Immich: Easy Self-Hosted Photo Management Server Setup Guide

You know what? Privacy isn’t just a buzzword anymore—it’s a necessity. And when it comes to storing your precious memories—those candid family photos, those goofy videos of your dog—trusting a third-party cloud service can feel like handing over your diary to a stranger. That’s where Immich steps in, offering a self-hosted, open-source alternative to services like Google Photos or iCloud. Think of it as your very own private vault for photos and videos, one that you control entirely.

But is it worth the effort? Let’s break it down together.

Why Immich Stands Out (And Why You Should Care)

Immich wasn’t born out of some corporate boardroom brainstorming session. Nope. It started with a dad—a guy named Alex Tran—who wanted a safe, private way to store photos of his newborn baby. No ads, no algorithms peeking at his pictures, no risk of data breaches. Just pure, unfiltered privacy. Fast forward to today, and Immich has grown into a powerhouse tool for managing photos and videos, complete with features that rival its big-name competitors.

Here’s what makes it special:

• A sleek interface that feels eerily similar to Google Photos.
• Automatic uploads from both Android and iOS devices.
• Smart features like facial recognition and AI-powered search.
• Full ownership and control over your data—no strings attached.

Honestly, who wouldn’t want that?

Setting Up Immich: Easier Than You Think

Before you panic about setting up a “self-hosted” solution, let me assure you—it’s not rocket science. Sure, there’s a bit of prep work involved, but if you’ve ever tinkered with Docker or set up a NAS (Network Attached Storage), you’re already halfway there.

What You’ll Need

First things first, here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• A Server with Docker: This could be anything from a Synology NAS to an old PC running Ubuntu.
• Some decent hardware specs: Ideally, 6GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores, though 4GB and 2 cores might scrape by if you’re on a budget.
• Plenty of storage space: Photos and videos eat up space faster than you’d think. Plan accordingly.
• Optional extras:
  • Reverse Proxy: A reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx Proxy Manager, Caddy, Traefik) for external access and domain usage.
  • DNS-Server: A DNS server (e.g., Adguard Home, Pi-Hole, Technitium) for internal forwarding.
  • VPN-Server: If the server is not on your own network, setting up a VPN server like WireGuard or OpenVPN is recommended.
  • SMTP EMail Address: An SMTP address can be used for notifications, e.g., a shared web hosting plan from Netcup.

Organizing Your Files

Before diving into the installation, take a moment to organize your folders. You’ll need two main directories:

• data: Where your photos and videos will live.
• db: For the PostgreSQL database.

For example:

cd ~
mkdir immich
cd immich
mkdir db data

/home/user/immich
├── db
└── data

touch docker-compose.yml

/volume1/docker/
└── immich
    └── db

/volume2/dockerhdd/
└── immich
    └── data

/volume1/docker/
└── immich
    |── db
    └── data
# or
/volume1/docker/
└── immich
    └── db

/volume2/dockerhdd/
└── immich
    └── data

Firewall

To ensure that the created containers can communicate with each other, it is recommended to either allow the entire internal IP range or check the IP addresses used by the containers after installation if you have a restrictive firewall. Otherwise, the containers may not be able to communicate with each other.

Writing the Docker Compose File

Once your folders are ready, it’s time to write the docker-compose.yml file. This file tells Docker which containers to spin up and how they should interact. Here’s a quick rundown of the key components:

• Redis: Handles caching for faster performance.
• PostgreSQL: The database engine, enhanced with pgvecto.rs for vector-based searches.
• Immich Server: The brains of the operation.
• Immich Machine: Powers AI-driven features like facial recognition.

Docker Compose File

First, we need the container commands to perform the installation.

