Would like to see some confirmation, but this is probably the #1 thing I see people say is holding them back.
this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2026
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In hindsight, I'm so glad I couldn't get them working on linux, because it forced me to get my head around Darktable. I couldn't go back to Lightroom now...
Honestly I feel like that's very common with Linux. If you're willing to deal with the growing pain of switching it ends up working out better in the end, some people just don't want to deal with that or it's their job and they can't afford to deal with that. I'm sympathetic to the latter case, less to the former but that's just my opinion
I was one of the former. Photography isn't my job, but it's really important to me, and photo editing was a show stopper for me for a long time. Even after I moved to Linux full time, I was using remote desktops, VMs and whatever else I could manage to get Adobe stuff working, without having to switch back to Windows. I endured, because I'd finally hit a threshold where that pain was worth putting up with in preference to Windows and its built in ads and spyware.
But when I finally gave up on getting Lightroom working on linux, I figured I had no choice but to learn a linux compatible workflow... It was either that, or go back to windows, and that wasn't happening...
That was exaclty me like three years ago now. I stopped editing photos for like a year because I got so fed up with windows and did the switch cold turkey. No idea why it took me so long to just watch a few workflow videos on darktable but I use it constantly now I feel like I could do better but I'm comfortable
I found darktable pretty user friendly TBH. The thing I've been struggling with is image editing - I can't find something that has a decent workflow. I'm not looking for anything fancy. Paint.net on windows more than met my needs when I was spending more time in windows.
My biggest issue with darktable was the masking. It's so different in darktable, but once I understood it, all the barriers fell away
I can't find something that has a decent workflow. I'm not looking for anything fancy
I import, sort and tag my photos with Digikam, and then open them with darktable for editing.
Any reason why you are using digikam for importing and sorting and not just daktable?
I find the catalogue more convenient in digikam, but it might be because I've used it since the beginning.
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Sorry, I meant a decent editing workflow. Things along the lines of editing - adding outlined text, moving and/or removing things, etc. For example, I've tried gimp a few times but I've found myself fighting against the way it wants you to do things.
Ah, no, I use darktable for all of my editing. But sorting my photos, rating, tagging and flagging them for future editing is all digikam.
If you like Paint.net, try Pinta.
For me it was the same back some years ago - paint.net was the software I probably missed the most. Between Pinta and Krita, I tend to find everything I need. Pinta is most similar to paint.net imo, quite a bit more basic, but the same toolkit and design philosophy I'd say.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I'll have to check Pinta out.
Would Pixi editor be the kind of thing you're looking for?
I will give it a try, thanks for the suggestion.
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Every day people, no. Mainly Youtubers.
Well... Youtubers (and other creatives) are the main awareness funnel for everyday people to hear about linux in the first place.
Creatives are typically stuck on windows because their workflow doesn't work on linux. And yes, they can change their workflow, but there's also a high time + effort cost to doing that which gets even higher for them since they still need to produce their works while switching.
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Lightroom for me, although it is more than just the installer that breaks it.
This would have been great like 10 years ago before Adobe fucked a decent product up with a subscription model and AI.
The good news is the old, non-subscription versions do work in Linux.
Honestly, unless you make a shitload of money off it, subscription Adobe products are just too rich for my blood.
This should be applicable to "alternatively sourced" PS installs too then?
alternatively sourced
I think old versions pre-adobe cloud have been working pretty well for a long time, IIRC. It's really the latest versions that most companies force employees to use that are messed up.
But Adobe cloud is, like, 12 years old now IIRC so you'd have to be using a pretty old version.
CS 6 still works just fine
Still haven't gotten After Effects working in wine. Everything else that I use from my master collection works well though.
no fucking way
It could take a while to get into Wine. The test suite is pretty extensive and automated but patches can break things as well as new tests may need to be developed to ensure that testing is accurate.
Yeah, there isnt even a merge request upstream yet and it seems like no tests have been added, which I'm sure will be required before merge.
They did release a binary of their fork, and you can always build it yourself as well.
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Their dumb installer is a web app incorrectly displayed under wine. If you install an Adobe program in a virtual machine then copy its files not every programs work. Like Premiere doesn't work but Photoshop and Audition seems to work.
Maybe people will shut the fuck up about Photoshop not working on Linux now. (Not saying it's not a valid complaint, I just get tired of hearing it.)
"Nooo you shouldn't have to update apps from terminal. AVERAGE USER is too scared. They will never be able to remember like three letters. AVERAGE USER is dumb you see. They must be babied by their own computer. AVERAGE USER also doesn't know how to google for alternatives. It's just the typical AVERAGE USER.
Anyway, adobe photoshop..."
God I get so frustrated when people argue on the behalf of these mythical other people, but you seldom to never actually see anyone arguing this as something they'd like.
Like just say you'd like things to be easier for you to use, it's a valid statement.
People could use gimp, they do not need adobe crap to cut out background in photos.
But muh AI doing the cutting for me!
Idk what else doesn't work in Gimp, except for some 64-bit color or somesuch.
I am a Krita user that works on Windows using whiskey or maybe cheap beer.
.....but why?
I guess if you have a ton of adobe specific assets and must be able to use adobe software because of legacy projects this might be useful but it just feels like tech debt.
coupled with the fact that tons of accessible software now can open psd and ai filetypes... :| hooray, I guess?
but for fuck's sake people get off the creative cloud it's turning into ai smog
Affinity isn’t Linux compatible yet, and Gimp has a steep learning curve (the photoshop-ification plugin for new Gimp users isn’t well advertised)
And also as good as gimp is, it's not a drag and drop replacement for photoshop, it's a venn diagram that's decently overlapping, ootb anyway
Instead of hating on this, we should at least be happy about such a breakthrough. It's not only about being able to use that specific kind of software on Linux, but about making the transition as smooth as possible! If people were able to bring their workflow over to Linux and then gradually make the switch to free and open source software (which is what happens 99% of the times when a NORMAL and NON tech savvy user manages to switch to Linux) then it's fine.
This is a mean, not the goal. You gotta consider that many companies require it.
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....just Photoshop? Why does this text seem to conflate the words Creative Cloud and Photoshop?
Can someone recommend an alternative with similar features to Premiere Pro?
Davinci Resolve maybe? They have a native Linux launcher and a free trial
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Meanwhile I'm over here struggling to get lutris to load battlenet so I can legally play my D2R lol
Why is the headline so incredulous of the literal developer who authored the patches?
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Not sure how I feel about wine these days. Is brings things to Linux that has wonderful replacements now. We go to Linux to escape the gunk. Not to bring the gunk.
No-one is forcing you to install Adobe software. Stop crying about other people liking choices.
Choice is good. Hate is bad.
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