Immich is the perfect Google Photos replacement reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Significant-Neat7754 · 2023-11-14 16:17 I have been searching for a Google Photos replacement. Thanks to [this ](https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/17ubl9a/have_you_replac ed_google_photos_yet_if_so_what_is/) thread from yesterday, I realised that Immich was the way to go. My home server is powerful enough to run it and from the reviews, it seemed like that despite being in development, it was the better option among all. ​ Frankly, I can't believe Immich exists. It's so good. Thank you so much for recommending it. ​ I finally decided to install it though Docker (documentation is great and simple for beginners) and I am completely blown away. It is not just a good Google Photos replacement, in some aspects, it goes beyond. The interface is extremely familiar to anyone who has used Google Photos. Face recognition is eerily accurate and the mobile app is exceptionally good. ​ My only concern was how I would automate back up of photos from the phone beyond Immich (since the developers themselves recommend an alternate backup of photos). Thankfully with Tasker on Android, I was able to create a profile where the photos folder (DCIM folder in my case on Android) is constantly monitored for any changes and then Folder Sync Pro (great app, highly recommended) syncs those new photos to my NAS. All this is handled by Tasker perfectly. That way an alternate backup is created for all photos automatically beyond Immich's auto backup function. ​ So, thank you to everyone who recommended Immich. Those on the fence about Immich should definitely make the switch; it's really good. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- redoverture · 2023-11-14 17:40 A suggestion to back up Immich, mount your photo library as a folder on the host (not a docker volume), then use Duplicati. This runs scheduled backups to either another local storage, or something like Backblaze or OneDrive. The backups are AES encrypted and can efficiently store changes across multiple backup versions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- smnhdy · 2023-11-14 18:19 I have my library on a NAS separate to my docker server… Works brilliantly! The Immich services actually require very little in the form of power… they can run on a lot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- murlakatamenka · 2023-11-14 19:58 > Folder Sync Pro doesn't sound like open source solution. Surely, whatever works, but Syncthing exists too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Significant-Neat7754 · 2023-11-14 20:07 You're right, it isn't. I had paid for Folder Sync Pro a while back and thought of using it since it integrates with Tasker so well. It just seems simpler than having Syncthing which requires me to install a client/server on both devices. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- teemstro · 2023-11-14 20:10 Thanks for the reminder to set this up. My Google account is at 87 percent and I'll be damned if I give them $100 for 2TB of storage for next year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tirarex · 2023-11-14 20:24 I run immich in ubuntu VM with proxmox, and just backup whole vm to local server and offsite server. I use password login, so in edge case, i can host vm anywhere and login to my photo library. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mine_username · 2023-11-14 20:50 I really liked it as well but was disappointed that it doesn't keep folder structure when uploading. Surely I'm not the only one that was hundreds of pics already sorted into folders on my phone? Dev said coming in a future release but it just seems like a basic feature to have on initial release. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- suitcasecalling · 2023-11-14 21:04 Syncthing is how you lose your photos. This happened to me.. when it says that sync thing isn't a backup tool you better believe it! After deleting the photos from my phone once I thought they were backed up Syncthing then synced all my deletes and I lost them all! yay for me ---------------------------------------------------------------------- abandonplanetearth · 2023-11-14 21:45 The demo on their website doesn't work for me, it says wrong username and pw. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RandomName01 · 2023-11-14 21:52 It also lacks support for nested folders, it only allows you to save face data in its own db, doesn’t support existing libraries that well, among other pretty major gripes. Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s a promising project. But I don’t understand the incredible hype behind it when major stuff is missing and while it doesn’t provide you with options that would migrating your library to another piece of software easy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Its_it · 2023-11-14 21:53 Wierd. Their preview demo app works though. [https://main.preview.immich.app](https://main.preview.immich.app) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tomhasser · 2023-11-14 22:05 Thats how Syncthing is supposed to work. You can also let it ignore deletes and set one side send-only and the other one receive-only. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-14 22:10 Hey, Alex here. I think knowing which one is a basic feature is subjective to each use case. All I can say is eventually, we will get there :) In the meantime, we have some basic features implemented to be on par with Google Photos, such as \- Basic upload and view photos, video, LivePhoto, MotionPhoto, and RAW formats with \- Basic support for customizable folder structures (I don't think GPhotos has this) \- basic sharing system with people in the instance or public users via album, shared links, and partners system \- Basic support for CLIP contextual search, facial recognition, and clustering for facial search \- Basic mapping and grouping system (I don't think GPhotos has this on the web) \- Basic support for the external galleries (I don't think GPhotos has this) \- Basic support for OAuth to use with all the providers I think we will get around all of the basic features eventually. Cheers! