pinta

Start Pinta

$ pinta

$ pinta [path/to/image1 path/to/image2 ...]

pinta [OPTIONS] [FILE...]

-h, --help
    Displays a help message with command-line options and exits.

-v, --version
    Shows the Pinta application version information and exits.

--new
    Launches Pinta and creates a new, blank image document.

--open FILE
    Opens the specified image FILE in Pinta. This is the default action if a file path is provided without this option.

Pinta is a free, open-source drawing and image editing program for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Inspired by Paint.NET, it aims to provide a powerful yet intuitive interface for various image manipulation tasks. Key features include support for image layers, a wide range of adjustment tools (brightness, contrast, hues), over 35 effects, and a history window to easily undo or redo changes. Pinta is designed to be accessible for casual users while still offering capabilities for more advanced editing, making it a popular choice for quick edits, basic drawing, and photo retouching.

Pinta is primarily a graphical user interface (GUI) application. Its command-line options are limited to launching the application, opening specific files, or displaying basic information. Extensive image manipulation is performed interactively within the GUI, not via command-line arguments. It relies on the Mono framework for execution.

While Pinta can be launched from the command line, its full functionality for drawing, editing, and applying effects is exclusively available through its interactive graphical user interface. Users primarily interact with Pinta through its toolbars, menus, and canvas, rather than through command-line arguments.

A core feature of Pinta is its support for image layers, allowing users to organize different elements of an image independently. This enables non-destructive editing and complex compositions, a capability often found in more advanced image manipulation software.

Pinta was originally created by Jonathan Pobst in 2010 as an open-source alternative inspired by the popular Windows application Paint.NET, which lacked a native Linux version. The goal was to provide a simple, powerful, and cross-platform image editor. It is written in C# and utilizes the GTK toolkit, running on the Mono framework. Over the years, it has gained a steady following for its ease of use and essential features.

GIMP(1), Krita(1), KolourPaint(1)