Open source photo management and backup tools

Backup libraries, archive browsers and web galleries

The tools in this category do one of three jobs, so start by working out which one you need.

• Backup-first libraries replace Google Photos or iCloud Photos from start to finish. A mobile app uploads the camera roll in the background, and the server builds a timeline, groups faces and offers search and sharing. Immich and Ente Photos have their own Android and iOS apps. Memories does the same job inside Nextcloud and uses the Nextcloud mobile apps for automatic upload.
• Library and discovery tools index a folder archive you already have and add search, face recognition, maps and sharing. Getting photos off your phone is left to another tool. PhotoPrism (which works with third-party WebDAV sync apps), LibrePhotos, Damselfly and HomeGallery work this way.
• Web galleries are for publishing and sharing albums, often on cheap PHP hosting or a Raspberry Pi. Lychee, Piwigo, Photoview and PiGallery2 are in this group.

Several of these tools treat the file system as the source of truth. PiGallery2 and Photoview never write to the photo folder, and PhotoPrism and Immich’s external libraries can index folders read-only. That makes it easier to try a tool out, or to switch to another one later.

Encryption and who can see your photos

Ente Photos is the only listed project with end-to-end encryption. Files and metadata are encrypted on the device before upload, so face recognition and search have to run on the phone or computer rather than on the server. With every other tool, whoever runs the server can see the photos. That is acceptable when the server is your own machine at home, but it is worth thinking about before you use a shared host or a friend’s server. Where the machine learning runs varies too: Immich, PhotoPrism and LibrePhotos run their models on your server, and HomeGallery sends low-resolution previews to the project’s public API by default, unless you run that API server yourself or turn the AI features off.

A library is not a backup

Syncing is not the same as backing up. Apple says iCloud Photos is not duplicated in iCloud Backup and advises keeping your own copies, and a deletion syncs to every device and becomes permanent after 30 days. The same applies to a self-hosted server. Immich’s documentation recommends a 3-2-1 backup of both files and database, and points out that its automatic database dumps hold metadata only. PhotoPrism’s backup guide says a full backup needs the originals, a database dump and its storage folder. Plan for disk failure before you delete photos from your phone.

What to check before you choose

1. Phone backup. A native app with background upload (Immich, Ente), the Nextcloud apps (Memories), a third-party sync app (PhotoPrism), or no phone backup at all (the galleries).
2. Existing folders. Can it index your current archive in place, or do you have to upload everything into its own storage?
3. Hardware. Immich needs at least 6 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), LibrePhotos at least 4 GB (8 GB recommended), and PhotoPrism at least 2 cores and 3 GB. Ente’s server needs about 1 GB because the machine learning runs on the clients, and PiGallery2 is built for a Raspberry Pi.
4. Migration. PhotoPrism reads the JSON metadata in a Google Takeout export but does not import albums. Ente’s desktop app imports Takeout archives, and Memories documents Takeout migration. For Immich, the project points to the community tool immich-go.
5. Sharing. Public links, shared albums, partner sharing and separate accounts for family members.
6. License and paid editions. PhotoPrism’s default Docker image is under the proprietary PhotoPrism Plus License, and its ce tag is the AGPL build. Lychee sells a Supporter Edition with extra features. Each app page explains these details.

Projects not listed

No notable source-available self-hosted photo library (BSL, FSL, SSPL and similar licenses) turned up. PhotoStructure is often mentioned, but it is proprietary software under an end-user license agreement, and its GitHub repository only holds install files. digiKam is developed on KDE’s own GitLab and is a desktop application. Photonix says it is not yet feature complete for version 1.0, and Stingle Photos is below the size threshold for this directory.