How To Install Shotwell on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Shotwell on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Shotwell is an open-source image organizer designed specifically for the GNOME desktop environment. This user-friendly program was initially released in 2010, and it has become a popular choice for users looking for a simple yet effective way to manage their photos on Ubuntu systems. As an Ubuntu user, you can use Shotwell to import, organize, edit, and share your pictures with ease. The program allows you to quickly import photos from your camera or hard drive, and it automatically organizes them into events based on the date and time they were taken. You can also manually organize your photos into albums and tag them for easy searching, which makes it simple to find specific images later.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Shotwell photo management application on Ubuntu 22.04. You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

Features of Shotwell

• Photo import: Shotwell allows you to import photos from your camera, memory card, or existing folders on your Ubuntu system.
• Organizing and tagging: You can organize your photos into events, albums, and tags, making it easier to search and browse your collection.
• Editing and enhancing: Shotwell provides basic editing tools to adjust brightness, contrast, color balance, and more. You can also crop, rotate, and straighten your photos.
• Sharing: You can easily share your photos directly from Shotwell to popular social media platforms, email, or export them in various formats.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for Shotwell.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Shotwell on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish

Step 1. Before diving into the installation process, it’s crucial to prepare your system. Ensure that your Ubuntu 22.04 installation is up-to-date, which can enhance compatibility and security. Open your terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

These commands refresh your package list and upgrade existing software, setting a solid foundation for installing new applications.

Step 2. Installing Shotwell on Ubuntu 22.04.

By default, Shotwell is available on the Ubuntu 20.04 base repository. Now run the following command below to install the Shotwell personal photo manager package to your Ubuntu system:

sudo apt install shotwell

This command fetches the latest version of Shotwell from the Ubuntu repository and installs it on your system. It’s fast, straightforward, and offers a glimpse into the powerful backend of Linux systems.

Step 3. Launch Shotwell on Ubuntu.

You can launch Shotwell by clicking on the Ubuntu Dash and searching for “Shotwell”. Alternatively, you can also launch it from the Terminal by typing:

shotwell

Step 4. Troubleshooting Shotwell on Ubuntu.

If you’ve encountered issues while using Shotwell on Ubuntu, you’re not alone. Fortunately, many of these issues can be easily resolved.

Here are some common troubleshooting tips for Shotwell on Ubuntu:

• Shotwell not launching: If you try to launch Shotwell and it doesn’t start, there might be a problem with the program’s cache. Simply delete the cache folder by running rm -rf ~/.cache/shotwell/ in the terminal, and then try launching Shotwell again.
• Shotwell crashing or freezing: If Shotwell crashes frequently or freezes during use, it might be due to a bug in the application. Updating the application to the latest version or downgrading to a previous version might help resolve this issue.
• Shotwell Photo Viewer not working: If you click on a photo in Shotwell and the Photo Viewer doesn’t launch or doesn’t show the photo, there might be a problem with the GStreamer plugins that Shotwell uses. Reinstalling the GStreamer plugins by running sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-plugins-base in the terminal may solve the problem.
• Shotwell importing issues: If Shotwell has trouble importing photos from your device or camera, ensure that the device is properly connected to your computer and mounted as a storage device. If the device is already mounted, try a different USB port or cable. You might also want to check the device’s permissions by running ls -la /media/user/ in the terminal.
• Shotwell not displaying thumbnails: If Shotwell doesn’t show thumbnail previews of your photos, it might be due to a problem with the thumbnail cache. Deleting the Shotwell thumbnail cache by running rm -rf ~/.cache/thumbnails/* in the terminal and then restarting Shotwell should fix the problem.

Step 5. Uninstalling Shotwell.

If you ever need to uninstall Shotwell from your Ubuntu 22.04 system, you can do so by executing the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt remove shotwell

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Shotwell. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the Shotwell photo management application on the Ubuntu system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Shotwell website.