Switch Kit: Photoshop → GIMP
A plain-English cheat sheet for GIMP 3.2 (manual 3.2). Every row was checked against GIMP’s official manual on 14 October 2026; the link is in the last column. Where we weren’t sure, we say so.
1. Where things are
| In Photoshop you… | In GIMP, use… | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crop | Crop tool (Shift + C) | manual | |
| Image Size | Image → Scale Image… | manual | |
| Free Transform | Unified Transform tool (Shift + T) | manual | |
| Magic Wand | Fuzzy Select tool (U) | manual | |
| Layer mask | Layer → Mask → Add Layer Masks… | manual | |
| Levels | Colors → Levels… | manual | |
| Curves | Colors → Curves… | GIMP 3.2 can also load Photoshop .acv Curves presets (release notes). | manual |
| Clone Stamp | Clone tool (C), Tools → Paint Tools → Clone | manual | |
| Healing Brush | Heal tool (H) | manual | |
| Type tool | Text tool (T) | manual | |
| Smart Object (linked) | Link Layer | GIMP compares Link Layers to Smart Objects; they link to an outside file and are not the same as embedded smart objects. | manual |
| Export As (PNG, JPEG…) | File → Export As… | GIMP’s own format is .xcf; other formats are “exported”. | manual |
2. Shortcuts
GIMP doesn’t come with a Photoshop shortcut set, but you can change any shortcut in a minute:
- Open Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts.
- Search for the command you want (e.g. “free transform” becomes “unified transform”).
- Click its Shortcut column and press the keys you are used to.
- If the keys are already in use, GIMP asks whether to reassign them.
- Leave “Save keyboard shortcuts on exit” ticked.
We could not find a built-in Photoshop shortcut scheme in GIMP’s 3.2 manual, so set the few shortcuts you use most by hand. We have not made a shortcut file because we could not verify GIMP’s internal action names from official docs. Source: GIMP manual: shortcuts.
3. Your PSD files
GIMP 3.2 opens and exports PSD/PSB and imports some layer styles (Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow). In 3.2, PSD text layers become pixels, and adjustment layers and embedded smart objects are not imported. Improvements for these are in the 3.3 development series, not the stable release. Source: official docs and GIMP development notes.
Before you rely on it: open a few of your real files and compare them with Photoshop. Use our private PSD file check to see what’s inside first. Keep your original PSDs.
Original SwitchFreely material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe or the GIMP project. Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe. Menu names can change between versions.