How to Install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04

Introduction

Before we begin talking about how to install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04, let's briefly understand – What is RawTherapee?

RawTherapee is a powerful open-source software designed for photo editing and processing. It offers advanced tools to enhance and optimize raw images, providing professional-level results. With its user-friendly interface, photographers can easily adjust variables such as exposure, color, and sharpness, while maintaining the highest image quality.

RawTherapee supports various file formats and provides a non-destructive workflow, allowing users to experiment and fine-tune their images. Whether you're a novice or a pro, RawTherapee helps you bring your photos to life with precision and creativity.

In this tutorial, you will install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04. We will also address a few FAQs on how to install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04.

Advantages of RawTherapee

  1. Powerful editing features: RawTherapee offers advanced tools for exposure, color, and sharpness adjustments, giving photographers the ability to enhance their images with precision.
  2. High image quality: The software maintains the highest image quality and preserves fine details, ensuring professional-grade results.
  3. Non-destructive editing: RawTherapee allows users to experiment and fine-tune their images without irreversible changes, providing a flexible and risk-free workflow.
  4. Wide file format support: It supports various raw file formats, including popular camera models, giving photographers the freedom to work with their preferred equipment.
  5. Open-source and free: RawTherapee is available at no cost, making it accessible to all photographers, whether amateurs or professionals, without any financial burden.

Install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04 via APT

Step 1: Update Your Ubuntu System Before RawTherapee Installation

Make sure your Ubuntu operating system is up-to-date in order to provide a stable and conflict-free environment for your new software. To accomplish this, make sure your local package index is up-to-date with the most recent repository changes by using the apt update command.

sudo apt update

Furthermore, it is advisable to use the apt upgrade command. This command ensures that the software on your system is up-to-date by installing the most recent versions. It is advised to execute these two commands simultaneously, as indicated below:

sudo apt upgrade

By doing this, you're preparing your Ubuntu system to accept the new installation without any problems, which will help RawTherapee install more easily.

Step 2: Install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04 APT Command

There are several ways to install RawTherapee on Ubuntu, one of which is through the terminal and the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT). We can communicate with Ubuntu's package management system by using this command-line tool. On computers that resemble Unix, it makes software management easier.

Now let's use the apt install command to install RawTherapee as demonstrated:

sudo apt install rawtherapee

Upon executing this command, the Ubuntu system's terminal will engage with the repositories to obtain the RawTherapee software package and install it.

Install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04 via Flatpak and Flathub

Users can run apps in isolation from the rest of the system in a sandbox environment with Flatpak, an open-source technology. The advantages of this installation method—security, compatibility, and ease of distribution—are making it more and more popular. Without changing the application code, it enables programs to run on any Linux distribution that supports Flatpak.

Step 1: Enabling Flathub for RawThereapee on Ubuntu

We need to enable Flathub before we can use Flatpak to install RawTherapee. Essentially a repository for Flatpak applications, Flathub is a third-party application store. Users looking to maximize the advantages of Flatpak installations will find Flathub to be an invaluable resource due to its vast array of applications.

We must include Flathub in our Flatpak configuration in order to enable it. To accomplish this, type the following command into the terminal:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

The --if-not-exists part of this command indicates that it is checking to see if Flathub is already configured in your Flatpak setup. In the absence of that, Flathub is added as a remote source for Flatpak apps.

Step 2: Install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04 via Flatpak Command

You can install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04 after Flathub is enabled, and your system is prepared to download apps from it. To accomplish this, run the flatpak install command. Using this command, you can install the RawTherapee application on your computer by fetching it from the Flathub repository. Execute the subsequent command within your terminal:

flatpak install flathub com.rawtherapee.RawTherapee -y

By using this command, you can download and install the most recent version of the RawTherapee application from Flathub in addition to installing the application itself. You can enjoy a seamless installation process as Flatpak manages all of the application's dependencies.

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Install Flatpak if it isn't already installed on your system.

Launching RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04

Let's open RawTherapee now that it has been successfully installed on your Ubuntu system. Depending on whether you used APT or Flatpak to install the application, there are two ways to accomplish this. Both approaches are simple to use and will quickly get RawTherapee up and running.

Launching RawTherapee from the Terminal on Ubuntu

You can use the following command to start RawTherapee in your terminal if you installed it using the APT method:

rawtherapee

There is a slight difference in the command for those who installed RawTherapee using Flatpak. Use the flatpak run command to open apps that have been installed using the Flatpak installer. The command to launch RawTherapee is as follows:

flatpak run com.rawtherapee.RawTherapee

Launching RawTherapee from the Ubuntu Desktop

For those who would rather take a more visual approach, you can launch RawTherapee straight from your Ubuntu desktop environment. There are no command line instructions needed for this. This is how you do it:

  1. On your screen, click the 'Activities' button in the upper left corner.
  2. Select 'Show Applications' located at the base of the displayed sidebar.
  3. To locate 'RawTherapee', either use the search function or browse through the installed applications.
  4. To open the application, click the RawTherapee icon.

Tips on Getting Started with RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04

It can be a little intimidating to navigate a new software program, especially one with as many features as RawTherapee. Here are some tips to help you familiarize yourself with the program, streamline your tasks, and take full advantage of its potent features.

