT licensed: free to use, modify, and redistribute, including commercially, as long as the copyright notice is kept.

in plain english

paint.software is a free, open source image editor for Linux built to look and feel like Paint.NET, a popular Windows image editing program. It aims to give Linux users a familiar, lightweight alternative with layers, blend modes, selections, effects, and adjustments, without needing to run Windows software through a compatibility layer or a virtual machine. The editor includes layers with opacity and blend modes, a native file format that saves your full layer stack alongside the ability to export flat images as PNG or JPEG, a text tool with bold, italic, and underline options, and a standard set of drawing tools like a paintbrush, pencil, eraser, paint bucket, gradient tool, shape tools, a clone stamp, a color picker, and selection tools including a magic wand and lasso. It also offers a long list of adjustments such as brightness and contrast, hue and saturation, levels, and curves, along with more than thirty visual effects like blurs, sharpening, edge detection, and an oil paint style effect, each with a live preview so you can see the result before applying it. A plugin system lets developers add their own effects that show up in the same menu as the built-in ones, and a sample plugin ships with the program to show how that works. The interface is available in English and French, with light and dark themes, and it supports multiple open documents at once alongside rulers and an effectively unlimited canvas size. Installation options include a signed APT repository and downloadable .deb package for Debian-based systems like Ubuntu and Linux Mint, a portable AppImage that runs on any distribution without installation, a Flatpak package, or building it yourself from source using a C++17 compiler, CMake, and the Qt6 toolkit. The project is released under the MIT license and describes itself as an independent community project with no official connection to Paint.NET or its creators.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Show me the exact commands to install paint.software on Ubuntu using the signed APT repository.
prompt 2
Help me build paint.software from source on Fedora, including the required Qt6 development packages.
prompt 3
Explain how the plugin system works so I can write my own effect plugin like the included sample.
prompt 4
Walk me through the difference between the native .psw format and exporting a flat PNG in this editor.

Frequently asked questions

what is paint.software fr?

A free, open source image editor for Linux that mirrors Paint.NET's layer-based workflow, with dozens of effects, adjustments, and a plugin system.

What language is paint.software written in?

Mainly C++. The stack also includes C++, Qt6, CMake.

What license does paint.software use?

MIT licensed: free to use, modify, and redistribute, including commercially, as long as the copyright notice is kept.

How hard is paint.software to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is paint.software for?

Mainly general.

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