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please recommend a simple selfhosted photo gallery
(lemmy.today)
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this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2026
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Immich works really well. Don’t fear the database. Docker makes it all super easy too.
Alternatively, Plex manages photos ok-ish.
I don’t understand why the OS and file system don’t constitute, themselves, a database. Over the years I have spent a lot of time organizing my photo names, folders, and labels. I want a display service that will take advantage of that, not change it, and update immediately to any changes I make to it.
They do; just not optimized for that task
I really don't want another complex service i have to manage. ideally i want something that's a simple python/perl/php script or something like that.
forgot to mention in OP but I run freebsd on my server and it's possible to run docker(podman) with linux emulation if it's very necessary, but i prefer not to use it
I feel like this is a case of not wanting to do the "difficult" thing because it sounds difficult when really avoiding the "difficult" thing is more difficult than just doing the "difficult" thing.
I was replacing the power steering rack on my P2 Volvo XC70 recently. I really didn't want to drop the subframe because that sounded like a lot of work. Eventually I realized dropping the subframe was the easier way to get the power steering rack out and, in the end, it was way easier to just drop the subframe. It was like 10 more bolts and wasn't that hard to put back. In this analogy, Immich is dropping the subframe, just do it.
no, it's more about that i don't want a separate linux installation on my freebsd server, all with its meaningless attack surfaces and such. i want something lightweight, and i specifically mentioned immich isn't what i want in the OP. yet you folks are all downvoting and trying to persuade me to try that. no, i'm not using that.
after hearing it a few times i've tried it before and it's not what i want. even ignoring the server part i hate that clunky google photos ripoff web interface.
I hear you, I went through the same journey. After getting Immich set up, I haven’t had to do a single thing to it. There are scripts that can turn your folders into Immich albums, so I just set up the docker containers, ran the script, and watched as everything was created for me without more labor on my part.
I hope somebody else has the solution you’re looking for, but if you don’t find it, I really think you should give it a whirl because it turned out to be way easier than I expected it to be.
Immich isn't complex, and I don't think it requires a separate database.
Edit: just checked and technically it does, but if you use the docker compose then it deploys it automatically and you don't have to think about it at all.
Edit2: if you really want something dead simple, yeah you could trivially write a tiny script to list and thumbnail images. I'm sure there are apache plugins for exactly this.
it's not that the deployment process looks hard. it's an extremely complex piece of software, something that only provides "container" (read: full linux image) method for deployment because it's too complex to install manually. if something ever goes wrong inside that container, i won't be able to fix it.
It does nothing but serve photo. Background tasks are minimal and many of them only run once on new photos.
yeah, it's only job is to serve photos yet it needs a whole linux container to run.. i get why some people like it but i said it's not what i want.
You're likely not going to find something so simple and lightweight. Immich has some setup, but if you want a good gallery that's the way to go. Don't be afraid of the learning.