Replace Google Photos With PhotoPrism: Self Host Your Memories in Docker on Proxmox LXC Container

December 28, 2024

In this video, we show you how to install and self-host PhotoPrism in a Proxmox LXC container using Docker.

1. Links

https://www.photoprism.app/

https://docs.photoprism.app/

2. Benefits of PhotoPrism Over Google Photos**

Privacy: Your photos stay on your server, not on Google’s cloud, ensuring complete control and privacy.
No Subscription Fees: Avoid recurring charges with this free, open-source solution.
Custom Storage: Store photos on your preferred hardware or external storage solutions.
Open-Source Advantage: Regular updates and community support without vendor lock-in.
Full Resolution: Maintain the original quality of your photos without compression.

3. Benefits of PhotoPrism Over Facebook**

No Ads or Tracking: Share your photos without intrusive ads or privacy compromises.
Data Ownership: Retain full ownership of your photos, with no risk of platform bans or content removal.
Selective Sharing: Share specific photos or albums privately without exposing your entire library.
Better Organization: Advanced photo tagging and search features for streamlined management.
No Social Pressure: Focus on your memories without likes, comments, or algorithm distractions.

4. PhotoPrism and WhatsApp**

Share photo links directly via WhatsApp, making it easy to send albums or individual pictures without large file transfers.

5. Docker Compose file

https://dl.photoprism.app/docker/compose.yaml

6. Installation Instructions

Run these commands in LXC Server

sudo su -

mkdir /opt/stacks/photoprism -p

cd /opt/stacks/photoprism

To add an .env file to store sensitive credentials and make the docker-compose.yml cleaner and more secure, you can use the env_file option in Docker Compose. Here’s how you can modify the setup:

6.1 Step 1: Create the `.env` file

Create a file named .env in the same directory as the docker-compose.yml file, and add the following entries:

nano .env

Put this in the file:

# PhotoPrism Admin Credentials
PHOTOPRISM_ADMIN_USER=admin
PHOTOPRISM_ADMIN_PASSWORD=securepassword123

# Database Credentials
PHOTOPRISM_DATABASE_USER=photoprism
PHOTOPRISM_DATABASE_PASSWORD=securedbpassword456
PHOTOPRISM_DATABASE_NAME=photoprism
PHOTOPRISM_DATABASE_SERVER=mariadb:3306

# Other Configurations
PHOTOPRISM_SITE_URL=http://localhost:2342/
PHOTOPRISM_AUTH_MODE=password
PHOTOPRISM_LOG_LEVEL=info
PHOTOPRISM_SITE_CAPTION=AI-Powered Photos App
PHOTOPRISM_BACKUP_SCHEDULE=daily

Replace securepassword123 and securedbpassword456 with your desired secure passwords.

Advantages of using the .env file

Separation of Concerns: Sensitive credentials are moved to a dedicated file.
Security: Easier to protect sensitive information by excluding the .env file from version control (add .env to .gitignore).
Reusability: The .env file can be reused across multiple services or projects.

6.2 Step 2: Update `docker-compose.yml`

We modify the docker compose file to include the env file directive. Here’s the updated version:

nano compose.yaml

Put this in the file:

services:
  photoprism:
    image: photoprism/photoprism:latest
    stop_grace_period: 10s
    depends_on:
      - mariadb
    security_opt:
      - seccomp:unconfined
      - apparmor:unconfined
    ports:
      - "2342:2342"
    env_file: 
      - .env
    environment:
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_TLS: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DEFAULT_TLS: "true"
      PHOTOPRISM_ORIGINALS_LIMIT: 5000
      PHOTOPRISM_HTTP_COMPRESSION: "gzip"
      PHOTOPRISM_READONLY: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_EXPERIMENTAL: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_CHOWN: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_WEBDAV: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_SETTINGS: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_TENSORFLOW: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_FACES: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_CLASSIFICATION: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_VECTORS: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_DISABLE_RAW: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_RAW_PRESETS: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_SIDECAR_YAML: "true"
      PHOTOPRISM_BACKUP_ALBUMS: "true"
      PHOTOPRISM_BACKUP_DATABASE: "true"
      PHOTOPRISM_AUTO_INDEX: 300
      PHOTOPRISM_AUTO_IMPORT: -1
      PHOTOPRISM_DETECT_NSFW: "false"
      PHOTOPRISM_UPLOAD_NSFW: "true"
    working_dir: "/photoprism"
    volumes:
      - "~/Pictures:/photoprism/originals"
      - "./storage:/photoprism/storage"

  mariadb:
    image: mariadb:11
    restart: unless-stopped
    stop_grace_period: 5s
    security_opt:
      - seccomp:unconfined
      - apparmor:unconfined
    command: --innodb-buffer-pool-size=512M --transaction-isolation=READ-COMMITTED --character-set-server=utf8mb4 --collation-server=utf8mb4_unicode_ci --max-connections=512 --innodb-rollback-on-timeout=OFF --innodb-lock-wait-timeout=50
    env_file:
      - .env
    volumes:
      - "./database:/var/lib/mysql"