1
2networks:
3  internal:
4    name: internal
5    external: false
6  
7
8volumes:
9  model-cache:
10
11services:
12  redis:
13    container_name: immich_redis
14    image: redis:7-alpine
15    restart: unless-stopped
16    networks:
17      - internal
18    healthcheck:
19      test: redis-cli ping || exit 1
20
21  db:
22    container_name: immich_db
23    image: tensorchord/pgvecto-rs:pg16-v0.3.0
24    restart: unless-stopped
25    networks:
26      - internal
27    volumes:
28      - /volume1/docker/immich/db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
29    environment:
30      POSTGRES_DB: immich
31      POSTGRES_USER: immich
32      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: changeMeIamAPassword
33      POSTGRES_INITDB_ARGS: '--data-checksums'
34    healthcheck:
35      test: pg_isready --dbname='immich' --username='immich' || exit 1; Chksum="$$(psql --dbname='immich' --username='immich' --tuples-only --no-align --command='SELECT COALESCE(SUM(checksum_failures), 0) FROM pg_stat_database')"; echo "checksum failure count is $$Chksum"; [ "$$Chksum" = '0' ] || exit 1
36      interval: 5m
37      start_interval: 30s
38      start_period: 5m
39    command:
40      [
41        'postgres',
42        '-c',
43        'shared_preload_libraries=vectors.so',
44        '-c',
45        'search_path="$$user", public, vectors',
46        '-c',
47        'logging_collector=on',
48        '-c',
49        'max_wal_size=2GB',
50        '-c',
51        'shared_buffers=512MB',
52        '-c',
53        'wal_compression=on',
54      ]
55
56  immich:
57    container_name: immich
58    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:v1.125.7
59    restart: unless-stopped
60    depends_on:
61      - db
62      - redis
63    networks:
64      - internal
65      
66    ports:
67      - 2283:2283
68    volumes:
69      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
70      - /volume1/docker/immich/data:/usr/src/app/upload
71    environment:
72      DB_HOSTNAME: db
73      DB_USERNAME: immich
74      DB_DATABASE_NAME: immich
75      DB_PASSWORD: changeMeIamAPassword
76      TZ: Europe/Berlin
77    healthcheck:
78      disable: false
79
80  immich-machine-learning:
81    container_name: immich-machine-learning
82    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:v1.125.7
83    restart: unless-stopped
84    depends_on:
85      - db
86      - redis
87    networks:
88      - internal
89    volumes:
90      - model-cache:/cache
91    environment:
92      DB_HOSTNAME: db
93      DB_USERNAME: immich
94      DB_DATABASE_NAME: immich
95      DB_PASSWORD: changeMeIamAPassword
96      TZ: Europe/Berlin
97    healthcheck:
98      disable: false
99    
📋

The images can be customized, but I advise against using latest or release as it can lead to problems if a new incompatible image is published. Especially while Immich is in beta, you should not simply specify other tags. You can check on the container page to see which image is currently the newest.

Reverse Proxy

To make Immich accessible via a domain like immich.domain.com, we set up a reverse proxy in the meantime.

client_max_body_size 50000M;
proxy_redirect off;

{
    acme_ca https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
    email   mail@domain.com
}

immich.domain.de {
    @blocked not remote_ip private_ranges
    respond @blocked 403
    reverse_proxy 192.168.1.123:8010
    client_max_body_size 50G
}

{
    acme_ca https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
    email   mail@domain.de
}

immich.domain.de {
    reverse_proxy 192.168.1.123:8010
    client_max_body_size 50G
}

First Login

Immich should now be accessible under the domain or the IP address of the server (with port 2283).

The first user is an admin user. This user can add additional users and change settings.

The setup is self-explanatory. In the administration, you can now add new users and assign them a storage quota. Users can then log in with their email address and a password.

If you have an SMTP address, you can also set up notifications. This is particularly useful if multiple users access Immich and share images. For example, a web hosting plan from Netcup with an email inbox can be used here. Costs start at €2.17 per month.

Apps

Immich also offers apps for Android and iOS. These can be downloaded from the respective app stores. The apps are free and allow photos and videos to be uploaded directly from devices.

Immich App Android

Immich App iOS

Features:

• Automatic Upload: New photos and videos are automatically uploaded.
• Sharing and Collaboration: Albums can be shared with family and friends.

Create Backup

For a complete backup, the folders db-backup (database) and data (images and videos) should be secured. This can be done manually. Alternatively, it can be automated with a script or a backup tool like rsync or Duplicati.

An advantage (and simultaneously a disadvantage) of Immich is that the images are stored in a normal file system. This means that if something goes wrong and Immich no longer works, you can simply copy the images and restore them on another system (provided the images have not been deleted).

Conclusion

Immich should now be running. I appreciate any comments. Enjoy managing your images!