Immich Quick Start Guide: How to Install Immich with Docker and Back Up Photos

Immich is a powerful self-hosted photo and video backup platform designed for users who want more control over their media library. If you want a fast way to deploy Immich, test the web interface, and connect the mobile app, this guide walks you through the essential setup process using Docker. By the end, you will have an Immich server running, an administrator account created, and your first photo uploads ready to sync.

System requirements for Immich

Before starting the Immich installation, make sure your server or local machine meets the basic requirements.

• At least 6 GB of RAM
• A minimum of 2 CPU cores
• Docker installed and working properly

If you plan to store a large photo library, it is also wise to prepare enough disk space for uploads and future growth.

Step 1: Create the Immich project directory

Begin by creating a dedicated folder for your Immich Docker configuration files. This directory will contain your docker-compose.yml file and the .env configuration file.

mkdir ./immich-app

cd ./immich-app

Step 2: Download the Docker Compose and environment files

Next, download the official Immich deployment files from the latest release. These files define the containers and the environment variables needed to run the Immich server.

wget -O docker-compose.yml https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/docker-compose.yml

wget -O .env https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/example.env

If you prefer, you can download both files manually in your browser and place them into the project directory. If you do that, make sure the environment file is named .env.

Step 3: Configure the Immich .env file

The .env file controls important Immich settings such as storage locations, database credentials, timezone, and version selection. Editing this file correctly is essential for a reliable self-hosted photo backup setup.

Pay special attention to the following values:

• UPLOAD_LOCATION: Set this to the directory where your photos and videos will be stored. Choose a location with sufficient free space.
• DB_DATA_LOCATION: This is where the PostgreSQL database files will live. Use local storage rather than a network share.
• TZ: Uncomment and update this value to match your timezone.
• IMMICH_VERSION: Leave the default version or pin it to a specific release if needed.
• DB_PASSWORD: Replace the default password with a secure alphanumeric value for local database authentication.

Using only letters and numbers in the database password helps avoid parsing issues with Docker environment variables.

Step 4: Start Immich with Docker Compose

Once your configuration files are in place, launch the Immich containers in detached mode. This starts the application in the background.

docker compose up -d

After the containers initialize, your Immich server should be available on port 2283.

Access the Immich web app

Open your browser and visit http://<machine-ip-address>:2283. The first account registered on a new Immich installation automatically becomes the administrator account.

Click the Getting Started button, complete the sign-up process, and sign in. After logging in, you can immediately begin testing the platform by uploading a photo from your browser.

This is the quickest way to verify that your Immich Docker installation is working correctly.

Install the Immich mobile app

To extend your self-hosted photo backup workflow to your phone, install the Immich mobile app from one of the supported distribution platforms.

• Obtainium
• Google Play Store
• Apple App Store
• F-Droid
• GitHub Releases APK downloads

The mobile app makes it easy to connect your phone to your Immich server and back up your media automatically.

Sign in to the mobile app

When opening the mobile app for the first time, enter your server endpoint as http://<machine-ip-address>:2283. Then log in using the account you created in the web interface.

Once connected, the mobile app should display the same media already uploaded through the browser, confirming that your Immich server and account are syncing properly.

Enable mobile photo backup in Immich

To back up images and videos from your phone, go to the backup section in the Immich mobile app. From there, you can choose which albums or folders should be uploaded to your self-hosted server.

The usual process is simple:

• Open the backup screen in the app
• Select the albums you want to sync
• Enable backup to begin uploading your photos and videos

The time required for the first backup depends on the size of your media library. If your phone contains a large number of files, consider syncing a smaller selection first to test performance and confirm everything is working as expected.

You can also monitor processing activity through the Job Queues area in Immich, where the system handles thumbnails, metadata, and other background tasks.

Understand Immich backup and restore considerations

Immich includes built-in database backup functionality, which is useful for preserving metadata, user accounts, and application settings. However, it is important to understand that the database backup does not include your uploaded photos and videos.

For complete protection of your media library, you should implement a separate backup strategy for the directory defined by UPLOAD_LOCATION. This is a critical part of any reliable self-hosted photo management setup.

What to do after the quick start setup

After confirming that Immich is running successfully, you can expand your setup in several ways.

• Import a larger existing photo archive
• Migrate content from Google Photos using tools such as immich-go
• Upload local collections through command-line tools
• Connect an existing media archive as an external library
• Enable ongoing automatic mobile backups

These next steps can help you turn a basic Immich installation into a full-featured private photo cloud.

Conclusion

Installing Immich with Docker is one of the fastest ways to build a self-hosted photo backup server for web and mobile access. With just a few files, a small amount of configuration, and a single Docker Compose command, you can launch a private media platform that gives you control over photo storage, backups, and synchronization. Once the basics are in place, you can scale your Immich setup to handle larger libraries, automated mobile uploads, and long-term archival workflows.