{"id":519006,"date":"2026-06-26T06:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/519006\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T06:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:22:10","slug":"you-too-can-download-the-30-year-old-gimp-build-that-was-used-to-make-tux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/519006\/","title":{"rendered":"You, too, can download the 30-year-old GIMP build that was used to make Tux"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/p>\n

Tux just turned 30 and remains the definitive face of Linux.<\/p>\n

GIMP 0.54\u2014the 1996 build used to create Tux\u2014is now available as a Flatpak with bundled dependencies.<\/p>\n

Install from GitLab or run ‘flatpak install –user gimp-0.54.1-8.flatpak’ to draw like it’s 1996.<\/p>\n

Tux the Penguin is the face of Linux. There’s no debate, really; he’s not just a popular icon, he’s not just a cool mascot, he’s the face of Linux. He has been around for a long time now; in fact, he just celebrated his 30th birthday last month<\/a>. But not many people know how Tux came to be.<\/p>\n

Well, if you wanted to make a digital pilgrimage to the birthplace of Tux, someone has just made it possible in Flatpak form. The three-decade-old GIMP 0.54 has reappeared on the internet, and now you can draw like it’s 1996.<\/p>\n

GIMP 0.54 re-emerges on Linux as a modern-day Flatpak<\/p>\n

You can download it right now<\/p>\n

\"A
\n Credit:\u00a0balooii<\/p>\n

As spotted by Linuxiac<\/a>, GNOME developer balooii has released a Flatpak version of GIMP 0.54. Because it’s a Flatpak, all the dependencies are bundled within the package, meaning you don’t need to do any finagling to get the 30-year-old app working on your modern-day PC.<\/p>\n

It’s really cool to give the 90s version of one of Linux’s best image editors a spin, but GIMP 0.54 is more than just an old build. As per Tux’s designer’s notes<\/a>, it’s also the version they used to make the penguin:<\/p>\n

All of the penguin pictures<\/a> were created entirely within The GIMP<\/a> (version 0.54). The majority of the drawing was done on my 486 DX2\/50 running linux. I used nothing but a mouse and a lot of patience. The final smoothing was done on an SGI Crimson (also using the GIMP) only because my home machine has an 8-bit display.<\/p>\n

Yes, this was back when it was called “The GIMP.” I guess the app grew out of that phase. If you want to try drawing your own Tux, head over to the GIMP 0.54 GitLab page<\/a>, or type “flatpak install –user gimp-0.54.1-8.flatpak” into your terminal.<\/p>\n


\n \"A<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tThese 7 Linux myths you still believe simply aren’t true
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Linux is a completely different beast than it was a decade ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary Tux just turned 30 and remains the definitive face of Linux. GIMP 0.54\u2014the 1996 build used to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-519006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}