Pixieset

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Pixieset

A curated collection of the 19 best self hosted alternatives to Pixieset.

Pixieset is a SaaS platform for photographers to create and deliver client galleries, sell prints and digital downloads, build portfolio websites, and manage client bookings, invoices, and payments.

Alternatives List

#1
Immich

Immich

Immich is an open-source platform for organizing, backing up, and streaming photos and videos with web and mobile clients, searchable metadata, face clustering, and S3-compatible storage.

Immich screenshot

Immich is an open-source photo and video management platform that provides web and mobile clients, background processing, and searchable metadata. It focuses on efficient ingestion, indexing, and playback of large personal or small-team media libraries while supporting S3-compatible storage backends.

Key Features

  • Web and mobile clients (web UI + native Flutter mobile apps) for browsing, backup, and playback
  • Background job pipeline for thumbnails, transcoding, metadata extraction, and duplicate detection
  • Face detection, face clustering, and visual/object search capabilities (embeddings-based search)
  • Search by metadata, EXIF/location, objects, and faces; global map browsing of geotagged assets
  • Support for S3-compatible storage backends and local filesystem storage abstractions
  • Multi-user accounts, sharing, albums, and access controls with API and SDK support
  • Queueing and worker architecture for scalable processing (Redis-backed queues) and database migrations
  • Container-first deployment with Docker and orchestration-friendly configuration

Use Cases

  • Automated mobile backup and centralized management of personal photo/video collections across devices
  • Small teams or families sharing and organizing media with searchable tags, faces, and map-based browsing
  • Photographers and hobbyists who need a private catalog with metadata search, RAW/HEIC support, and transcoding

Limitations and Considerations

  • Machine-learning features (face detection, embedding generation, CLIP/object search) can be CPU- and memory-intensive; large libraries may benefit from dedicated workers or GPU resources
  • Some features rely on database capabilities and indexes that may require specific PostgreSQL versions or extensions and careful migration planning
  • Native dependencies used for image/video processing and transpilation (e.g., FFmpeg and native image libraries) can increase build/installation complexity on some platforms

Immich provides a full-featured alternative for private media management with strong indexing and mobile-first backup. It is maintained as an open-source project with an active community and a focus on performant ingestion, search, and sharing for photo and video libraries.

89.2kstars
4.7kforks
#2
PhotoPrism

PhotoPrism

Self-hosted photo management app with automatic AI tagging, face recognition, maps, and powerful search to organize and find photos and videos in your library.

PhotoPrism screenshot

PhotoPrism is a self-hosted photo management application that helps you organize, browse, and search large photo and video libraries. It uses machine learning to automatically classify content and make your media easier to find while keeping control of your data.

Key Features

  • Automatic labeling and categorization using machine learning
  • Face recognition to group photos of people
  • Powerful search with combinable filters (labels, places, colors, quality, and more)
  • Map-based browsing and location features with geocoding support
  • Metadata extraction and merging (e.g., Exif and XMP)
  • Web interface optimized for desktop and mobile (PWA-style experience)
  • WebDAV support for managing files from compatible clients

Use Cases

  • Replace or complement cloud photo services with a private photo library
  • Organize multi-device family photo collections with search, labels, and people
  • Manage and curate photo/video archives on a home server or NAS

PhotoPrism combines a modern web UI with AI-assisted organization to make personal media libraries searchable and enjoyable to browse. It is well-suited for users who want fast search, automatic tagging, and flexible access to their photo collection.

39.1kstars
2.2kforks
#3
Photoview

Photoview

Photoview is a self-hosted photo gallery that scans your filesystem into albums, generates fast thumbnails, supports RAW/EXIF, and enables multi-user sharing links.

Photoview screenshot

Photoview is a self-hosted photo and video gallery designed for personal servers and photographer-friendly workflows. It scans media from directories on your server, maps folders to albums, and builds thumbnails for fast browsing while keeping files under your control.

