Is it possible to copy red channel to alpha channel in gimp?

This does the job well:

Colors->Components->Decompose

  • Set Color Model to RGBA
  • Uncheck "Decompose to layers" - my personal preference
  • OK

Colors->Components->Recompose

Swap the RED and ALPHA channels


It seems that "Colors -> Color To Alpha" should do the trick if you set the color to ff0000.