In simple English
PhotoPrism puts all your photos and videos into a private website on your own server. Artificial intelligence scans your pictures to recognise faces, objects and places without sending your files to big tech companies. You can search your library by colour, location or what is in the picture. It runs on a computer or a small home server using Docker (a way to run a program inside its own sealed box, so it cannot break anything else on your server). The basic software is free to run, but some extra features like world maps need a paid membership.
What it is
PhotoPrism is an AI-powered photo management application written in Go (a programming language built by Google for fast, reliable network services). It extracts metadata, indexes large image libraries, and provides a web interface for browsing.
What it is good for
It is good for solo builders and families who want a private alternative to Google Photos or Apple Photos on their own hardware.
- Keeps all your personal photos and videos completely private on your own hardware.
- Automatically labels images and recognises faces without cloud processing.
- Works smoothly as a progressive web app on phones, tablets and desktop computers.
- Requires Docker and moderate technical knowledge to set up and maintain.
- Needs 4 GB of memory or more to run machine learning tasks smoothly, so check your server has room.
- Some features like world maps require a paid monthly membership.
Google Photos or Apple Photos
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docker run -d --name photoprism -p 2342:2342 -v ~/Pictures:/photos -v ~/.photoprism:/photoprism photoprism/photoprism