How to Install Darktable on Ubuntu 22.04

When it comes to free and open-source software, Darktable is among the best substitutes for Adobe Lightroom in terms of offering comparable features. In this article, we will discuss how to install Darktable on Ubuntu 22.04.

How to Install Darktable on Ubuntu 22.04

Hello, and welcome to our tutorial on setting up and using Darktable version 4. A capable open-source raw photo editor. 

Photographers can manage digital negatives in a database, see the digital negatives through a zoomable light table, develop raw photographs, improve them, and export them to local or remote storage using this virtual lighttable and darkroom. For the management and editing of raw files, a dedicated photographer might use this application.

Darktable announced the arrival of Darktable 4. Darktable is now available with new features that distinguish it as a viable contender for consideration. 

These qualities consist of the following:

Colors:

• To match any source object in the image against any target color, the photographer can specify and save a target color/exposure for the color pickers using this capability. This guarantees consistent color rendering. As a result, white-balance operations can be performed against non-grey objects.
• A new color science called Filmic v6 aims to do away with the necessary desaturation near medium white and black. Gamut mapping versus the output (or export) color space is used to replace this. This will make saturated colors look better. Gamut sanitization features an entirely cleaned color pipeline, starting with input (color calibration), continuing through artistic adjustments (color balancing RGB), and ending with 
• Guided laplacian highlight reconstruction: This module extracts accurate information from a non-clipped RGB channel using an iterative and multi-scale wavelet approach (s). Following the reconstruction of the clipped channels using the retrieved valid information, edge-aware color diffusion is utilized to propagate the color gradients from the extracted valid regions. This technique can only be used with Bayer sensors; X-Trans sensors cannot be converted to use it.
• Introducing the darktable Uniform Color Space 2022—this perceptually uniform color space was created using data from psychoperceptual experiments to account for artistic saturation adjustments made in the RGB color balance module. This improves the RGB color balance saturation control.

Interface:

• The user interface has been redesigned to improve consistency and appearance. For example, collapsible sections inside modules have been included to prevent the UI from becoming cluttered with modules like exposure, channel mixer RGB, and color calibration. Additionally, Elegant Grey has been set as the default theme.
• Changes to performance and OpenCL support include the addition of numerous additional optimizations and simplifying user options. Additionally updated are the demosaic (X-Trans) and retouch modules.
• The mode for suggesting tags has been enhanced.
• The print view’s overlay arrangement has been improved.
• A tabbed module can now be scrolled over to change tabs.

Install Darktable 4 and use it with Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04.

Now, we’ll concentrate on installing Ubuntu 22.04/20.04. To do this, follow to the guidelines below.

Prerequisites

Make sure your system complies with the following standards:

• 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM
• Linux (64 bit)
• Pentium 4 or Core i5 processor running at 2.4 GHz
• SWAP space of 4 to 8GB.
• 250 MB or 1 GB of free storage space
• GPU: Nvidia with 1024 CUDA cores, 4 GB, and support for OpenCL 1.2

Updating Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04

The first step should be to update our system. Rebuild the package index and install the most recent updates because we’re ready to use the APT package management here.

Syntax:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Installing necessary dependencies

Syntax:

$ sudo apt install curl gpg gnupg2 software-properties-common apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates

Adding the Repository for Darktable on Ubuntu

Run the following command to include the Darktable repository.

Syntax:

$ ## For Ubuntu 22.04 ## echo 'deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/graphics:/darktable/xUbuntu_22.04/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/graphics:darktable.list 

$ ## For Ubuntu 20.04 ## echo 'deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/graphics:/darktable/xUbuntu_20.04/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/graphics:darktable.list

As you can see here, we have already added the repository needed for Ubuntu 22.04.

Downloading the Darktable Package

Visit the official website and manually download the tar ball to get the Darktable package. Alternatively, use the following command on the Terminal.

Syntax:

$ ## For Ubuntu 22.04 ## curl -fsSL https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/graphics:darktable/xUbuntu_22.04/Release.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/graphics_darktable.gpg > /dev/null 

$ ## For Ubuntu 20.04 ## curl -fsSL https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/graphics:darktable/xUbuntu_20.04/Release.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/graphics_darktable.gpg > /dev/null

As seen in the previous screenshot, the Darktable package for Ubuntu 22.04 is now set for download.

Update the system after adding the repository and downloading the package.

Syntax:

$ sudo apt update

You can see in this screenshot that apt has been updated for the Darktable repository.

Installing Darktable on Ubuntu 22.04 or Ubuntu 20.04 Using apt

The Darktable application can now be installed on our system. And because the necessary packages are accessible through the system repository, installing Darktable on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04 Linux doesn’t require adding any third-party repositories. So we don’t need to install any PPAs since the most recent version of Darktable is already accessible through the Ubuntu Jammy Repo.

Syntax:

$ sudo apt install darktable

You will then see a prompt if you want to continue with the installation once you’ve ran the command above.

Check the software version:

Syntax:

$ darktable --version

Install Flatpak

The Universal package manager is a suitable alternative if you don’t want to install Darktable using the APT package management.

Syntax:

$ sudo apt install flatpak

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

After running the aforementioned commands, your computer might need to reboot for it to function properly.

Install DarkTable on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04 Using flatpak

Next, launch the installation procedure using the Flapak command line. Remember that Flatpak will install DarkTable even if you have already installed it through APT. This implies that you can run two copies of the software simultaneously on the same machine.

Syntax:

$ flatpak install flathub org.darktable.Darktable

Open Darktable in Ubuntu

Launch Darktable from the Activities menu once it has been successfully installed, as shown in the screenshot below. Search for Darktable in Show Applications; when its icon appears, click it to launch the software.

The icon can be double-clicked to bring up this page.

It has a simple interface. We must click import to add an example image. The picture location will need to be chosen. I’ve added a straightforward picture of the Darktable logo, as seen in the screenshot below.

It’s important to know that the lighttable interface is the one that welcomes you first. When you add an image, you are immediately sent to the darkroom. You can now explore the various features that Darktable has to offer.

Update DarkTable

Given that there are two ways to install DarkTable here, there will also be two distinct ways to obtain the most recent version, if one is available.

For APT users:

Syntax:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

For Flatpak:

Syntax:

$ flatpak update

Uninstall DarkTable

Only individuals who disliked the software or no longer needed it should take this step. Here are the commands to use if you are one of them or simply want to fully remove DarkTable.

For APT users:

Syntax:

$ sudo apt autoremove --purge darktable

For Flatpak users:

Syntax:

$ flatpak remove org.darktable.Darktable

Users can go to this tool’s official website. to learn more about it.

Conclusion

In today’s tutorial, we learned how to set up and use Darktable on Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04. We have also learned how to update and remove DarkTable via apt and flatpack.

If this guide helped you, please share it. ?