Improve Folder Browsing in the macOS App with a Visual Gallery

[jarikotilainen]

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

• Yes

The feature

I would like to see an improved folder browsing experience in the Immich macOS app, especially for users with large, carefully organized external photo libraries.

Currently, the folder view resembles a basic file explorer. Folders are displayed as a vertical list, and opening a folder displays individual image files in a list with small thumbnails, filenames, file sizes, and dates.

This works functionally, but it is not an efficient or visually appealing way to browse a large photo collection.

Problem

Many users have organized their photo archives over many years using a meaningful folder hierarchy, for example:

• Gallery 1
• Gallery 1.1
• Gallery 1.2
• Gallery 2
• Gallery 2.1
• Gallery 2.2
• Gallery 2.2.1

Original File folder names already provide a useful classification system. However, the current macOS app interface makes it unnecessarily difficult to browse the collection visually and find photos based on their subject.

Proposed solution

Improve the macOS Folder view with the following features:

Visual folder grid: Display folders as tiles with representative cover thumbnails instead of only folder icons and text.

Photo thumbnail grid: Display the contents of a folder as a responsive grid of larger image thumbnails, similar to the existing timeline or album views.

Hierarchical navigation: Preserve the original folder names and hierarchy, with a clear breadcrumb path for navigating between parent and child folders.

Recursive browsing option: Allow users to optionally display all photos within a selected folder, including its subfolders, without having to open every subfolder individually.

Search and filtering: Allow users to search folder names and filter the collection by selecting a folder or subfolder.

Sorting options: Allow folders and photos to be sorted by name, date, and other relevant criteria.

Expected behaviour

A user should be able to open the macOS app, select a top-level folder such as "Car Shows etc", and visually browse its subfolders.

After selecting "Audi a4", the user should see a grid of photo thumbnails rather than a narrow list of individual files. An optional recursive view would also allow browsing all photos in "Car Shows etc" and its descendants in one gallery.

The existing folder structure should remain unchanged. This feature should improve browsing without requiring users to move files, create duplicate copies, or manually recreate their folder hierarchy as albums.

Platform

macOS app

External Libraries

Large, pre-organized photo archives

Why this matters

For users with extensive existing photo archives, the folder structure is often the primary way they organize and find their photos. A visual, folder-based gallery would make Immich much more practical for browsing these collections and would provide a more consistent experience with the timeline and album views.

Platform

• Server
• Web
• Mobile

[bo0tzz]

#24222