How to Import Photoshop ABR Brushes into GIMP

GIMP natively supports Adobe Photoshop brush files (.abr), allowing you to expand your digital painting toolkit without needing file conversion tools. This guide outlines the straightforward process of locating your GIMP brush directory, placing your .abr files in the correct folder across Windows, macOS, and Linux, and refreshing your brush palette so the new assets appear immediately in your workspace.

Step 1: Prepare Your Brush Files

Download your desired Photoshop brush pack. Most brush downloads come compressed in .zip or .rar archives. Extract the archive on your computer and locate the file ending with the .abr extension.

Step 2: Locate GIMP's Brush Directory

The easiest way to find the exact folder GIMP uses for brushes is through the application itself:

  1. Open GIMP.
  2. In the top menu, go to Edit > Preferences (on macOS, go to GIMP > Preferences).
  3. In the Preferences window, scroll down the left sidebar and expand the Folders section.
  4. Click on Brushes.
  5. You will see two folder paths. Select the writable user directory path (usually the one containing your user profile name), and click the Show file location in the file manager icon on the top right, or note down the path.

Default directory locations by operating system:

  • Windows: C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\GIMP\2.10\brushes
  • macOS: /Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/GIMP/2.10/brushes
  • Linux: /home/[Username]/.config/GIMP/2.10/brushes

Step 3: Copy the ABR Files to the Folder

Open the brushes folder you identified in the previous step and copy or move your .abr file directly into it. You can also create subfolders within the brushes directory to keep your brush sets organized.

Step 4: Refresh the Brushes in GIMP

You do not need to restart GIMP to load the new brushes:

  1. Open the Brushes dockable dialog panel in GIMP (accessible via Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Brushes if it is not already visible).
  2. Click the Refresh brushes icon (represented by two circular arrows) at the bottom of the Brushes panel.

Your newly imported Photoshop brushes will now appear in the list, ready to be selected and used with the Paintbrush, Pencil, Airbrush, or Eraser tools.