The post offers a concise walkthrough for installing the lightweight nomacs image viewer on Ubuntu, highlighting why the PPA is preferable over older Snap or repository versions. It starts with a quick check of any existing nomacs installation to determine whether an upgrade is needed. After adding the official nomacs Personal Package Archive and refreshing package lists, you simply run apt install to obtain the latest stable build along with its dependencies. Finally, the guide reminds users to remove any conflicting Snap copy, verifies the successful install by checking the version, and invites readers to report any hiccups.

Install nomacs Image Viewer on Ubuntu: A Straight‑Forward Guide

If you’ve ever been frustrated by a bloated photo app that only shows you the same three tools as every other viewer, nomacs is the quiet alternative that actually works. In this post you’ll learn how to pull the latest version from its PPA and get it up and running in minutes.

Why You Might Want Nomacs

Nomacs keeps a clean interface but still gives you zoom, crop, batch‑rename and even image comparison tools. I’ve seen people try to install it from Snap or use the old package that ships with Ubuntu 18.04—both result in a sluggish app that crashes on high‑resolution photos.

Checking Your Current Version

If you already have an older nomacs installed, first check what’s running:

nomacs --version

That will tell you whether you need to upgrade or if the default repo is enough. The version from the official Ubuntu repo can be a year behind; the PPA keeps it fresh.

Adding the Official PPA

Nomacs maintains a dedicated Personal Package Archive (PPA) that contains the newest stable build. Add it with:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nomacs/ppa

The add‑apt‑repository command registers the PPA in your system’s package sources and prints a quick confirmation so you know it didn’t silently fail.

Updating Package Lists

After registering a new source you must refresh the list of available packages. This pulls the metadata from the PPA without touching any files on your disk:

sudo apt update

Running apt update is like telling your package manager, “Hey, there’s new stuff out there—let me know what it is.”

Installing Nomacs Image Viewer

Now install the actual application:

sudo apt install nomacs

The installer will pull in all required dependencies (like libpng and libjpeg). If you already had a previous version, apt will upgrade it automatically.

Verifying the Install

Launch it from the dash or type nomacs in a terminal. Check that the menu options look modern:

nomacs --version

You should see something like “nomacs 5.x.x” instead of the older 4.x version you might have had before.

Optional: Remove Snap Version

If you previously installed nomacs via Snap, it’s a good idea to uninstall that copy so there’s no conflict:

sudo snap remove nomacs

Snap packages can sometimes be out of sync with the PPA and cause double‑launch issues.

Give this a whirl; the PPA keeps things fresh without the hassle of compiling from source.