eog as a Linux alternative to Windows Photos
Updated
Our verdict
Eye of GNOME (eog) can replace Microsoft Photos for users who mainly need a fast, lightweight viewer for everyday pictures. It reads all common formats, offers basic rotate/flip and zoom, and can run slideshows, making it suitable for quick previews. However, it lacks the richer editing tools, album management, video playback, and AI‑based sorting that many Windows Photos users expect. If you are comfortable using separate programs for tagging, batch edits, or video, eog is a solid choice; otherwise you’ll likely need a more feature‑complete suite such as digiKam or Shotwell.
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Price
- Free
- Latest version
- 50.4
- Rating
- —
What works the same
- Supports JPEG, PNG, WebP and other common image formats
- Provides zoom, fit‑to‑window and full‑screen viewing
- Allows basic rotate/flip operations
- Offers keyboard shortcuts for navigation and slideshow mode
What is different
- No built‑in photo organization, albums or tagging
- Limited editing – only rotate/flip, no crop, resize or filters
- No video playback support
- No batch processing or automated actions
- Missing face‑recognition and AI‑based sorting
Opening your Windows Photos files
eog opens the same image files that Windows Photos does (JPEG, PNG, WebP, BMP, TIFF, GIF, SVG). It can export only by saving the original file or using the desktop environment's file manager to copy/convert; eog itself does not provide a dedicated export or conversion dialog, so for format changes you may need an external tool like ImageMagick.
Switching from Windows Photos to eog, step by step
- Install eog via your package manager (e.g., sudo apt install eog)
- Set eog as the default application for image files in your desktop settings
- Copy your picture folders to the Linux home directory or a shared partition
- Open a folder with eog to verify thumbnails and navigation work
- If you need tagging or albums, install a complementary manager such as digiKam
Key features of eog
- Supports JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, SVG, WebP
- Full‑screen and slideshow modes
- Keyboard shortcuts for navigation
- Zoom in/out and fit‑to‑window
- Rotate and flip images
- Batch viewing of multiple images
How to install eog on Linux
sudo apt install eogsudo apt install eogsudo dnf install eogsudo pacman -S eogsudo zypper install eogFrequently asked questions
Can eog edit photos beyond rotation?
No, eog only offers rotate and flip; for cropping, resizing or filters you need another editor like GIMP or Krita.
Does eog handle video files like Windows Photos?
No, eog is strictly an image viewer; use a video player such as VLC for video playback.
Is there any way to batch‑process images in eog?
eog can open multiple files at once for viewing, but it does not provide batch rename, resize or conversion features. Use command‑line tools or a dedicated batch editor for that.
4 other alternatives to Windows Photos
digiKamdigiKam is a comprehensive KDE photo manager for organizing, tagging, and editing digital photos with strong…Open sourceFreeFlatpakdigiKam vs Windows Photos
ShotwellShotwell is a GNOME photo manager for importing, organizing, and lightly editing images.Open sourceFreeFlatpakShotwell vs Windows Photos
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darktabledarktable is a free, open‑source photo editor that manages raw files and offers a full non‑destructive…Open sourceFreeFlatpakdarktable vs Windows Photos