Installing Immich on linux based systems

Prerequisites

Immich is a self-hosted photo and video backup solution.

Before starting, ensure you have:

• A Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+ recommended)
• Root or sudo access
• At least 2GB RAM (4GB+ recommended)
• Docker and Docker Compose installed

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker compose

If you don’t already have Docker installed:

# Update package list
sudo apt update

# Install required packages
sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

# Add Docker's official GPG key
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

# Add Docker repository
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

# Start and enable Docker
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

# Add your user to the docker group (optional, to run docker without sudo)
sudo usermod -aG docker $USERCode language: PHP (php)

Log out and back in for the group changes to take effect.

# Create a directory for Immich (whichever folder you like most)
mkdir -p ~/immich
cd ~/immich
#please note that the tilde (~) as in character may vary from distro to system settings and/or keyboard setting.

# Create directories for data storage
mkdir -p ./library
mkdir -p ./uploadCode language: PHP (php)

# Download the docker-compose file
wget -O docker-compose.yml https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/docker-compose.yml

# Download the example environment file
wget -O .env https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/example.envCode language: PHP (php)

Installing Immich on linux based systems

nano .envCode language: CSS (css)

Key variables to configure:

• UPLOAD_LOCATION: Set to your desired upload path (default: ./library)
• DB_PASSWORD: Set a strong database password
• DB_USERNAME: Database username (default: postgres)
• DB_DATABASE_NAME: Database name (default: immich)

Optional but recommended:

• TZ: Set your timezone (e.g., America/New_York)

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).

# Pull the latest images
docker compose pull

# Start Immich in detached mode
docker compose up -dCode language: PHP (php)

This will download all necessary Docker images and start the services.

Check that all containers are running:

docker compose ps
```

You should see several containers running including:
- immich_server
- immich_microservices
- immich_machine_learning
- immich_redis
- immich_postgres

### Step 7: Access Immich

Open your web browser and navigate to:
```
http://your-server-ip:2283Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

You should see the Immich welcome page where you can create your first account.

Step 7: Create your admin account

On first access, you’ll be prompted to create an admin account:

1. Enter your email address
2. Create a strong password
3. Confirm your password
4. Click “Sign Up”

Additional Configuration

Setting up SSL/HTTPS (Recommended):

For production use, you should set up a reverse proxy (like Nginx or Caddy) with SSL certificates. This requires:

• A domain name pointing to your server
• A reverse proxy configuration
• SSL certificates (free via Let’s Encrypt)

Backup Configuration:

Regularly backup:

• Your .env file
• The ./library directory (your photos/videos)
• The PostgreSQL database

Updating Immich:

To update to the latest version:

cd ~/immich
docker compose pull
docker compose down
docker compose up -d

Troubleshooting

If containers fail to start:

# View logs
docker compose logs

# Or for a specific service
docker compose logs immich_serverCode language: PHP (php)

Common issues:

• Port 2283 already in use: Change the port in docker-compose.yml
• Permission issues: Ensure the user running Docker has access to the library directory
• Out of memory: Increase server RAM or adjust container memory limits