immich-quadlet/docs/docs/guides/external-library.md

External Library

This guide walks you through adding an External Library. This guide assumes you are running Immich in Docker and that the files you wish to access are stored in a directory on the same machine.

Mount the directory into the containers.

Edit docker-compose.yml to add two new mount points under volumes:

  immich-server:
    volumes:
      - ${EXTERNAL_PATH}:/usr/src/app/external

  immich-microservices:
    volumes:
      - ${EXTERNAL_PATH}:/usr/src/app/external

Be sure to add exactly the same line to both immich-server: and immich-microservices:.

Edit .env to define EXTERNAL_PATH, substituting in the correct path for your computer:

EXTERNAL_PATH=<your-path-here>

On my computer, for example, I use this path:

EXTERNAL_PATH=/home/tenino/photos

:::info EXTERNAL_PATH design The design choice to put the EXTERNAL_PATH into .env rather than put two copies of the absolute path in the yml file in order to make everything easier, so if you have two copies of the same path that have to be kept in sync, then someday later when you move the data, update only one of the paths, without everything will break mysteriously. :::

Restart Immich.

docker compose down
docker compose up -d

Create the library

In the Immich web UI:

• click the Administration link in the upper right corner. <img src={require('./img/administration-link.png').default} width="50%" title="Administration link" />

• Select the External Libraries tab <img src={require('./img/external-libraries.png').default} width="50%" title="External Libraries tab" />

• Click the Create Library button <img src={require('./img/create-external-library.png').default} width="50%" title="Create Library button" />

• In the dialog, select which user should own the new library <img src={require('./img/library-owner.png').default} width="50%" title="Library owner diaglog" />

• Click the three-dots menu and select Edit Import Paths <img src={require('./img/edit-import-paths.png').default} width="50%" title="Edit Import Paths menu option" />

• Click Add path <img src={require('./img/add-path-button.png').default} width="50%" title="Add Path button" />

• Enter /usr/src/app/external as the path and click Add <img src={require('./img/add-path-field.png').default} width="50%" title="Add Path field" />

• Save the new path <img src={require('./img/path-save.png').default} width="50%" title="Path Save button" />

• Click the three-dots menu and select Scan New Library Files <img src={require('./img/scan-new-library-files.png').default} width="50%" title="Scan New Library Files menu option" />

Confirm stuff is happening

• Click Administration <img src={require('./img/administration-link.png').default} width="50%" title="Administration link" />

• Select the Jobs tab <img src={require('./img/jobs-tab.png').default} width="50%" title="Jobs tab" />

• You should see non-zero Active jobs for Library, Generate Thumbnails, and Extract Metadata. <img src={require('./img/job-status.png').default} width="50%" title="Job Status display" />