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-14 22:13 Hello, you can use your existing libraries with the new libraries features added back in September. The more detail can be found here https://immich.app/docs/features/libraries ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vesikk · 2023-11-14 22:45 I have Immich running on a Ubuntu VM on Proxmox. I then mounted a NFS volume in Ubuntu pointing at my Synology so I can increase storage size for Immich without touching Ubuntu. Makes it very quick and simple. From there I use Synology's Hyper Backup to backup daily to my Synology NAS at my parents place. In the case a file is deleted I can quickly restore it. The Immich VM is also backed up daily to Proxmox Backup Server and that is then backed up daily to my parents NAS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- infimum · 2023-11-14 23:16 Check again, we recently added support for importing your existing photos ---------------------------------------------------------------------- infimum · 2023-11-14 23:16 Thanks for reporting, the team is already on it ---------------------------------------------------------------------- smarxx · 2023-11-14 23:18 I have a second SSD then every night at 4am I have cron execute the following: rsync -a /terabyte/immich_uploads/ /home/pi/immich_photo_backup/ Every six months or so, I rsync the lot onto a big ass Thumb drive and give it to a family member to look after ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ST_Lawson · 2023-11-15 01:19 I’d love to get it working (I’ve tried three times), but I always end up getting permission issues where it ends up making my photos inaccessible from the file system (outside of immich). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jtufff · 2023-11-15 01:38 I thought FolderSync could monitor for changes. Why do you need to use Tasker? I haven't used the feature myself but I've seen the option when setting up a folder pair. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lightdesignr · 2023-11-15 03:05 Would anyone say Immich would be a better choice over PhotoPrism? I’ve been messing around with self hosting and I’m curious if anyone has tried them both. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pushxtonotdie · 2023-11-15 03:40 I also tried out immich on my casaos box but apparently they just updated the app to 1.86 while my install is 1.85 and they're apparently incompatible? Not sure if my timing sucks or they break stuff often and expect you to upgrade. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Significant-Neat7754 · 2023-11-15 04:01 Tasker already runs on my phone 24x7. I don't need another battery consuming app to keep running too. Moreover Tasker can detect changes in a folder faster than Folder Sync. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- oldkale · 2023-11-15 04:36 My understanding is Proxmox can run manage both VMs and containers themselves. Assuming that's right, is there any particular reason you went the Ubuntu route? Granted, it was only yesterday that I realized it's time to graduate from Unraid, so I could have fundamental misunderstanding. Thank you for your time ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Morkai · 2023-11-15 04:41 Yeah mine is about ~90% as well. I'm only paying for 100GB and going up to 200GB is not a significant amount of money, but I have like 9TB of disk space free at home, so I might as well move it there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vesikk · 2023-11-15 04:45 I would love to run Docker on top of LXC since LXC is already light on resources but LXC + ZFS + Docker don't really mix well. There have been reported cases where a proxmox update can cause Docker on LXC to no longer function properly. The Proxmox devs also don't recommend running Docker on LXC for that very reason. I've personally seen some weirdness with docker and LXC where certain docker containers don't run properly but the exact same setup as a Ubuntu VM is fine. I've also experienced Docker on LXC not using the allocated memory for some AI testing but again the same setup on Ubuntu VM works correctly. I've seen some reports of a new Proxmox update (version 8.1 from memory) which should solve some of these issues but for me it's better to be safe than sorry. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nona_deca · 2023-11-15 04:48 Suck immich weiner all you want . Its still an unstable garbage. No self host app can replace google photos. The reliability and stability is on another level. There is nothing to break apart like in immich case . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- oldkale · 2023-11-15 04:50 A much appreciated heads up! