Octo with GIMP, Krita, ImageMagick and darktable

Not everything has to go through Photoshop. The one who decides what leaves it is you.

Resizing, converting, stripping metadata, building contact sheets and developing RAW in batch all have a free, command-line path, with 2026 versions. Octo compares, task by task, Photoshop's output with the alternative's, rewrites the batch and checks by content. The image, the color and the decision to switch stay with people.

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GIMP stable3.2.6from Sep 10, 2026, according to gimp.org

Krita for production5.3.3from Jul 29, 2026, according to krita.org

mogrify without -pathoverwritesthe original, warns the ImageMagick documentation

Sources11listed at the end of the page

What Octo does with free alternatives.

Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. None of them overwrites an original, all of them compare the output by content, and all of them go to review by whoever answers for the image.

Equivalence table

Each of today's actions and batches, with volume, the possible alternative and its status in the pilot: equivalent, partial or stays in Photoshop.

Deliverable: equivalencias.csv reviewed with the team

Web versions and thumbnails

sRGB, maximum size, no GPS, thumbnails and contact sheets with ImageMagick, always in a new folder.

Deliverable: magick_lote.sh and a check per file

Action rewritten for GIMP

The action described step by step and rewritten for GIMP 3.2 without the interface, with the functions checked in the installed version.

Deliverable: batch script and a log of every file

RAW developed in batch

darktable-cli with each photo's XMP and the studio's style, in a configuration separate from the one used in the interface.

Deliverable: darktable_lote.sh and a log per RAW

Layered illustration exported

Krita in batchmode: PNG and a PSD copy of each illustration, with no dialogs and without saving the original.

Deliverable: krita_exportar.py and a log

Sample compared

The same sample through both paths: dimensions, color space, file size and visual difference, before any switch.

Deliverable: comparison for the designer to decide

Eight arms, one measured switch.

The same Octo cycle, applied to switching tools. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who approve the image, the color and the change of workflow are people.

Discovery
Surveys today's batch

Actions, droplets and batches that run, with volume, owner and dependence on features exclusive to Photoshop.
Data
Writes the equivalence

A task-by-task table and the format of each batch's logs and check.
Security
Protects originals and data

A new folder, nothing overwritten, ImageMagick policy, GPS stripped from photos (LGPD, Brazil's data protection law).
Architecture
Chooses the tool per task

ImageMagick, GIMP, Krita or darktable, or staying in Photoshop, without switching everything at once.
Development
Rewrites the batch

Command, script or style, with the source of each option noted and the version checked.
Review
Compares by content

The same sample through both paths: dimensions, color, file size, visual difference. "It ran without errors" is not a check.
Release
Prepares the delivery

Checked folder and manifest. The delivery goes out with a person's approval.
Documentation
Records what was measured

Measured equivalences, known losses and who approved each task switch.

Octo does not decide on its own that a task leaves Photoshop. It does not approve color, does not delete originals and does not hand a changed PSD back to the designer without a check.

Each task, its own tool.

The criteria Octo uses to choose, with the documented limit of each path.

Task in Photoshop	Alternative	Note
Image Processor	ImageMagick `mogrify -path`	Without `-path`, it overwrites
Contact sheet	ImageMagick `montage`	Caption with the file name
Multi-step action	GIMP 3.2 without the interface	Rewritten script; the API changed since 2.10
RAW development with a preset	`darktable-cli` with a style	A style requires `--core --configdir`
Export a layered illustration	Krita, command line or Scripter	`setBatchmode(True)`
Open a PSD with text and effects	GIMP or Krita	Partial; no external program is 100%
Print shop CMYK	ICC profiles in ImageMagick or GIMP	Switch only with a proof approved by the print shop
Generative fill	No direct equivalent	Stays in Photoshop

From the whole batch in Photoshop to the right tool per task.

Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.

A proposal, not a promise

1 Today

Equivalence

Octo surveys today's actions and batches and writes the table task by task.

Volume and owner of each batch
What is exclusive to Photoshop
Candidates for the pilot

Gain: knowing what can leave and what stays

2 Next

Screen pilot

Web versions, thumbnails and contact sheets with ImageMagick, with a compared sample.

A new folder, nothing overwritten
GPS checked
Photographer releasing

Gain: the weekly batch off the licensed workstation

3 Later

Actions, RAW and illustration

Actions rewritten for GIMP, development with darktable and export with Krita, one at a time.

Sample through both paths
Losses recorded
Switch approved per task

Gain: each tool where it performs best

Confirmed by a source.

Every point below has a source published by the vendor, by the project or by the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.

points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.

ConfirmedGIMP 3.2 runs batches without the interface: Options -i, -b, --batch-interpreter and --quit, and the gimp-console binary, in the 3.2 man page.Source: GIMP 3.2 man page
Confirmedmogrify overwrites the original: The documentation warns that the original file is overwritten unless the format is changed; -path writes to another folder.Source: imagemagick.org, mogrify
ConfirmedPSD is not 100% outside Photoshop: Krita's help lists what it loads and saves and recommends another format when possible.Source: docs.krita.org, PSD
ConfirmedOpening and saving in libgimp 3.0: file_load(run_mode, file) and file_save(run_mode, image, file, options), with options null; file_save returns true or false and the script checks the return value.Source: developer.gimp.org, libgimp 3.0 reference

What Octo does, and what stays with you.

Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.

Octo prepares

Surveys, calculates, organizes and produces the documents: processed files, proofs, reports and spreadsheets.

Deliverable: material ready to check

Your team checks

The client or the art director checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.

Step: checked by the person who approves

Who approves

Octo does not approve the artwork. Artwork carries no legal signature: approval of the artwork and the proof stays with the client or the art director.

Approval: client or art director

Sources.

Official GIMP, Krita, darktable and ImageMagick pages, with manuals and release announcements, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.

GIMP 3.2 releasedMar 14, 2026, link layers, PSD
GIMP downloads3.2.6, from Sep 10, 2026
GIMP 3.2 man pageBatch options
Krita 5.3.3Jul 29, 2026, production
Krita, command line--export, --export-filename
Krita, PSDWhat it loads and saves
darktable-cliSyntax and options
libgimp 3.0, file_saveSignature and return value
darktable 5.6.2Bug fixes
ImageMagick, mogrifyOverwrites; -path
ImageMagick, security policypolicy.xml

Your image batch, in the right tool and checked.

The assessment starts with the list of actions and batches that run today. You get what can leave Photoshop, what stays, how each switch would be checked and the questions only your team can answer, and you decide with that in hand.

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