[Feature] Active Libraries

[soulintransition]

I have searched the existing feature requests, both open and closed, to make sure this is not a duplicate request.

• Yes

The feature

WARNING: V4 or V5 feature. I have patience.

Bringing the functionality of the internal library (such as sourcing local assets, concatenation of new assets in the timeline, etc) to power users. Active libraries are external libraries tied into the Immich backup architecture that mirror your DCIM folder.

The process of setting up an Active Library with your mobile app.

Mobile settings for Active Library backups. Manual backup means pressing the Upload button on an asset in the timeline (or outside it). Useful for reverse proxy or HTTP connections (like when a VPN is blocked by your network admin). Obviously not the main way of uploading your photos, or you wouldn't need an Active Library!

Artist's rendition of Louis Rossmann's Active Libraries, viewed through the External Libraries tab (created with Inspect Element on my own library)

Syncing deletions means if Immich discovers an asset has been deleted in the Active Library (from a desktop or whatever) you can have it delete on your phone. I would recommend None (which simply adds a Not Backed Up chevron to photos) or Notification to prevent data loss.
Manual uploads (like through the share button) are the only uploads affected by the last setting. For instance, you share a photo someone else texted you and upload to Immich, that could go into a DCIM/Uploads folder so you have offline access. I do this at the file manager level today. If you have multiple devices connected to the same library, the lower setting will sync new assets from all of those devices so you have access to all of them. The final setting fully eliminates the internal library as a destination for uploads and is probably overkill, people using External Libraries usually have filesystem level access to the library and don't need to use the web app to add assets. You can always use the Free Up Space feature, but the first setting is obviously encouraged on phones with low amounts of storage.

I don't expect magic and this could very well take until 2028 to implement. It's also a rough, conceptual sketch. I will keep using my local gallery for the time being when possible. But this feature could fully replace the local galleries of power users like me. (A beautiful thought after Google Photos completely ruined their UI this year 😄).

Platform

• Server
• Web
• Mobile

[bo0tzz]

I really don't understand what you're asking for. How does this relate to the existing external libraries feature?

[bo0tzz]

Is this just a duplicate of #5453?

[soulintransition]

I took a detailed look at the problems of power-users with external libraries: network-only access even for assets that exist locally, no free-up-space feature, one-way syncs that make fixing metadata or editing a pain, and redundancy when using the internal library to manually back things (over reverse proxy or HTTP) up when their VPN is blocked.

An active library is a type of external library (I would make existing libraries eligible because many people already have them) that is a mirror of your DCIM folder. The sync is, by default, managed by other software though you can use Immich's upload feature in a pinch. Immich, meanwhile, syncs file-level metadata changes and edited assets to your device without requiring an overzealous two-way sync that fills up phone storage. One of the features I didn't mention is that the Immich download folder would be moved out of DCIM for active library users, so that it doesn't create a redundant loop of syncing.