Gambas is a free, BASIC-based development platform for Linux and Unix-like systems. It is more than a visual IDE: its toolchain includes a compiler, interpreter, archiver, GUI components and development tools. Gambas class files are compiled and then run by the Gambas interpreter.
What is Gambas?
The Gambas project describes Gambas as a free development environment and full platform based on a BASIC interpreter with object extensions. Its IDE is itself written in Gambas, but the IDE is only one part of the platform. The Debian man page describes a toolchain that includes a compiler, interpreter, archiver, GUI component and development environment. Gambas project · Debian man page
How a Gambas program runs
A program is made up of files that describe classes. Gambas compiles those class files, then its interpreter executes them. This is not simply a matter of writing BASIC inside a graphical editor: the IDE works with a language toolchain and components that support application development.
Is Gambas like Visual Basic?
Gambas shares a BASIC foundation and object-oriented extensions, but the documented facts here do not establish a feature-by-feature comparison with Visual Basic. The useful distinction is that Gambas is presented as a Linux- and Unix-like-systems development platform, with its own compiler and interpreter, IDE, and components. Do not assume project compatibility or identical language behavior based only on the shared BASIC heritage.
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What can I build with Gambas?
The Debian man page documents capabilities for several application areas. Which capabilities are usable on a particular machine depends on the components packaged and installed for that distribution.
- Desktop interfaces: design graphical interfaces using Qt or GTK.
- Database-backed applications: work with MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite or ODBC databases.
- Desktop and multimedia applications: use documented DBus, GStreamer, OpenGL and SDL capabilities.
- Web applications: the Gambas 3.21.0 release announcement notes improved web application debugging in the IDE; this is not, by itself, a claim about every web framework or deployment option.
These are documented platform capabilities, not a guarantee that every library or component is included in every distribution’s Gambas package. Debian man page
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Does Gambas support Qt or GTK?
Yes. The Debian man page describes Gambas as supporting the design of graphical interfaces with either Qt or GTK. The exact components available depend on how Gambas is packaged for your distribution, so check the package catalog and component dependencies for your system rather than assuming both toolkits are installed by the IDE package.
What is the latest Gambas version?
The latest release established by the dated sources cited here is Gambas 3.21.0, announced by maintainer Benoît Minisini on 20 October 2025. The announcement states, “Gambas 3.21.0 is now officially released.” Because releases and distribution packages can change, check the upstream release page and your distribution’s package catalog for the current version before installing. Gambas 3.21.0 release announcement
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Notable changes in Gambas 3.21.0
The announcement lists IDE updates including configurable GUI theme roundness, flatness and contrast; improved web application debugging; an image editor with improved selection and grid drawing; a process manager for running Gambas interpreters; a detachable debugger panel; individual-file commits and cherry-picking in version control; and IDE coloring according to the current branch. Language additions named in the announcement include AFTER DO, EVERY DO, Process.Exist and string-related functions. Release announcement
How do I install Gambas on Linux?
Gambas is distributed through Linux package channels, but package names, versions and component availability vary by distribution and change over time. The 20 October 2025 release announcement listed packages through openSUSE build servers for Arch Linux; Debian 11, 12 and 13; openSUSE Leap 15.6 and Tumbleweed; and Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, 24.04 and 24.10. That is a dated availability statement, not a promise of present-day support. Fedora’s package catalog has also listed Gambas 3.21 builds across Fedora releases. Check the current catalog for your exact distribution and release, or follow Gambas’s current installation instructions; the available sources do not establish one installation command suitable for every system. Release announcement · Fedora package page
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Understand the package roles
A Gambas installation may be split into packages rather than delivered as one indivisible application. The Gambas packaging specification for version 3.15, revised 26 December 2024, describes three roles:
- Runtime: the interpreter needed to execute Gambas programs.
- Development tools: tools such as the compiler, archiver, informer and help generator.
- IDE: the graphical development environment, described as depending on the runtime, development tools and required components.
The same specification identifies external tools for translation and package creation, and Git and Subversion among optional version-control tools. It describes a particular packaging specification, not a guaranteed current dependency list for every distribution. Gambas packaging specification
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Launch the IDE
On Debian testing, the documented command is gambas3 [options] [<project directory>]. You can supply a project directory to open it, or use the listed options to inspect the installed program:
gambas3 --version(or-V) displays version information.gambas3 --license(or-L) displays license information.gambas3 --help(or-h) displays help.
These command-line details are from the Debian testing man page and may not describe every packaging choice on other distributions. Debian man page
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