How do I recover unsaved files in Gimp?
There's no easy way to recover these files. Gimp does not save data automatically in case you forget to save. If the application crashes, there's no way to save the data before closing the error; so, you should save all of your data after every accepted step, unless you don't care if you lose your work.
Plugin research revealed two promising links, which are both very similar. The "linux-only" link was junk and isn't mentioned here.
Short, untested, open-source attempts (both done in python):
- http://www.gimpusers.com/forums/gimp-developer/11718-autosave-plugin - more officious and seemingly robust.
- https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg18118.html - better tabbing.
According to the author of the (2), GIMP does not want to have an auto-save feature because it makes your privacy more secure: advanced users don't have the "secret hidden tmp directory" to spy on unsuspecting beginners.
data-privacy
The more officious code says that it saves all open documents to the prescribed location every 30 minutes. Thirty minuets is a wide gap: I want to recommend 10 seconds, but perhaps the auto-save process is processor-intensive, and it might even interrupt your work-flow. If it does not interrupt your work flow, you should get it down to less than 5 minutes because that's about how long an old laptop battery lasts if you forget to plug it in and don't get/have battery alerts (like in Ubuntu Mate).
data-integrity
Backups are kept in the /home/<user_name>/.gimp-2.8/tmp.
Or you can to File menu to find the document history. Go File --> Open Recent --> Document History.