Familiarizing Yourself with the User Interface on RawTherapee with Ubuntu

Understanding Rawtherapee's interface layout as a beginner is a great place to start:

  • File Browser Panel: This panel, which is on the left, aids in directory navigation on your computer, allowing you to find and pick out images for processing.
  • Image Editor Panel: Located on the right, this panel contains a number of modules (exposed, color, detail, transform, and raw) that allow you to modify a number of the chosen image's parameters.
  • Queue: Here, your processed photos are kept while they undergo batch processing. You can get to it by using the tab located on the right side.
  • History: It captures every alteration made to an image. It's useful for comparing edits and, if needed, undoing them.

Optimizing RawTherapee Settings with Ubuntu

Your editing experience can be greatly improved by adjusting RawTherapee's settings to fit your workflow. Here are some choices:

  • Dark Theme: To switch to a darker UI, go to 'Preferences > General > Theme' and choose the dark theme. This is more aesthetically pleasing, particularly for extended editing sessions.
  • Auto-Save Edits: Go to 'Preferences > Image Processing > Auto-Save' to activate auto-save so you never lose your work. Every few minutes, RawTherapee will save your current image's progress thanks to this feature.
  • Custom Keyboard Shortcuts: Navigate to 'Preferences > Keyboard/Mouse' to modify keyboard shortcuts to fit your workflow. Your editing process can go much more quickly as a result.

Useful Tips for Image Editing on RawTherapee with Ubuntu

To help you get started with image editing in RawTherapee, here are some general pointers:

  • Using Profiles: There are multiple integrated editing profiles in RawTherapee. These are presets that alter your image with a predetermined set of adjustments. They are located in the Image Editor panel's 'Processing Profiles' section.
  • Non-destructive Editing: Using non-destructive editing, RawTherapee preserves the original image file while saving each modification you make to it separately. You can now experiment without worrying that your original image will be irreversibly altered.
  • Batch Processing: The batch processing feature of RawTherapee saves time when applying the same adjustments to a group of images. After making any necessary adjustments to one image, copy the processing profile and paste it to the other images in the queue.

Managing RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04

It takes more than just installing software like RawTherapee; you also need to know how to keep it updated and know when to remove it from your Ubuntu Linux system. Let's examine these behaviors and the corresponding commands that make them possible.

Update RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04

After installing RawTherapee, you can guarantee that you'll have access to the newest features and bug fixes by keeping it updated. The way you install RawTherapee will determine how to update it.

APT Update Command Method for RawTherapee on Ubuntu

The following terminal command can be used to update RawTherapee and other system packages if you installed it using the APT package manager:

sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt upgrade

To make sure it references the most recent versions of every package, this command will first update the repository index on your machine. The second portion of the command updates all of the installed packages to the most recent versions, including RawTherapee.

Flatpak Update Command Method for RawTherapee on Ubuntu

You can update RawTherapee if it was installed using Flatpak by typing the following command into your terminal:

flatpak update

This command applies any updates found in your Flatpak repositories after checking them. It includes RawTherapee and all of your Flatpak applications.

Remove RawTherapee from Ubuntu 22.04

You might eventually find that RawTherapee is not necessary for your system. If that's the case, you can remove it. Once more, the precise procedure is determined by how you originally installed the software.

APT Remove Command Method for RawTherapee on Ubuntu

You can use the following command to uninstall RawTherapee if you installed it using the APT package manager:

sudo apt remove rawtherapee

With this command, you can uninstall RawTherapee and get rid of any installed dependencies that aren't needed.

Flatpak Remove Command Method for RawTherapee on Ubuntu

The following is the uninstallation command for those who installed RawTherapee using Flatpak:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data com.rawtherapee.RawTherapee -y

This command erases all application-related data in addition to uninstalling RawTherapee.

The -y flag is used in both scenarios to automatically respond "yes" to all prompts, enabling the operations to proceed without human input.

FAQs to install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04

Is RawTherapee available in the Ubuntu software repository? 

Yes, RawTherapee is included in the official Ubuntu software repository, making it easy to install.

Can I install RawTherapee on other Ubuntu versions? 

Yes, RawTherapee is compatible with various Ubuntu versions, including 22.04.

Are there any additional requirements to install RawTherapee? 

No, the installation process handles all necessary dependencies, so no additional requirements are needed.

Can I update RawTherapee once installed? 

Yes, periodic system updates will also update RawTherapee to the latest version available in the repository.

Does RawTherapee require a powerful system to run on Ubuntu? 

RawTherapee can run on most computer systems. However, a higher-end system may provide better performance for faster image processing.

Is RawTherapee compatible with other Linux distributions? 

Yes, RawTherapee can be installed on various Linux distributions using their respective package managers.

Can I install RawTherapee alongside other photo editing software? 

Yes, RawTherapee works well alongside other photo editing software without conflicts.

Conclusion

We hope this tutorial helped you understand how to install RawTherapee on Ubuntu 22.04.

If you have any queries, please leave a comment below, and we’ll be happy to respond to them for sure.