How to Install digiKam on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

digiKam is a free and open-source digital photo management application on Linux, Windows, and macOS. It provides comprehensive tools for importing photos from your camera or external storage devices such as SD cards/USB disks without breaking out the manual hex editors! The app also has great features like editing remotely through Dropbox integration which means no more juggling between different screens while trying not to miss anything important.

In the following tutorial, you will learn to install the digiKAM on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using three methods: apt package manager, flatpak package manager, and snapcraft package manager, along with some tips for maintaining or removing digiKam in the future.

Update Ubuntu

Before you begin, make sure your system is up-to-date to avoid any conflicts during the installation, and for good practice, use the terminal command as follows.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install digiKam – APT with Ubuntu Method

The first option is to use the Ubuntu 22.04 default APT repository. This is a stable and secure version and is most recommended to install over any other package manager but can be outdated compared to Flatpaks alternative option that is usually up-to-date.

First, execute the following apt install command.

sudo apt install digikam -y

Install digiKam – APT with PPA Method

The second option is to use the LaunchPAD PPA APT repository by Rob Savoury. This PPA contains the latest version of digiKam at all times and is probably the best option for Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish users to add to grab the newest version without resorting to third-party package managers.

Import the PPA using the following command.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:savoury1/digikam -y

Next, perform an APT update to sync the new PPA.

sudo apt-get update

Now install digiKam from the PPA using the following apt install command.

sudo apt install digikam -y

Install digiKam – Snapcraft Method

The second option is to install digiKam with Snap. The Snapcraft package manager should be installed on your Ubuntu desktop unless you have removed it previously.

For users that removed snapd, re-run the following command:

sudo apt install snapd -y

Once installed, you will need to restart your system, or else the icons may not appear; if you skip a repeat and notice any issues, reboot.

reboot

Snap installed? Skip the following few lines and proceed straight to the installation of digiKam with Snap

Next, some packages come in classic, so you need to create a symlink to enable classic snap support, so it is best to run this command for the best snap compatibility.

sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

Install the core files to avoid conflicting issues.

sudo snap install core

Next, enter the following snap command to install the digiKam.

sudo snap install digikam

Install digiKam – Flatpak Method

The third option is to use the Flatpak package manager. This is another popular option similar to Snap but is featured amongst many distributions as an alternative third-party installation package manager for the latest packages.

First, re-install Flatpak if you have removed the package manager previously.

sudo apt install flatpak -y

Before you proceed, reboot your system or else you will have issues such as applications icons not appearing.

reboot

Next, you need to enable Flatpack using the following command in your terminal:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Now install digiKam using the following flatpak command:

flatpak install flathub org.kde.digikam -y

How to Launch digiKam

Now that you have the digiKam installed, launching can be done in a few ways.

With your terminal opened, you can use the following command to launch immediately.

digikam

Snap users need to use the snap run <application> command.

snap run digikam

Lastly, Flatpak users can run from the terminal using the following command.

flatpak run org.kde.digikam

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop.

Activities > Show Applications > digiKam

Example:

The first time you open digiKam, you will need to go over some options such as changing the default location, image previews, etc. The default setting is always selected. If unsure, keep these and adjust later on.

Example:

Once the first-time setup is complete, you will also be prompted to download binary files for the first time.

Example:

Once done, you will be able to use digiKam.

Example:

Congratulations, you have successfully installed digiKam.

How to Update/Upgrade digiKam

Updates should appear in notifications, but if these fail to show sometimes, it is recommended to check using the terminal regardless use one of the following commands to check for updates.

APT Method

sudo apt update

Flatpak Method

flatpak update

Snap Method

sudo snap refresh

How to Remove (Uninstall) digiKam

Use one of the following commands to suit the original installation method for users who no longer require the application.

APT Remove Method

sudo apt autoremove digikam --purge -y

Note, autoremove will also delete any unused packages from digiKam and any other leftovers from previous applications. Most times, this is safe to do and should be done to keep your system from being bloated.

Lastly, users that installed digiKam from the PPA by Rob Savoury remove the PPA using the following command.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:savoury1/digikam --remove -y

Flatpak Remove Method

flatpak remove  --delete-data org.kde.digikam -y

Next, run the following command for any leftover clean-ups required, similar to the autoremove command described for the apt remove example command.

flatpak remove --unused

Snapcraft Remove Method

sudo snap remove digikam

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to add the official digiKam application on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish using one of the three installation methods.

If you’re looking for an open-source photo management application that provides a comprehensive set of tools for importing, managing, editing, and sharing photos and raw files, digiKam is worth checking out. The application runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS platforms, so there’s an excellent chance to work with the hardware you already have.