LibrePhotos
Volunteer-built photo library that scans your folders for faces, places and text
Our verdict
#3 of 4 in Self-hosted photo libraries · For searching folders you already have
Pros
- All six search and recognition features we checked
- Runs as one container with a SQLite database file
- Leaves photos in your own folders
- Whole-library sharing and albums others can add to, with no paid tier
Cons
- No released mobile app, so no automatic phone backup
- Single sign-on is the only sign-in option beyond a password in the docs
- Takeout import restores dates and places but not albums
Who should skip:Anyone who needs their phone's photos to back up automatically.
Rankings and alternatives
- #3 of 4 Self-hosted photo libraries For searching folders you already have
- Ente Photos #1 If your server is small or rented
- Immich #2 For a family on a roomy home server
- PhotoPrism #4 For one admin with a folder archive
Self-hosted photo libraries scores
Evaluated Nov 7, 2026 Evidence ↓- Phone backup 1
1/5 means: No installable app uploads new phone photos automatically
The official mobile app isn't published in any store yet and can only be run from source. UhuruPhotos, a third-party Android app in open beta, lists backup as a goal.
- Search and recognition 5
5/5 means: Five or six of the six
All six. Faces, semantic search (CLIP), searchable text recognition, a map, duplicate detection including visually similar photos, and automatic captions.
- Sharing with family 5
5/5 means: Shared albums others add to, plus sharing a whole library with another account in one step
Albums can be shared with a "Can add photos" role, and a whole library can be shared with other users.
- Setup and upkeep 5
5/5 means: None; the database is a local file
The single-container setup serves the API and web app from one container with a SQLite database.
- Server memory 3
3/5 means: 4 GB to under 6 GB
4 GB of RAM recommended; no lower minimum is given.
- Privacy from the server 1
1/5 means: Photos are stored unencrypted and every one is visible to anyone with access to the server's files
Photos stay as ordinary files in your own folders; the docs pages we read describe no encryption of stored photos or a PIN-protected area.
Rests partly on what the sources don't mention, which is a weaker signal than what they say.
- Works with your folders 5
5/5 means: The app reads photos from existing folders without copying them and picks up new files without anyone starting a scan
Reads photos in your own folders without moving them, and can scan every library on a schedule.
- Moving from Google Photos 4
4/5 means: The app reads dates and places from the JSON files itself
Reads each photo's Takeout JSON during the scan; albums in the JSON aren't read.
- Sign-in security 2
2/5 means: One of the four
One of the four, single sign-on through OpenID Connect. API tokens are requested with the username and password; two-factor login and passkeys aren't documented.
- Free when self-hosted 5
5/5 means: Every documented feature is free, with no paid tier for self-hosting
Volunteer-built with nothing held back for a paid tier.
Evidence and sources
Self-hosted photo libraries scores
Phone backup 4 quotes
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“Not released yet: LibrePhotos Mobile is not on the Google Play Store, the App Store, F-Droid, or TestFlight yet.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/mobile · checked -
“Until it is, the only way to use it is to run it from the source code, as described below.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/mobile/librephotos-mobile · checked -
“The app is currently in open beta on the Google Play Store.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/mobile · checked -
“It aims to become a full-featured photo album replacement, including features like offline support, backup and sync etc.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/mobile · checked
Search and recognition 6 quotes
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“LibrePhotos scans the folders you already have, finds the faces, places and events in them, and makes everything searchable.”
docs.librephotos.com · checked -
“Semantic search uses AI (CLIP embeddings) to find photos by meaning rather than exact text matching.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/search · checked -
“LibrePhotos stores that text with the photo, so you can search for it and select and copy it in the photo viewer.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/text-recognition · checked -
“LibrePhotos can display your photos on an interactive map based on their GPS coordinates.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/places · checked -
“LibrePhotos can detect duplicate photos in your library using both exact file matching and visual similarity analysis.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/duplicate-detection · checked -
“The goal of automatic image captioning is to understand the content of an image and then produce a coherent and contextually relevant sentence or phrase that describes what is happening in the image.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/image-captioning · checked
Sharing with family 2 quotes
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“Search for users and pick a role for each: No access, Can view or Can add photos”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/sharing · checked -
“Your library: who you share your whole library with, and what each of them sees”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/sharing · checked
Setup and upkeep 3 quotes
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“Single container deployment serves both the LibrePhotos API and frontend from one unified container. Choose between internal database (SQLite) or external PostgreSQL.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/unified-deployment · checked -
“The database is SQLite, the same setup as the single container deployment”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/windows-standalone · checked -
“The backend is compiled with Nuitka, so no Python, Docker or database server has to be installed.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/windows-standalone · checked
Server memory 1 quote
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“You need an x86 or ARM64 processor, and it is recommended to have 4GBs of RAM.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/standard-install · checked
Privacy from the server 1 quote
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“Your photos stay in your own folders. LibrePhotos reads them there and never moves them into”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/windows-standalone · checked
Works with your folders 3 quotes
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“LibrePhotos scans the folders you already have, finds the faces, places and events in them, and makes everything searchable.”
docs.librephotos.com · checked -
“Your photos stay in your own folders. LibrePhotos reads them there and never moves them into”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/windows-standalone · checked -
“LibrePhotos can scan every library by itself, so new photos show up without anyone clicking Scan.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/auto-scan · checked
Moving from Google Photos 2 quotes
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“LibrePhotos reads these JSON files during the scan.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/google-takeout · checked -
“Albums, people, favorites and the other fields of the JSON are not read.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/google-takeout · checked
Sign-in security 2 quotes
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“OpenID Connect — Keycloak, Authentik, Authelia, Zitadel, Okta, Google, Entra”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/settings/single-sign-on · checked -
“Request an access token using your LibrePhotos username and password:”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/user-guide/api-authentication · checked
Free when self-hosted 1 quote
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“There is no venture money and nothing is held back for a paid tier.”
docs.librephotos.com · checked
Facts
License 1 quote
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“Self-hosted · Open source · MIT licensed”
docs.librephotos.com · checked
Runs on 2 quotes
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“Runs with Docker, Kubernetes or Unraid, or as a standalone program on Windows.”
docs.librephotos.com · checked -
“It is meant for one person's library on their own PC.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/windows-standalone · checked
Needs 2 quotes
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“You need an x86 or ARM64 processor, and it is recommended to have 4GBs of RAM.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/standard-install · checked -
“Single container deployment serves both the LibrePhotos API and frontend from one unified container. Choose between internal database (SQLite) or external PostgreSQL.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/unified-deployment · checked
Notability
Users 1 quote
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“"pull_count":2665234”
hub.docker.com/v2/repositories/reallibrephotos/librephotos · checked
Other quotes
Not cited by a score or fact 1 quote
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“Due to limited memory & processing power, ARM64 will not be as fast.”
docs.librephotos.com/docs/installation/standard-install · checked