How to Install Inkscape on Windows, Mac & Linux
To install Inkscape, download the official 1.4.4 build for your operating system, then run it — an .exe on Windows, a .dmg on macOS, or an AppImage on Linux. The free vector editor is served straight from inkscape.org, needs no account, and installs in a couple of minutes. This page walks each platform step by step and covers the security prompts you will meet on the way.
Before you start
- Version: 1.4.4, released 6 May 2026 — the current stable build for every platform.
- Download size: roughly 100–150 MB; the install finishes quickly once the file is on disk.
- Windows: 10 or 11, 64-bit. An ARM64 build exists for Snapdragon devices such as the Surface Pro.
- macOS: 10.13 or newer, with separate Apple Silicon (ARM64) and Intel (x86_64) disk images.
- Linux: AppImage runs on any distribution; Flatpak, Snap, and an Ubuntu PPA are also offered.
- Upgrading: uninstall the previous version first — the project recommends this to avoid launch problems.
Install on Windows
The 64-bit .exe suits almost everyone. Grab it from the Windows download guide or the button below, then follow these steps.
- Download the Windows .exe from inkscape.org.
- Double-click the file. If Windows SmartScreen appears, choose More info then Run anyway (see the note below).
- Accept the default install location and click through the wizard. Administrator rights install it for all users.
- Launch Inkscape from the Start menu. The first start pauses a few seconds while it builds its font cache.
Managed and portable setups have their own files: the MSI package deploys silently across a fleet, while the .7z archive runs without installing. To keep two versions side by side, extract the 7z into an empty folder and make the shortcut yourself.
Install on macOS
Pick the disk image that matches your chip. Check the Apple menu → About This Mac: an M1, M2, M3, or M4 means Apple Silicon; anything else is Intel. The Mac download guide has both links.
- Download the Apple Silicon .dmg or the Intel .dmg.
- Open the .dmg and drag the Inkscape icon onto the Applications folder shortcut in the same window.
- On first launch macOS may block an "unidentified developer" app. Right-click Inkscape in Applications, choose Open, then confirm Open in the Gatekeeper dialog.
- Eject the disk image once the copy finishes. XQuartz is not required — that dependency ended with the old 0.9x line.
Install on Linux
The AppImage is the distribution-independent route: one file, no package manager, no root. Flatpak, Snap, and the Ubuntu PPA are covered on the Linux download guide.
- Download the AppImage into a folder you can find again, such as
~/Applications. - Mark it executable:
chmod +xthe file, or tick "Allow executing file as program" in your file manager's Properties dialog. - Double-click it, or run
./Inkscape-1.4.4.AppImagefrom a terminal, to start the editor. - Prefer sandboxed packages? Install the Flatpak or the Ubuntu PPA instead.
About those security prompts. Windows SmartScreen and the macOS Gatekeeper warning both appear because the installer is downloaded from the internet, not because Inkscape is unsafe. They are expected. The safe habit is simple: only trust them when the file came from inkscape.org. Any site charging money, wrapping the installer in a download manager, or advertising an "Inkscape Pro" is not the project — there is no paid tier and no account.
First launch and upgrade fixes
The first time you open Inkscape it scans installed fonts and writes a cache, so the window can take several seconds to appear. That happens once. If a later start still hangs or the program misbehaves after an update, a stale user profile is the usual cause.
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Won't launch after an upgrade | Uninstall the old version fully, then reinstall 1.4.4. |
| Broken toolbars or odd behaviour | Reset preferences: rename the config folder so Inkscape rebuilds a fresh one. |
| Slow every start, not just the first | Clear the font cache, then reopen so it rebuilds cleanly. |
To reset preferences, close Inkscape and rename its settings folder — %APPDATA%\inkscape on Windows, ~/.config/inkscape on macOS and Linux. The next launch writes a clean default profile, and your documents are untouched because they live elsewhere. Rename rather than delete so you can restore custom keyboard shortcuts if you want them back.
That is every platform. If you have not downloaded a build yet, start on the main download page or read the FAQ. When in doubt about a link, go straight to the source at inkscape.org — we host no installers and every button here hands you to the project's own servers.
Common questions
How long does installing Inkscape take?
A couple of minutes. The download is roughly 100-150 MB depending on platform, and the installer finishes in under a minute on most machines.