Key Features

  • Filesystem-based library scanning with folders mapped to albums
  • Automatic thumbnail generation and lazy-loading for performant browsing
  • Multi-user accounts with per-user library paths and access controls
  • Share albums or individual media via public links, optionally password-protected
  • RAW photo support (using Darktable for conversion)
  • EXIF metadata extraction and display, including map view when GPS data is present
  • Video support with web-optimized transcoding (using FFmpeg)
  • Face detection and grouping of photos by person

Use Cases

  • Personal or family photo library hosted on a home server or NAS
  • Photographer archive browsing with RAW and EXIF-focused workflows
  • Private sharing of selected albums with friends/clients via protected links

Limitations and Considerations

  • The official iOS app is no longer maintained or available in the App Store
  • Requires an initial scan and thumbnail generation that can be time-consuming on very large libraries

Photoview is a good fit if you want a fast, web-based gallery that mirrors your existing folder organization. It focuses on performance, privacy, and photographer-oriented features like RAW, EXIF, and mapping.

6.3kstars
453forks
#4
Lychee

Lychee

Lychee is a self-hosted photo management system to upload, organize, view, and share photos and albums with a modern web interface.

Lychee screenshot

Lychee is a free, open-source photo management system that runs on your own server. It lets you upload, organize, browse, and share photos and albums from a fast, app-like web interface.

Key Features

  • Photo and album management (create albums, move, rename, describe, delete)
  • Fast browsing and full-screen viewing with keyboard navigation
  • Search, tags, and “star/important” marking for organization
  • Share photos/albums publicly and optionally protect albums with passwords
  • Metadata support including EXIF and IPTC display
  • Multiple import options (local upload, server-side import, and URL-based import)

Use Cases

  • Personal or family photo library with full control over storage and access
  • Photographer portfolio delivery via shareable albums
  • Small team photo repository for events and documentation

Lychee is a solid choice for users who want an attractive, straightforward photo gallery and management workflow without relying on third-party cloud photo services. It combines practical organization tools with simple sharing controls in a clean web UI.

4kstars
362forks
#5
Piwigo

Piwigo

Self-hosted photo gallery for organizations and individuals; supports large libraries, albums, plugins, themes, permissions and a developer API.

Piwigo screenshot

Piwigo is an open-source web application for managing, organizing and sharing large photo collections. It provides album hierarchies, user and permission management, extensible plugins and themes, and tools for batch processing and metadata handling.

Key Features

  • Scales to large libraries with on-demand multiple-size image generation and cache management
  • Albums hierarchy with unlimited depth; images can belong to multiple albums
  • Batch manager for bulk operations (tags, album assignment, authors, geolocation)
  • Role/group-based permissions, individual user management and activity/history tracking
  • Extensible via hundreds of plugins and themes (gallery, slideshow, metadata, maps, etc.)
  • Web API (HTTP/JSON) for integrations (upload, search, thumbnails, third-party tools)
  • Mobile apps and upload paths (web upload, FTP, desktop apps, mobile clients)
  • Support for image metadata (EXIF/IPTC), geolocation, and various image libraries (GD/ImageMagick)

Use Cases

  • Internal image library for organizations requiring per-user access controls and versioned galleries
  • Photographer portfolios and client-proofing portals with private albums and batch workflows
  • Media cataloging and digital-asset workflows that need metadata import/export and API integration

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires a PHP-enabled web host and a MySQL/MariaDB database; recent Piwigo releases expect modern PHP (8.x)
  • Some optional features require extra tools (exiftool for advanced metadata, ffmpeg for video posters) or server tuning for very large installations
  • Plugin compatibility can vary between major Piwigo versions; migrations may require testing

Piwigo is a mature, community-driven gallery platform focused on flexibility and performance for large photo collections. It is extensible through themes and plugins and provides developer APIs for integrations and automation.

3.7kstars
464forks
#6
PiGallery2

PiGallery2

PiGallery2 is a fast, read-only, directory-first web photo gallery with search, maps, sharing links, and optional video playback, optimized for Raspberry Pi-class hardware.

PiGallery2 screenshot

PiGallery2 is a fast, directory-first web photo gallery that renders your existing folder structure as a read-only gallery. It is optimized for low-resource servers and focuses on quick browsing, searching, and viewing photos and videos without modifying your originals.