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nona_deca · 2023-11-15 04:51 What it's like 37$ for me for 2 tb for annual subscription ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nona_deca · 2023-11-15 04:53 Well that's self host in a nutshell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Significant-Neat7754 · 2023-11-15 05:17 I personally found that learning about Docker permissions (or Linux permissions) at length is an investment which keeps reaping rich rewards over time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RandomName01 · 2023-11-15 06:48 I know, but it doesn’t reflect the existing folder structure, which is a basic feature. I said it doesn’t support existing libraries *that well*, not that support it at all. I know the groundwork is there. Either way, I’m excited to see the progress you guys are making and I hope the things I mentioned will all be implemented in due time. Thanks for putting your time and effort into this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wordyplayer · 2023-11-15 07:09 2TB is $99/year for us regular peeps. Are you a business customer? a Google employee? you have special pricing for some reason ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pixelvengeur · 2023-11-15 08:39 I believe what they are complaining about is that there is no "recently deleted" folder, or anything akin to it. Syncthing works wonders for what it's supposed to do, it's just nothing beyond "making sure X folders are in sync". Which, again, is what it advertises it does. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mildly_Excited · 2023-11-15 09:13 It has a hidden trash folder by default iirc, you can also enable versioning and it'll save older versions into a different hidden folder. Main issue for me is that the background process stops running and I'll have to restart it myself. But that's more android power save issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nona_deca · 2023-11-15 09:28 Nope just a regular guy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RagnarRipper · 2023-11-15 11:54 Had photoprism running for a while and Immich to try out a few things. After a few weeks I got annoyed with Photoprism because for what it offers, it was WAY more resource-intense and it always had to be manually nudged to scan/index new pictures, whereas immich was faster than me, sometimes. Sharing albums between users is important to me, in immich I set up the users, each have their own private library and can share between other users on the same instance. This was - as far as I could tell - not possible on photoprism, multiple users aren't supported, so I had two containers running (one for me, one for GF) and sharing albums this way is not feasible. Backups were also not really simple and indexing, as mentioned above, were not automatic. Now I have only one container with immich, we both have our profiles and separate libraries and can share albums among eachother. The app backs up super fast and the images are immediately there. Much better. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Threezeley · 2023-11-15 12:29 Immich vs Synology photos? I'm using photos right now. Only gripe is sometimes cell phone app 'de-syncs' and stops auto-uploading. Need to occasionally log into the app and give it a kick in the pants ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ProbablePenguin · 2023-11-15 13:49 Yeah Syncthing is a **sync** solution, meaning both sides are kept mirrored including deleted files. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ProbablePenguin · 2023-11-15 13:50 There is if you configured it, when you set up a sync folder it shows multiple options including a basic trash can, staggered versioning, and so on. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ProbablePenguin · 2023-11-15 13:50 Immich has the mobile app for auto upload and such. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ProbablePenguin · 2023-11-15 13:51 You can mount existing folder structures read only, no need to upload. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ProbablePenguin · 2023-11-15 13:52 Probably need to configure group permissions, or just set up immich to run as your specific user. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wordyplayer · 2023-11-15 14:35 I wish I was as regular as you. Nice price ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pixelvengeur · 2023-11-15 14:42 Oh interesting, I'll look into it when I set up Syncthing again! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- colin8715 · 2023-11-15 15:17 I used photoprism extensively for about a year before jumping ship to immich. The main reason I moved was because immich had a timeline view, which the developers of Photoprism didn't seem very keen on implementing. The other big reason was that I wanted a dedicated app rather than a web app. And finally, the Photoprism devs were just never very friendly. The Immich devs are much nicer, and very active in their discord. They are also very quick to get new features out. There have been 2 or 3 occasions where I had an idea and Alex and the team had it released within a week. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- colin8715 · 2023-11-15 15:18 A friendly reminder to everyone that if you are enjoying the app and have the means, please help support either one-time or monthly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-15 15:57 Got it, there is more complexity in handling that, that is why it is not introduced yet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-15 19:26 This might be the first time we pushed out an update that led to completely incompatible between versions. We try not to, but in order to make the whole application better, we are not afraid of pushing out breaking changes since it is still in heavy development ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Girgoo · 2023-11-15 21:26 You can buy one drive per year for that price. And you will have faster speed, no need to pay for high speed internet connection. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RandomName01 · 2023-11-15 21:45 I completely understand, I don’t want to be negative or dismiss your efforts at all! I’m keeping an eye on Immich (and a few other projects) because it’s obvious the future looks good, but all photo solutions currently seem to be missing *something*. Either way, thanks for the effort you put into Immich, it’s clear you care about making it the best it can be. