[SOLVED] G'MIC crashed as soon as it loads

Software G'MIC
1

I have a pc with MX Linux 23.1, GIMP 2.20.38 with AppImage, and G’MIC 3.4, after loading an image, click on menu > Filters > G’MIC-Qt, got a crash message
GMIC.
ps: already restarted GIMP several times with the same result.
How can I troubleshoot this problem (new to G’MIC/GIMP, not an expert in Linux).

2

Don’t have a PC to check currently, but did you try pressing the ‘Update Filters’ button (circular arrow icon, with ‘Internet’ checkbox?) in the G’MIC interface?
Try that first if you haven’t already.

3

Thanks for your reply, where’s G’MIC interface? Whenever I clicked on menu > Filters > G’MIC-Qt, it crashed, so I assume the interface never showed up (I’m assuming the interface will come up after the click).

4

Ah! I should have realised, my apologies.
Have you gone to ‘File > Preferences > Folders > Plug-ins’ and typed in the filters location?

5

Yes, the folder is there, the G’MIC-Qt under Filter was greyout before loading a picture, after loading, it’s clickable, but after clicking on it, I just got the crash message.

6

I meant ‘Edit > Preferences…etc’, anyhow, not a Linux expert but if no-one else can solve it here I would head to Gimp-Forum.net - Extending the GIMP to see if some help can be found, good luck!

7

Having followed your installation notes at G’MIC not working in GIMP 2.10.38 and observed the crash myself on the GIMP AppImage, variant published by ivan-hc, am quite certain (to 95%) that your issue is related to various dynamic library. incompatibilities between the AppImage-built GIMP (based on an Arch Linux environment) and G’MIC binaries (variously based on Ubuntu or Debian platforms; take your pick).

There is a great deal of charm in the AppImage concept. Someone (here, ivan-hc) binds everything, every possible dependency that an application needs (here, GIMP) into one package. You just (1) download it (2) mark it executable (a number of AppImage distributors have tools to make even that automagick) and (3) run it. Hey presto! Compatibility and configuration issues seemingly dissolve! and away we go!

That’s the upside. The downside is when the concept of AppImage collides with the concept of plug-ins. You are hoping to insert into a hermetically sealed (and internally consistent) environment another binary created under different circumstances — most certainly, with different dynamic libraries built at different version levels. So the binary compatibility and configuration issues that the AppImage concept puts temporarily at bay come roaring back to life.

Seeing from ivan-hc’s notes that he creates his GIMP AppImages under Arch Linux, I see little hope for compatibility with the six pre-built Debian/Ubuntu Linux zip file images at gmic.eu. Just now, I’ve tested all of them against the ivan-hc AppImage. No Joy. binary incompatibility issues arose in each of the six zip files against the AppImage.

So, here’s your options:

  1. Abandon AppImages: I think this is your best bet. Get your GIMP from MX-Linux’s package manager, which looks to be Debian-based distro of pretty recent vintage. I have much greater hope for binary compatibility there, as the gimp_gmic_qt zips available at gmic.eu are built for recent vintage Ubuntu and Debian environments. Not a 100% guarantee, but maybe a little better than 70%. MX-Linux might also distribute gmic_gimp_qt packages too. That dramatically increases the likelihood of binary compatibility.
  2. Try Flatpak/Flathub, similar to AppImage. It has its issues, but is better known at this forum. See Problem with Gimp 2.10.34 from flatpack and G’mic.
  3. Find a Debian-based AppImage: Maybe you’re in love with AppImages. OK. find a provider who builds app images more in line with the Debian/Ubuntu realm. Good luck.

Sorry I can’t be more supportive. Post any questions you may have.

8

Thank you for your detailed explanation and time, it’s much appreciated. I finally got it working and this is what I did (please note that I’m using Debian Linux, not sure if it’ll work with other Linux).

  1. download AppImage from here
  2. download G’MIC plug-in from here (do not use .deb file, does not work, download gmic_3.4.0_gimp2.10_debian12_bookworm_amd64.zip instead, and put the whole folder in the /home/your-home-folder/.config/GIMP/2.10/plug-ins/ folder.)
  3. install fuse-overlayfs from Synaptics
  4. I was told that qt libraries was required, in my case, it was already installed, so I did not install it again.
    ps: for details, see this post.
2 Likes
9

Thanks for the notes and the post. Glad that you are up and running now!