What are the best FOSS image viewers for Linux?

Question

20

Options
Considered

314

User
Recs.

Dec 5, 2021

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 1 of 20 OptionsWhy?

Best FOSS image viewers for Linux	Price	License	OS
92 qimgv	FOSS	GPLv3	Linux, Windows
86 nomacs	-	-	-
-- feh	-	-	-
-- XnView	-	-	-
-- gThumb	-	-	-

See Full List

19 Other Options Considered

nomacs

Top Pro

Highly customizable

Top Con

Only partial support for HEIC

Apple's HEIC format is only partially supported. Nomacs can open individual images, but can't navigate among them. See More

Eugene Belousov's Experience

Similar to the good old XnView for Windows (not the MP version). Not quite as lightweight, but pretty good for 2019. See More

Top Pro

Detailed view of image metadata

Top Con

Heavy compared to other Linux image viewers

Uses more memory and CPU than other lightweight image viewers. High CPU usage when starting. See More

ProductiveThelxiepeia's Experience

No slideshow, not up to Glenview functionality See More

Top Pro

You can work with hot keys that can be reassigned as you want them

Top Con

Returns to default settings after update

Isti115's Experience

Usable as is without any extra configuration or learning curve, but very flexible for customizability needs. User interface has good interaction with mouse and keyboard as well! See More

Top Pro

Lightweight

Starts very quickly and has a small memory footprint. See More

Top Con

Recent version has slowed down

The latest version (3.8) suddenly became very slow in Fedora 26. Slow to step from image to image; slow to open a directory; slow slow slow. Downgrading to the previous version (3.6) restored speed. See More

NeighborlyVali's Experience

Usable as is without any extra configuration or learning curve, but very flexible for customizability needs. User interface has good interaction with mouse and keyboard as well! See More

Top Pro

Simple and pleasant look

No cramped toolbars or large icons; the UI is cohesive, minimal and keeps out of your way. See More

TolerantIxtab's Experience

Very large images See More

Top Pro

Lots of Image Adjustment Tools

LivelyHeimarmene's Experience

One of the heaviest Linux image viewers regarding the resource usage (memory and CPU). Slow to start, but fast once open. See More

Top Pro

Flexible thumbnail views

Can display thumbnails in a strip or a zoomable grid as well, also has hotkey for both of these. Opening a folder is one of the main actions on the toolbar! See More

InsightfulTartarus's Experience

seems to be very useful See More

Top Pro

Frameless view

Top Pro

Allows to cut (frame) images

It is important if you have to work with photos of documents and want to cut off the background on which you made photos. See More

Top Pro

Remembers last used folders

Often used folders (e.g., screenshots) can be quickly accessed. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Has builds for Windows, Mac and Linux. See More

Top Pro

Batch image processing

Has tools for applying conversions etc. to many files at once. See More

Top Pro

Comparing two images

This feature is called Synchronization. With the synchronization it is possible that multiple viewers perform the same action (like panning, zooming, etc.). This feature is useful when comparing two images. See more here. See More

See All

XnView

Top Pro

Available for macOS, Linux and Windows

Peter J. Mello's Experience

This project feels like it's been around forever, and somehow nobody ever seems to overtake it in terms of sheer functionality and efficient productivity. Lord knows the interface is cluttered and seemingly static, and while it's not much to look at, everything is always right where it was last time and they've turned using every pixel of screen real estate for in-your-face information viewing into an art form. It opens every file I throw at it, and fixes the broken ones too. The cherry on top is that they respond within hours to posts on their forum about bugs and glitches and sometimes push a patch out for them that same day, other times just a day later. This is one of those rare pieces of software that really gave me a major guilt trip until I ponied up and purchased a license, and if you know how tight I am with money, that's the highest compliment of all. See More

Top Pro

Easy redate and view configuration

AwareSumugan's Experience

Is there another image browser for Linux that shows directory tree, thumbnails and image preview together See More

Top Pro

Includes simple editing tools

Typical image editing tools are included. For instance, there are tools for color and size manipulation, several filters and effects. See More

