darktable-org
Lua Script GIMP doesn't waits for GIMP locks when it's previously opened
Description of the Issue
The contrib/gimp.lua script fails to open images in GIMP when an instance of GIMP is already running. The image is exported by Darktable, but GIMP displays a "No such file or directory" error, and the image is never re-imported into Darktable.
The Root Cause
Race Condition The script's logic relies on the GIMP process being blocking (waiting until the application closes) to proceed to the file cleanup/re-import phase.
Scenario A (GIMP Closed): The script works. The process blocks, user edits, closes GIMP, and the script continues.
Scenario B (GIMP Open): Modern GIMP behavior (especially GIMP 3.0 AppImages or modern 2.10 distros using DBus) defaults to "Single Instance" mode. The command sends a signal to the running instance and returns control immediately (non-blocking) to the shell.
Because of this non-blocking return, the Lua script immediately proceeds to df.file_move, moving/renaming the source file before the GIMP instance (which queues the open request as an idle job) has a chance to read it.
Verification
GIMP 3.0 (AppImage): Confirmed failure due to immediate process return.
GIMP 2.10 (Ubuntu Studio Repo): Confirmed failure on a standard, fresh install, ruling out custom environment issues.
CLI Reproduction: gimp image.jpg && mv image.jpg destination.jpg reproduces the failure in the terminal (GIMP fails to read because mv happens instantly).
The Solution According to GIMP Developer Jehan (discussed in GNOME/gimp #14827), the correct way to maintain the script's intended sequential workflow (Edit -> Wait -> Re-import) is to force a new instance.
Adding the --new-instance flag forces GIMP to spawn a new process that blocks the terminal until that specific window is closed, preventing the race condition.
Proposed Change In contrib/gimp.lua, modify the command construction: Lua
-- Current implementation (around line 99) gimpStartCommand = gimp_executable .. " " .. img_list
-- Proposed fix
gimpStartCommand = gimp_executable .. " --new-instance " .. img_list
Result of the Fix I verified this locally. With --new-instance, the script correctly waits for the editing session to close, the file remains available for GIMP to read, and the re-import to Darktable succeeds upon closing the window.
The contrib/gimp.lua script fails to open images in GIMP when an instance of GIMP is already running. The image is exported by Darktable, but GIMP displays a "No such file or directory" error, and the image is never re-imported into Darktable.
Just tested with darktable current master and GIMP 2.10.30 on ubuntu 22.04.
- I exported 1 image and it opened in GIMP
- I exported a second image and the exporter started an export job but didn't actually do the import because the Lua thread was locked by the first image.
- I exported a third image that acted like the second (export job appeared but didn't progress).
- I closed the first image and it was grouped with the raw and then gimp started again and opened the second image
- I closed the second image and it was grouped with the raw and then gimp started again and opened the third image.
@phenrypereira did you have run detached checked?
Hello, @wpferguson ! I've tested, annotating every condition. The Lua script doesn't work well for only one condition: exporting non-XCF image when GIMP is already running. If it is running by an export came from Darktable (when GIMP was closed), it's not a guarantee that the next one will succeed. I can remember perfectly about my tests in your conditions presented there, like one-by-one, sequences, etc.