As you may know, Scribus is a free, open-source, cross-platform desktop publishing (DTP) software, designed with both beginners and professional designers in mind. It has a rich set of features and tools, allowing users to create amazing layouts for different purposes. It is ideal for designing brochures, magazines, newsletters, posters, business card and even books.
The software has all the tools necesarry for creating professional-grade projects.Among others, it has support for advanced typography, giving the users control over text formatting and layout. It also has tools for managing colors (including CMYK and spot colors), making it a good option for print-ready projects.
Scribus’s vector drawing capabilities and support for importing various image and document formats further enhance its versatility.Also, it has PDF creating features, allowing users to produce interactive print-ready PDFs with embedded fonts, hyperlinks and forms and also provides advanced layout management for mastering multi-page documents.
The latest version available:
The latest version available is Scribus 1.6.3, which brings the below enhancements, according to the release notes.
General
- Preferences for guide and baseline colors not read.
- Various GUI issues, including non-responsive fields in menus.
- Updated non-HTTPS URLs to current versions.
- Crash on opening PDF and selecting the option to import text as text.
- A case of corrupt PDF generation was fixed.
User Interface (UI) Improvements
- Resolved shortcut issues.
- Fixed increased width in Color Management menu after multiple uses.
- Addressed problems with item attributes and spin box functions.
Graphics/Image Frame Bugs
- File manager issues with external drive detection.
- Update Image” functionality fixed.
- Improvements to CMYK image import
Undo/Redo Functionality
- Fixed crash on undoing last paragraph deletions in Story Editor.
- Resolved an issue with restoring frames and bookmarks.
Build System
- Addressed compilation issues when building against newer versions of poppler.
Scripting Enhancements
- Added new Python functions for unit conversion, baseline adjustments and text styling.
- Improved image export quality settings.
Localization Updates
- Updated translation files

Method 2: How to Install Scribus 1.6.3 on Ubuntu 24.10, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04 via PPA
(Optional) Step 0: Update Your System
Keeping your system up to date ensures you have the latest security patches and package versions, preventing compatibility issues.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
This command updates your package lists and upgrades installed packages to their latest versions.
Step 1: Add the Scribus Repository
Scribus is not always included in Ubuntu’s default repositories in its latest version. To install it, you need to add a PPA (Personal Package Archive).
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:scribus/ppa
A PPA is a third-party software repository that provides software updates that may not be available in official Ubuntu repositories. Adding this PPA allows your system to install the latest version of Scribus.
Press Enter when prompted to confirm the addition of the repository.
Step 2: Update the Package List
After adding the repository, Ubuntu does not automatically recognize the new package. Run the following command to refresh the package index:
sudo apt update
This ensures that Ubuntu fetches the latest package information and recognizes Scribus as an installable application.
Step 3: Install Scribus
Once the package list is updated, you can install Scribus using the following command:
sudo apt install scribus -y
The -y
flag automatically confirms the installation, so the process continues without requiring manual input.
(Optional) Remove Scribus
If you decide to uninstall Scribus, you can remove it using:
sudo apt remove scribus -y
To completely remove Scribus, including configuration files, use:
sudo apt purge scribus -y
Additionally, to remove the repository that was added earlier, run:
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:scribus/ppa
Finally, clean up any unnecessary packages with:
sudo apt autoremove -y
How To Install Scribus 1.6.3 On Ubuntu 24.10, Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 22.04 And Derivative Systems (via Flatpak
Flatpak is another popular package management system, designed to provide a consistent and secure way of distributing applications across various Linux distributions. Unlike Snap, which is developed and maintained by Canonical, Flatpak is an open-source project supported by the Freedesktop community.
Flatpak applications run in their own sandboxed environment, which prevents them from interfering with system files. This ensures better security and isolation while allowing applications to run on any Linux distribution that supports Flatpak.
One of Flatpak’s main advantages is its decentralized nature. Users can download applications from Flathub, the main Flatpak repository, rather than relying on distribution-specific repositories. However, just like Snap, Flatpak applications can take up more space due to their bundled dependencies.
Setup Flatpak and Install Scribus
If you prefer to install Scribus using Flatpak, first ensure that you have Flatpak installed on your system. If Flatpak is not installed, set it up with the following commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Once Flatpak is installed and Flathub is added, install Scribus with:
flatpak install flathub net.scribus.Scribus
Launch Scribus Using Flatpak
To run Scribus after installation, use:
flatpak run net.scribus.Scribus
Optional: Uninstall Scribus Using Flatpak
To remove Scribus if installed via Flatpak, use the command:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data net.scribus.Scribus
This is everything. Enjoy!