immich
Immich is a self-hosted photo and video management platform built with TypeScript, offering mobile and web clients as a privacy-focused alternative to cloud services like Google Photos. It supports multi-user access, facial recognition, backup automation, and extensive metadata search across stored media.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | immich-app/immich |
| Owner | immich-app |
| Primary language | TypeScript |
| License | AGPL-3.0 — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 106.8k |
| Forks | 6.1k |
| Open issues | 749 |
| Latest release | v3.0.1 (2026-07-02) |
| Last updated | 2026-07-08 |
| Source | https://github.com/immich-app/immich |
What immich is
Full-stack application built on NestJS (backend), Svelte/SvelteKit (web), and Flutter (mobile), featuring PostgreSQL storage, ML-based object/face recognition via CLIP, OAuth integration, and API key authentication. Designed for high-performance media indexing and retrieval on self-hosted infrastructure.
Get the immich source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/immich-app/immich.gitcd immich# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Requires Docker/Kubernetes deployment or native setup; no official managed hosting. Plan for PostgreSQL, filesystem storage, and reverse-proxy configuration.
- AGPL-3.0 license obligates you to publish any modifications; proprietary extensions or closed-source deployments are not permitted without separate license negotiation.
- Mobile backup and facial recognition depend on stable network and sufficient compute (GPU recommended for CLIP-based search); resource requirements scale with library size.
- Multi-user model requires authentication setup (OAuth or API keys); no built-in tenant isolation or per-user storage quotas documented.
- Raw media support and metadata indexing add storage and indexing overhead; plan disk I/O and database capacity accordingly.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Managed SaaS preference — If your team wants zero infrastructure overhead and relies on vendor-managed uptime SLAs, hosting and maintaining Immich yourself introduces operational burden (backups, updates, resource planning).
- Enterprise compliance and audit trails — Immich does not clearly document HIPAA, SOC 2, or detailed audit logging. Organizations with strict regulatory requirements should review compliance posture independently.
- Real-time sync across many devices — While mobile backup exists, Immich is optimized for periodic backup and sharing rather than true real-time file synchronization. Use cases requiring instant cross-device sync (like Dropbox) may be better served elsewhere.
- Large-scale, high-concurrency production — Project is relatively young (created Feb 2022) and actively developed but lacks published performance benchmarks or case studies on multi-thousand user deployments. Risk assessment needed for critical business workloads.
License & commercial use
AGPL-3.0 (GNU Affero General Public License v3.0). This is a strong copyleft license requiring any modifications, derivative works, or networked distributions to also be open-source under AGPL-3.0. Commercial use of the unmodified software is permitted; commercial modifications or SaaS offerings require open-sourcing or separate commercial licensing.
Commercial use of Immich as-is (self-hosted by your organization) is permitted under AGPL-3.0. However, if you modify the code or offer it as a service (SaaS), you must either publish all modifications under AGPL-3.0 or obtain a separate commercial license from the copyright holder. Verify licensing intent with Immich maintainers before commercial derivative products.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Moderate |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Self-hosted model eliminates third-party cloud vendor risk but places full responsibility on operators for infrastructure security, TLS/network configuration, database hardening, and backup integrity. OAuth and API key authentication are supported. No published security audit, vulnerability disclosure policy, or CVSS ratings in provided data. AGPL-3.0 enables community code review but does not guarantee security posture. Operators must patch promptly and follow the project's security advisories.
Alternatives to consider
Nextcloud
Mature self-hosted platform with broader file sync, calendar, and collaboration features. Larger ecosystem and more published enterprise deployments, but heavier footprint and less specialized for photo/video management.
PhotoPrism
Lightweight, self-hosted photo management with AI tagging and facial recognition. Simpler deployment than Immich but smaller community and fewer mobile-first features.
Synology Moments
Proprietary photo app for Synology NAS. Easy deployment on NAS hardware but vendor lock-in and limited cross-platform support compared to Immich's mobile-first design.
Build on immich with DEV.co software developers
Immich offers privacy-first photo management with AI search and multi-user sharing. Our team can help architect, deploy, and maintain a production Immich instance tailored to your infrastructure and compliance needs.
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immich FAQ
Can I use Immich commercially?
What are the minimum hardware requirements?
Is there an official mobile client?
Does Immich include a managed hosting option?
Software developers & web developers for hire
Adopting immich is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source devops software in production.
Ready to self-host your photo library?
Immich offers privacy-first photo management with AI search and multi-user sharing. Our team can help architect, deploy, and maintain a production Immich instance tailored to your infrastructure and compliance needs.