Top Pro

Supports over 500 image formats

Top Pro

Compare images side-by-side

To delete blurry phone pics, etc. See More

Top Pro

Multi-lingual

XnView speaks over 30 languages. See More

Top Pro

Portable version for Windows available

Top Pro

Most supports 70 format but this supports over 500+

See All

Eye of Gnome (eog)

Top Con

No APNG support

And it won't be it seems https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=151281 See More

Top Pro

More lightweight than other kde or gnome dependent applications like gwenview, gthumb or kphotoalbum

Top Con

Still have gnome dependencies

Top Pro

Double-click to view Fullscreen

By default, double-clicking on the current image opens it in Fullscreen mode. This can be turned off in Preferences if desired See More

Top Pro

Image Slideshow

You can view a slideshow of all images in the current folder, and adjust the delay between images in the Preferences dialog See More

Top Pro

ESC key exits Fullscreen and program

Pressing the ESC key exits Fullscreen mode, as well as exits the program ... hence press the ESC key twice and you're out See More

Top Pro

Can set image as wallpaper

You can set the current image as your desktop wallpaper directly from within this program See More

See All

Gwenview

Top Pro

Easily resize, crop, flip and rotate

Top Con

Very slow on remote folders

Compared to others, like XNview, is VERY slow when retrieving images from shared folders (NFS or Samba). See More

ProductiveThelxiepeia's Experience

Closest to faststone and photoscape browsers for other OS that I've always used - easy navigating to display thumbnails in a directory without confusing contortions and reasonable slideshow. Tried to beat it but couldn't even match it. See More

Top Pro

Quickly view image metadata

Top Con

Not lightweight

Needs a lot of KDE packages. See More

AffableIsimud's Experience

Clunky, slow. See More

Top Pro

Easy to navigate folders

Top Pro

Keyboard shortcuts can be redefined

Top Pro

Images can be sorted by name, date and size

See All

qView

Add Video or Image

Eye of MATE (eom)

Kirill Gorin's Experience

Ideal for occasional image viewing. See More

TruthfulSigyn's Experience

Ideal for occasional image viewing. See More

Ephoto

Add Video or Image

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The Best 1 of 20 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for qimgv

My Recommendation for qimgv

Simple UI

Fast and Lightweight

Ability to run shell scripts

Plugin Support

Open-Source/Libre

Customize Shortcuts

Can support video playback

Support Linux and Windows

Beautiful

19 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for nomacs

My Recommendation for nomacs

Highly customizable

Only partial support for HEIC

Detailed view of image metadata

Heavy compared to other Linux image viewers

You can work with hot keys that can be reassigned as you want them

Returns to default settings after update

Lightweight

Recent version has slowed down

Simple and pleasant look

Lots of Image Adjustment Tools

Flexible thumbnail views

Frameless view

Allows to cut (frame) images

Remembers last used folders

Cross-platform

Batch image processing

Comparing two images

My Recommendation for feh

My Recommendation for feh

Minimalistic

Loads up images faster than my imaginary girlfriend replies to my texts

My Recommendation for XnView

My Recommendation for XnView

Available for macOS, Linux and Windows

Easy redate and view configuration

Includes simple editing tools

Supports over 500 image formats

Compare images side-by-side

Multi-lingual

Portable version for Windows available

Most supports 70 format but this supports over 500+

My Recommendation for gThumb

My Recommendation for gThumb

Easy to use

No delete confirmation

Feature packed

Not lightweight, needs a lot of gnome packages

Gets the job done without showing off its UI features

My Recommendation for Eye of Gnome (eog)

My Recommendation for Eye of Gnome (eog)

No APNG support

More lightweight than other kde or gnome dependent applications like gwenview, gthumb or kphotoalbum

Still have gnome dependencies

Double-click to view Fullscreen

Image Slideshow

ESC key exits Fullscreen and program

Can set image as wallpaper

My Recommendation for Gwenview

My Recommendation for Gwenview

Easily resize, crop, flip and rotate

Very slow on remote folders

Quickly view image metadata

Not lightweight

Easy to navigate folders

Keyboard shortcuts can be redefined

Images can be sorted by name, date and size

My Recommendation for qView

My Recommendation for qView

My Recommendation for Viewnior

My Recommendation for Viewnior

Lightweight design

Fast

Minimal interface

My Recommendation for GPicView

My Recommendation for GPicView