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-15 22:21 No worry, I understand. I misread your comments, thus the answer. Since I was pretty stubborn at first to introduce existing gallery support :D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Accomplished-Lack721 · 2023-11-15 22:21 I'm very impressed by Immich, but my biggest reservation using it is that it can't write to EXIF data. If I update metadata in a web app, I'd like those changes to be reflected when I try to use the same images elsewhere. I understand why the developers are reluctant to edit original files. My preferred workflow would be one where metadata updates are (at first) only written to the database (as they are now), but when exporting files out, for the metadata to be written into the EXIF on \*those\* exported files. And for there to be some kind of advanced option to write to the originals, with warnings to the user first about how the change is irreversable. For the moment, Memories works better for me, though no app works exactly the way it would if I were King of the Universe and could just dictate priorities to developers. I'm just grateful that the Immich folks, the Memories folks and others are working so hard to make these apps good. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Accomplished-Lack721 · 2023-11-15 22:50 I find Photoprism is too smart for its own good. It auto-assigns names to things when I don't want it to -- some of them make a lot of sense and cleverly picked up on hints from the filename or elsewhere, but some of them are useless. I also really hate the way it handles duplicates. If you have a large pre-existing library organized into folders (as anyone who's done a Google Takeout would), and a duplicate appears in multiple folders, when importing it'll import it the file from the first folder ... but not the second. But it won't tell you anywhere besides the logs that happened. So when you go through its folder view, browsing for a file in a place you know you had it previously ... it might just not be there. But it *is* still in the underlying file system. So you're presented with what looks a lot like a file browser, showing you existing folders ... and yet it doesn't really represent everything that's in those spots in file system. If you have a full folder of items that are just duplicates of things elsewhere (say a "best of 2023" album or something), it just won't import that folder at all. All that might be fine if the UI gave you any indication it was happening or gave you some options about how to handle duplicates. My preferred way for this to work: The app shouldn't show us folders at all. But it SHOULD offer to turn pre-existing folders into albums when importing. And then if a file appears in one or more pre-existing folder, have it appear in both albums in the app (without actually writing it to the app's file hierarchy multiple times -- just let the photo be assigned to more than one album). I also don't like that in Photoprism, you can't have multiple libraries for multiple users -- you have to spin up multiple instances. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wordyplayer · 2023-11-16 00:32 true, but it does make the "offsite" part easy (step 3) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lightdesignr · 2023-11-16 19:22 That’s awesome! Thank you for the response. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lightdesignr · 2023-11-16 19:36 Awesome thank you for taking the time! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- _win32mydoom_ · 2023-11-16 21:31 But there's an actual plan for allowing creating a folder structure? I can understand if it's beyond the scope of the project, but it would be cool if you could create a folder structure that could easily be exported to other software if that day comes. Something that goes beyond year, month and day. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-16 21:33 You can already do that ---------------------------------------------------------------------- _win32mydoom_ · 2023-11-16 21:38 How? Maybe I should elaborate but I mean a structure e.g. "Vacation photos\2005 USA Trip\Moms Camera" (and other subfolders within same folder). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- altran1502 · 2023-11-16 21:42 Do you already have these folders as an existing gallery? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- _win32mydoom_ · 2023-11-16 21:44 Kind of, but not really. I've been thinking of getting another gallery/file manager to keep that kind of structure and then just utilize "external libraries" in Immich to present it... and then let Immich do what Immich is meant to do. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Haldi4803 · 2023-11-17 20:54 [https://github.com/meichthys/foss\_photo\_libraries](https://github.c om/meichthys/foss_photo_libraries) ​ It works neat as a replacement for google fotos. But if you expect it to work well with your already existing images... well nope :( ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mcbelisle · 2023-11-18 23:22 I can't get mine to work ---------------------------------------------------------------------- halpoins · 2023-12-08 13:39 I’ve seen that Immich has facial recognition now, and that it’s quite good. Will it read existing face tags baked into photo metadata from Digikam? I’ve put a lot of work into my photos already and would love to leverage that if I’m introducing Immich into my ecosystem. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sir_KitKat · 2023-12-10 11:58 I'm using r/Syncthing, running on my phone, sending photo's to my NAS when I'm on the wifi :)