How to Change Cap Style When Stroking Paths in GIMP

When stroking a path in GIMP, you can customize the appearance of the line ends using the Cap style settings. This guide outlines the exact location of the Cap style options—butt, round, and square—within the Stroke Path menu and explains how each setting alters your line endpoints.

Accessing the Stroke Path Dialog

To access stroke settings, you must first create or select a path using the Paths tool. Once your path is ready:

  1. Open the Paths dockable dialog (Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Paths) and right-click your path, then select Stroke Path..., or simply go to the top menu and select Edit > Stroke Path....
  2. In the dialog window that appears, ensure that the Stroke line option is selected rather than "Stroke with a paint tool."

Expanding the Line Style Settings

The Cap style options are hidden inside an expandable menu within the Stroke Path dialog:

  1. Click the small arrow or plus icon next to Line Style to expand the advanced line properties.
  2. Locate the Cap style section, which displays three icon buttons representing the available endpoint styles.

Cap Style Options Explained

You can select one of three cap styles depending on the desired look for your stroke endpoints:

  • Butt: Cuts the stroke off squarely right at the end anchor point of the path segment. The line will not extend beyond the actual coordinates of the path's terminal nodes.
  • Round: Caps the end of the stroke with a semicircular curve. The curve extends past the path's endpoint by a distance equal to half the stroke width, creating smooth, rounded terminals.
  • Square: Caps the line with a squared-off block that extends past the end anchor point by half of the stroke width. Unlike the Butt cap, this gives extra length to the stroke while maintaining flat edges and sharp corners.

Once you have chosen your preferred Cap style and adjusted the Line width, click the Stroke button at the bottom of the dialog to render the line onto your active layer.