Paint.NET
A well-regarded free image editing application for Windows that provides advanced features including layer management, special-effects filters, and plugin extensions. It fills the functional gap between the system's built-in paint utility and professional software, and is known for being lightweight and fast.
Timeline (last 90 days)
The Paint.NET 5.2 alpha version achieved native Linux support for the first time.
The compatibility of the third-party plugin ecosystem on Linux is the primary challenge for Paint.NET in improving its Linux support.
The core features of Paint.NET's Linux alpha version are mostly functional, but community feedback is still needed to polish the details.
Paint.NET uses a proprietary license agreement; it is free to use but is not open-source software.
The Paint.NET development team migrated the entire codebase to the modern .NET runtime to achieve cross-platform support.
Paint.NET was first released in 2004.
The news of the Paint.NET 5.2 release received 167 upvotes and 134 comments on Hacker News.
Open-source image editing software such as GIMP and Paint.NET can serve as alternative tools.
Paint.NET has a built-in Direct2D reimplementation written from scratch via clean-room reverse engineering, enabled in the WINE environment via the /wine parameter, and encapsulated in PaintDotNet.Windows.Direct2D1.Managed.dll.
Paint.NET is a free image editing software for Windows that has been independently maintained and developed by Rick Brewster for over 20 years.
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All Facts (17)
Paint.NET is a free image editing software for Windows that has been independently maintained and developed by Rick Brewster for over 20 years.
60%UnverifiedPaint.NET was originally built on .NET Framework 1.0 and GDI+.
60%UnverifiedThe compatibility of the third-party plugin ecosystem on Linux is the primary challenge for Paint.NET in improving its Linux support.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET was first released in 2004.
50%UnverifiedThe Paint.NET development team migrated the entire codebase to the modern .NET runtime to achieve cross-platform support.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET uses a proprietary license agreement; it is free to use but is not open-source software.
50%UnverifiedOpen-source image editing software such as GIMP and Paint.NET can serve as alternative tools.
50%UnverifiedThe reimplemented Direct2D code is approximately 180,000 lines in scale, while the rest of the Paint.NET project is approximately 700,000 lines.
50%UnverifiedDeveloping a truly native Linux version requires rewriting a large amount of low-level code tightly coupled to the operating system, and for a small team the return on investment is lower than adapting via Wine.
50%UnverifiedPinta was originally an open-source clone attempt of Paint.NET.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET was originally started in 2004 by Washington State University student Rick Brewster as a graduation project.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET has migrated to .NET 8, but its rendering pipeline still relies on Windows-specific system-level components such as Direct2D, DirectWrite API, and WIC.
50%UnverifiedOfficial Wine adaptation means the development team adds Wine environment testing to the continuous integration process, proactively avoids known incompatible API calls, and verifies critical functional paths before release.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET's current Wine support is labeled as experimental, may have missing features, rendering anomalies, or performance fluctuations, and is not recommended for production use at this time.
50%UnverifiedThe Paint.NET 5.2 alpha version achieved native Linux support for the first time.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET has a built-in Direct2D reimplementation written from scratch via clean-room reverse engineering, enabled in the WINE environment via the /wine parameter, and encapsulated in PaintDotNet.Windows.Direct2D1.Managed.dll.
50%UnverifiedPaint.NET officially announced the addition of experimental Wine/Linux support.
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