Immich Self-Hosted Photo Backup on Linux with External Storage
- AuthorLiam K.
- Date
- Time18 minutes
Immich is a high-performance self-hosted photo and video platform with mobile apps, facial recognition, and timeline browsing. Storage planning matters more than the install itself: original assets grow fast, and machine-learning containers need RAM. This guide gets Immich running with HTTPS and a sane backup layout.
Prerequisites
- Linux server with 4+ CPU and 8 GB RAM (ML features need more)
- Fast disk or dedicated volume for uploads and thumbnails
- DNS for photos.example.com
Step 1: Prepare Storage Layout
bash
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/photos/{library,postgres,model-cache,encoded-video}
sudo mkdir -p /opt/immich
cd /opt/immich
# Prefer a separate disk mounted at /mnt/photos for originals and DB.Step 2: Download Official Compose Files
bash
wget -O docker-compose.yml https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/docker-compose.yml
wget -O .env https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/example.env
sed -i 's|^UPLOAD_LOCATION=.*|UPLOAD_LOCATION=/mnt/photos/library|' .env
sed -i 's|^DB_DATA_LOCATION=.*|DB_DATA_LOCATION=/mnt/photos/postgres|' .env
# Set DB_PASSWORD to a strong random value
DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 24)
sed -i "s|^DB_PASSWORD=.*|DB_PASSWORD=$DB_PASSWORD|" .env
chmod 600 .env
docker compose up -d
docker compose psStep 3: Reverse Proxy with Large Uploads
bash
sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/immich >/dev/null <<'EOF'
server {
listen 80;
server_name photos.example.com;
client_max_body_size 0;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:2283;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_buffering off;
proxy_request_buffering off;
proxy_read_timeout 600s;
}
}
EOF
sudo ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-available/immich /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/immich
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d photos.example.com --redirectStep 4: Create Admin and Connect Mobile Apps
Open https://photos.example.com, create the admin user, then point the Immich mobile app at the same URL. Enable background backup on Wi-Fi only if cellular data is limited.
Step 5: External Library and Backup
bash
# External libraries can mount existing NAS folders read-only into Immich
# Backup originals + DB regularly
tar -czf /var/backups/immich-library-$(date +%F).tar.gz -C /mnt/photos library
docker compose exec -T database pg_dumpall -U postgres | gzip > /var/backups/immich-db-$(date +%F).sql.gzProduction Checklist
- Keep originals on a monitored volume with free-space alerts.
- Back up the database and upload library together.
- Pin Immich release versions; ML model upgrades can be heavy.
- Restrict registration after the first family/team accounts exist.
- Disable public sharing links if the instance should stay private.
"Photo platforms look like apps, but in production they are storage systems with an authentication UI."
