How To Install xcftools on Debian 9

In this tutorial we learn how to install xcftools on Debian 9. xcftools is command-line tools for extracting data for XCF files

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install xcftools on Debian 9.

What is xcftools

xcftools is:

This is a set of fast command-line tools for extracting information from the Gimp’s native file format XCF. The tools are designed to allow efficient use of layered XCF files as sources in a build system that use ‘make’ and similar tools to manage automatic processing of the graphics. These tools work independently of the Gimp engine and do not require the Gimp to even be installed.

“xcf2pnm” converts XCF files to ppm, pgm or pbm format, flattening layers if necessary. If the image contains transparency, an alpha map can be written to a separate file, or a background color can be specified on the command line.

“xcf2png” converts XCF files to PNG format, flattening layers if necessary. Transparency information can be kept in the image, or a background color can be specified on the command line.

“xcfinfo” lists information about layers in an XCF file.

“xcfview” is a wrapper script that flattens an XCF image and displays it using an external PNG/PPM viewer. To use this script, you must make sure also to install an appropriate external viewer, as well as the mime-support package which provides the mailcap database.

The tools can either flatten an XCF file as given, or extract specific layers named on the command line.

There are three methods to install xcftools on Debian 9. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install xcftools Using apt-get

Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt database, We can install xcftools using apt-get by running the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install xcftools

Install xcftools Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, We can install xcftools using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install xcftools

Install xcftools Using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Debian. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating apt database, We can install xcftools using aptitude by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install xcftools

How To Uninstall xcftools on Debian 9

To uninstall only the xcftools package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove xcftools

Uninstall xcftools And Its Dependencies

To uninstall xcftools and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Debian 9, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove xcftools

Remove xcftools Configurations and Data

To remove xcftools configuration and data from Debian 9 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge xcftools

Remove xcftools configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

We can use the following command to remove xcftools configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge xcftools

Dependencies

xcftools have the following dependencies:

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install xcftools package on Debian 9 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.