How does PhotoPrism differ from Immich?

PhotoPrism focuses on indexing and organising an existing archive sitting on disk (read-only mode, WebDAV, rsync). Immich is designed for active daily backup from iOS/Android. If you want to organise a large existing collection without touching the originals, PhotoPrism is the better fit.

How much RAM does PhotoPrism need?

Plan for at least 2 GB of RAM on your VPS: PhotoPrism itself uses around 300-500 MB at rest, but TensorFlow indexing can spike to 1.5-2 GB. For a large archive or intensive use, 4 GB is recommended.

Can PhotoPrism index without modifying my original files?

Yes. Mount the originals folder read-only (:ro in Docker) and enable PHOTOPRISM_READONLY=true. PhotoPrism writes all thumbnails, labels and the search index into a separate storage volume — your originals are never altered.

How do I keep my library backed up?

Back up three things: (1) the originals folder — your actual photo files; (2) the storage volume — AI labels, thumbnails and the search index; (3) the MariaDB data volume — the database. Volumes 2 and 3 can be rebuilt by re-indexing if lost; volume 1 cannot.

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PhotoPrism

PhotoPrism — AI photo library on your VPS, indexed locally, no cloud.

2 GB minimum (300 MB at rest, peaks to 2 GB during indexing) RAM 2 vCPU Port 2342 In validation

In validation

Automatic installation for this solution is ready and currently going through our tests on a real server. Ordering will open as soon as validation is complete.

Tech stack

DockerGoMariaDB

Minimum RAM2 GB minimum (300 MB at rest, peaks to 2 GB during indexing)

Minimum CPU2 vCPU

Default port2342

Compatible OSChoice of Linux distributions

PhotoPrism runs a private photo library on your VPS: TensorFlow classifies each picture automatically by content, place and colour. Face recognition groups portraits, geotagging draws interactive maps from EXIF metadata, and the full-text engine finds any shot in seconds. No subscription, no upload to a third party — everything stays on your machine. Deploy it alongside MariaDB in two containers and access your collection through a progressive web app from any browser.

Key features

Automatic AI tagging — TensorFlow classifies pictures by content (mountain, beach, food…), colour and scene.

Face recognition — detects and groups portraits into albums; no cloud API involved.

EXIF-based geotagging — extracts GPS coordinates and displays photos on interactive maps.

Full-text search — find any photo by keyword, location, date range or automatically-assigned label.

Read-only mode — PhotoPrism indexes without modifying your originals; point it at a precious archive safely.

Progressive web app — installable interface accessible from any browser, on desktop or mobile.

When to use this solution?

1

Centralise scattered photo archives

If your photos are spread across several hard drives or backup folders, PhotoPrism gives them a single, searchable home on your VPS. Sync originals with rsync or WebDAV; PhotoPrism indexes them without moving or renaming a single file.

2

Find any picture in seconds

Stop scrolling. Type 'beach 2023' or 'red car' and PhotoPrism returns matching pictures across your entire library, using AI labels, GPS locations and EXIF dates. No manual tagging required.

3

Self-host your family photo library

Keep decades of family photos under your control — no subscription, no vendor lock-in, no privacy risk. Share albums with a private link and browse the collection through the PWA on any device.

Deploy PhotoPrism on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Order your VPS and install PhotoPrism

In your ServOrbit client area, select PhotoPrism from the Marketplace and choose a plan with at least 2 GB of RAM. The installation script deploys the PhotoPrism container and MariaDB, sets all environment variables and configures the nginx reverse proxy.

02

Connect for the first time

Open the SSH tunnel to your VPS and navigate to http://localhost:2342 in your browser (or use the ServOrbit subdomain). Log in with the admin username and the generated password shown in your client area.

03

Point PhotoPrism at your originals

Upload your photos to the /originals volume via WebDAV or rsync. To access WebDAV, open the SSH tunnel first (ssh -L 2342:127.0.0.1:PORT root@vps-ip, then connect your WebDAV client to http://localhost:2342/originals). PhotoPrism will detect new files on the next library scan.

04

Run the first indexing

In the top-right menu, click Library → Index. PhotoPrism scans your originals, generates thumbnails, reads EXIF, applies AI labels and builds the search index. A 10 000-photo library takes roughly 30 to 60 minutes on a 2-vCPU VPS.

05

Browse and search your library

Use the left sidebar to explore by Timeline, People, Places or Labels. The search bar at the top accepts natural-language queries: 'sunset ocean 2022', 'Paris', 'birthday'. Every result can be shared as a private album link.

Frequently asked questions

No. PhotoPrism works without a domain. You can access it via an SSH tunnel (ssh -L 2342:127.0.0.1:PORT root@your-vps, then http://localhost:2342) or through the free ServOrbit subdomain included with every VPS plan.

Complementary solutions

Collaboration & Productivity

PhotoPrism isn't orderable yet.