Key Features

  • Directory-first browsing that mirrors your on-disk folder structure
  • Fast indexing to a database for responsive browsing (SQLite or MySQL)
  • Advanced search with boolean logic, negation, range queries, and autocomplete suggestions
  • Photo viewer with optional info panel (including EXIF metadata)
  • Map view from GPS photo metadata, with GPX track display and activity visualization
  • Sharing links for folders with optional password protection
  • On-the-fly thumbnail generation in multiple sizes with caching to a temp folder
  • Video playback support and optional transcoding with thumbnail generation
  • Markdown files in folders for simple blogging/notes and date attachment
  • Logical albums based on saved searches and per-user allow/block filters

Use Cases

  • Self-host a lightweight family photo archive that keeps your existing folder layout
  • Quickly search large photo collections by date, rating, people metadata, and location
  • Share selected folders externally via password-protected links

Limitations and Considerations

  • The gallery is intentionally read-only and does not support organizing, editing, or tagging photos within the app
  • Face features rely on existing metadata (no built-in ML-based automatic face detection)

PiGallery2 is best suited for users who want a fast, minimal-maintenance photo gallery that reflects their filesystem as-is. It provides powerful search and viewing features while keeping photo management in your regular file workflow.

2.1kstars
248forks
#7
ChronoFrame

ChronoFrame

Self-hosted personal photo gallery for uploading, organizing, and browsing photos with albums, EXIF parsing, geolocation map view, and Live/Motion Photo support.

ChronoFrame screenshot

ChronoFrame is a self-hosted personal photo gallery for uploading, organizing, and viewing photos in a modern, responsive web interface. It focuses on smooth browsing (including large images) and metadata-aware organization with map-based exploration.

Key Features

  • Web-based photo upload and management with albums and a dashboard
  • EXIF parsing to extract capture time, GPS coordinates, and camera details
  • Reverse geocoding to identify shooting locations and map-based exploration view
  • Live Photo and Motion Photo support (pairing image and MOV video components)
  • Multiple storage backends, including local filesystem and S3-compatible storage
  • SQLite-based setup option for low-maintenance deployments

Use Cases

  • Personal or family photo library with location-aware browsing
  • Lightweight self-hosted alternative for showcasing a frequently updated gallery
  • Curating trips or events with albums and map exploration

ChronoFrame is a strong fit for users who want an easy-to-deploy, metadata-driven gallery with modern UI performance and support for dynamic photo formats. Its combination of map exploration, EXIF tooling, and flexible storage makes it practical for both private archiving and sharing curated collections.

1.6kstars
102forks
#8
HomeGallery

HomeGallery

Self-hosted open-source web gallery for personal photos and videos with tagging, mobile-friendly UI, face detection, and reverse image search for discovery.

HomeGallery screenshot

HomeGallery is a self-hosted, open-source web gallery for browsing and exploring personal photo and video archives. It focuses on fast, mobile-friendly navigation, tagging, and AI-assisted discovery such as similar-image search and face search.

Key Features

  • Timeline view and similarity-based browsing for rediscovering related photos
  • Reverse image lookup (similar image search) to find visually related content
  • Face detection and finding similar faces
  • Video preview generation and transcoding
  • Tagging with single and multi-selection
  • Boolean search/query language with and/or/not operators
  • Reverse geocoding (geo coordinates to human-readable locations)
  • Static site export to run as a standalone gallery without a backend service
  • Supports offline/read-only media sources after previews and metadata are generated

Use Cases

  • Create a private, searchable family photo and video archive on a NAS or home server
  • Explore large media collections using similarity browsing to surface forgotten memories
  • Generate a static web gallery export for sharing a curated collection internally

Limitations and Considerations

  • The full media index is loaded into the browser, which can become large for very big libraries
  • Some AI capabilities may rely on an API server that can be self-hosted if you want to avoid external calls

HomeGallery is well-suited for individuals who want a privacy-preserving alternative to cloud photo services while keeping a responsive experience on mobile devices. Its similarity-based exploration and client-side searching make it especially useful for large, long-lived media archives.

1.1kstars
96forks
#9
Sigal

Sigal

Sigal is a lightweight Python static gallery generator that builds responsive image galleries with themes, thumbnails, EXIF and video support, plus CLI tools to build and preview sites.

Sigal is a simple static gallery generator written in Python. It processes image directories, creates resized images and thumbnails, and generates HTML pages using Jinja2 templates so galleries can be served as portable static sites.

