Installing Inkscape

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This page explains how to install Inkscape, either the stable or the development version. For instructions on how to compile Inkscape from the source code, see Compiling Inkscape.

The latest stable version can always be found on the Download webpage.

Installing on a Mac

Please refer to the installation instructions at our web page for OS X downloads and to the section dedicated to OS X in our FAQ.

Problems After Installation

(Outdated?) Keyboard mapping or Using the Alt key

Create or edit the file ~/.Xmodmap with:

  ! To make Alt keys "work" again.
  keycode 66 = Alt_L
  clear Mod1
  add Mod1 = Alt_L
  ! The right Alt key is already mapped to Mode_switch (at least on my box). Uncomment the next line, if it's mapped differently on your Mac.
  ! keycode 69 = Mode_switch
  clear Mod2
  add Mod2 = Mode_switch

X11 > Preferences > Disable "Use the system keyboard layout" and "Enable keyboard shortcuts under X11" options

(Outdated?) Copy & Paste doesn't work well with Inkscape objects

X11 > Preferences > Disable "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes" options

Installing on Linux

On most Linux systems, you can use the software installer provided with your system (look for "software" in your start menu) to install Inkscape.

Ubuntu or Debian Linux

Probably the easiest way to install on Debian/Ubuntu is to use the apt command.

Open a terminal and type;

 sudo apt-get update (enter)
 sudo apt-get install inkscape (enter)

If your Ubuntu version does not have the most current Inkscape version in its repositories (yet), you can use the stable ppa to get the latest stable Inkscape release.

Ubuntu Linux Development Versions

Development versions (inkscape-trunk) are available from our trunk ppa for Ubuntu and derivative Linux distributions.

Note: Development versions offer some nice new features, but can be somewhat unstable, so save often. Inexperienced users will also quite possibly have problems installing them.

openSUSE

openSUSE includes Inkscape in the Gnome repositories. The newest version of Inkscape releases is in Gnome:Apps.

Installing on a Windows system

Stable version

You can find the installer on the download page. Normally you want to choose "64-bit architecture" and "MSI package". Installing should be an easy step-by-step (next-next-finish) process.

Unstable development version

First be warned. Unstable and development mean you likely will encounter crashes, usability problems and sometimes lose data. Ctrl+S will become your friend. If you cannot take this risk, please use the stable version instead.

If you are still reading, you are probably one of the brave ones who wants to be on the bleeding edge. If so, follow these steps:

1. Download the latest build

Follow the instructions on the 'master' branch download page to download a 7zip file of the latest master (development) build. Save the file (inkscape-….7z) to your Downloads folder.

2. Extract the .7z archive

Extract the archive using the 7zip unpacker: Open the Downloads folder in Explorer, right-click on the 7Z file and choose 7-Zip → Extract to "inkscape-....".

You will get a directory which contains several files including inkscape.exe.

3. Run inkscape

Run the inkscape.exe file by double clicking it. That's it. You can also drag files to inkscape.exe to have these opened.

Don't forget: please help Inkscape by reporting bugs, encouraging developers or fixing bugs yourself. If you find bugs, make sure to include the version (name of the 7z file, like inkscape-)

Multiple versions for testing

For testing purposes it is good to be able to test multiple versions of Inkscape to find when and where some problem first appeared. For this reason you are able to store and use as many parallel versions of Inkscape as your disk has room for.