GIMP is definitely not a daemon; I don't think it even has a run in the background mode. Maybe something with snaps?

No no, just misread, my fault, sorry. Mixed "dragging up demons" and then it reminded me of my traumas with GIMP, PulseAudio, CUDA, etc

Ah, fair and understandable :)

Gimp is not typically used as background process. It's primary use is as an interactive tool with a UI, therefore it's not typically a daemon. [1]

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computing)

Thank you for the kind and actually helpful answer, especially in the face of a rant. I will pay more attention next time.

It's not the greatest, for sure, but it's a complex tool for a complex task.

If you think Gimp is terrible you'll hate something like DaVinci Resolve.