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Setup

PhotoPrism can be installed on all operating systems supporting Docker, as well as FreeBSD, Raspberry Pi, and many NAS devices. It is also available in the cloud on PikaPods and DigitalOcean.

We recommend running PhotoPrism with Docker Compose when hosting it on a private server. It is available for Mac, Linux, and Windows.

Once the initial setup is complete, our First Steps 👣 tutorial guides you through the user interface and settings to ensure your library is indexed according to your individual preferences.

Our stable releases and preview builds are available as multi-arch Docker images for 64-bit AMD, Intel, and ARM processors. Experienced users can alternatively use the packages at dl.photoprism.app/pkg/linux/ to manually install PhotoPrism on compatible Linux distributions. For more installation methods, see our Getting Started FAQ.

System Requirements

You should host PhotoPrism on a server with at least 2 cores, 3 GB of physical memory,1 and a 64-bit operating system. Beyond these minimum requirements, the amount of RAM should match the number of CPU cores. Indexing large photo and video collections also benefits greatly from local SSD storage, especially for the database and cache files.

Also ensure that your server has at least 4 GB of swap configured and avoid setting a hard memory limit as this can cause unexpected restarts when the indexer temporarily needs more memory to process large files. Indexing RAW images and high-resolution panoramas may require additional swap space and/or physical memory beyond the recommended minimum.

We take no responsibility for instability or performance problems if your device does not meet the requirements.

Databases

PhotoPrism is compatible with SQLite 3 and MariaDB 10.5.12+.2 Note that SQLite is generally not a good choice for users who require scalability and high performance, and that support for MySQL 8 has been discontinued due to low demand and missing features.3

Browsers

Built as a Progressive Web App (PWA), the web interface works with most modern browsers, and runs best on Chrome, Chromium, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. You can conveniently install it on the home screen of all major operating systems and mobile devices.

Not all video and audio formats can be played with every browser. For example, AAC - the default audio codec for MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 - is supported natively in Chrome, Safari, and Edge, while it is only optionally supported by the OS in Firefox and Opera.

HTTPS

If you install PhotoPrism on a public server outside your home network, always run it behind a secure HTTPS reverse proxy such as Traefik or Caddy. Your files and passwords will otherwise be transmitted in clear text and can be intercepted by anyone, including your provider, hackers, and governments. Backup tools and file sync apps like FolderSync may refuse to connect as well.

Firewall

In order to successfully set up your installation and view location details in PhotoPrism, you must allow incoming requests as well as those to our Geocoding API and Docker if you have a firewall installed, and make sure that your Internet connection is working.

Configure Firewall ›

Maps & Places

As explained in our Privacy Policy, reverse geocoding and interactive world maps depend on retrieving the necessary information from us and MapTiler AG, headquartered in Switzerland. Both services are provided with a very high level of privacy and confidentiality.4

Your use of these services is fully covered by us. Depending on your usage, this can save you much more than the cost of a PhotoPrism+ Membership, since other providers generally charge usage-based fees and often don't allow you to cache the data they provide, compromising performance and your privacy with unnecessary requests.

View Privacy Policy › View Compliance FAQ ›

Roadmap

Our vision is to provide the most user- and privacy-friendly solution to keep your pictures organized and accessible. The project roadmap shows what tasks are in progress, what needs testing, and which features are going to be implemented next.

Please note, however, that we have a zero-bug policy and do our best to help users when they need support or have questions. This comes at a price, as we can't give exact release dates for new features.

Getting Support

If you need help installing our software at home, you are welcome to post your question in GitHub Discussions or ask in our Community Chat. Common problems can be quickly diagnosed and solved using our Troubleshooting Checklists. Silver, Gold, and Platinum members are also welcome to email us for technical support and advice.

View Support Options › Compare Memberships ›

We kindly ask you not to report bugs via GitHub Issues unless you are certain to have found a fully reproducible and previously unreported issue that must be fixed directly in the app. Contact us or a community member if you need help, it could be a configuration problem, or a misunderstanding in how the software works.

  1. RAW image conversion and TensorFlow are disabled on systems with 1 GB or less memory ↩

  2. Our configuration examples are generally based on the current stable MariaDB version to take advantage of performance improvements. This does not mean that older versions are no longer supported and you must upgrade immediately. We recommend not using the :latest tag for the MariaDB Docker image and to upgrade manually by changing the tag once we had a chance to test a new major version. ↩

  3. Oracle seems to have stopped shipping new features and enhancements. As a result, the testing effort required before each release is no longer feasible. ↩

  4. Our Compliance FAQ gives answers to the most frequently asked questions about product compliance and scalability. ↩