Key Features

  • Command-line interface with commands to initialize, build and serve galleries (init, build, serve).
  • Generates HTML pages from Jinja2 templates with bundled themes and relative links for portable output.
  • Image processing: resize, create thumbnails, preserve or extract EXIF metadata, and optional video handling.
  • Multiple bundled themes (Colorbox / Galleria / PhotoSwipe-style frontends) and themeable templates.
  • Parallel processing for faster builds, plus ZIP export and feed/plugin support in templates.
  • Designed to work with common Python image libraries and toolchains; configurable JPEG options and thumbnail settings.

Use Cases

  • Create static photo galleries for personal portfolios, events, or project showcases that can be deployed to static hosts.
  • Generate optimized image sets (resized versions and thumbnails) for use in web projects or CDNs.
  • Build reproducible demo galleries for testing frontend gallery libraries or theme development.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires Python and a Python image library (Pillow); some image formats and full-featured EXIF handling depend on system image libraries being available. Autorotate and EXIF copy options have compatibility nuances because some image libraries cannot rewrite EXIF tags.
  • Produces static output only (no built-in user authentication, dynamic backend, or hosted service features).
  • Theme appearance and interactive features depend on included JavaScript libraries in the themes; advanced interactive features require those frontend libraries to be supported in the user's environment.

In summary, Sigal is a focused, CLI-driven tool for producing static image galleries from directories of media. It emphasizes configurable templates, image resizing/thumbnailing, and simple theme-based presentation for static deployments.

934stars
170forks
#10
Chevereto

Chevereto

Open-source PHP-based image and video hosting platform for building Imgur/Flickr-style sites with S3/external storage, Docker support, multi-user accounts and admin tools.

Chevereto screenshot

Chevereto is a PHP-based, open-source image and video hosting application designed to let operators run a media-sharing site on their own infrastructure. It provides upload, gallery, user and admin features for building Imgur/Flickr-style services and supports external/object storage, CDN usage and Docker deployment.

Key Features

  • Full media management: images, videos, albums, tags, categories and bulk import tools
  • Multiple storage backends: local filesystem, Amazon S3 and S3-compatible providers, Backblaze B2, OpenStack, FTP/SFTP and others
  • Multi-user accounts, roles and authentication (includes 2FA support and admin controls)
  • Docker deployment and an official Docker template for multi-instance/multi-site setups
  • Image processing and optimization with ImageMagick/GD, automatic thumbnails and video frame extraction
  • CDN and direct-storage friendly URLs plus lifecycle considerations for external storages
  • i18n and multi-language support; responsive, themeable UI and API endpoints for integration
  • Optional caching support (Redis) and recommended webserver configurations for Apache or Nginx

Use Cases

  • Public or private image hosting service for communities, teams or projects
  • Self-hosted Imgur/Flickr-style sites for organizations that require data control and custom branding
  • Media backend for websites or applications needing direct S3-compatible storage and CDN integration

Limitations and Considerations

  • Some advanced integrations and enterprise features are edition-dependent (certain storage integrations and admin features may require paid editions or specific configuration)
  • Requires a PHP 8.x-compatible environment with required PHP extensions (curl, imagick/GD, pdo_mysql, fileinfo, exif, etc.) and appropriate filesystem permissions
  • Running large-scale deployments benefits from external object storage (S3-compatible) and caching; misconfigured storage lifecycle settings can increase costs

Chevereto is a mature, configurable solution for operators who need a self-managed media hosting platform with flexible storage and deployment options. It targets administrators comfortable with PHP-based stacks and offers Docker-based deployment templates and detailed configuration for production environments.

877stars
70forks
#11
WeddingShare

WeddingShare

WeddingShare is a self-hosted web app for creating shareable wedding photo galleries where guests can view and upload pictures, including QR-code sharing and admin review.

WeddingShare screenshot

WeddingShare is a lightweight self-hosted web application for collecting and sharing photos before, during, and after a wedding. It lets you create one or more galleries with shareable links so guests can easily upload and view memories.

Key Features

  • Create multiple galleries, each with its own shareable link
  • Guest-friendly interface for viewing and uploading photos
  • QR code generation for easy sharing on invites or table cards
  • Optional review/moderation flow to approve uploads before they appear
  • Multiple viewing modes, including presentation mode and slideshow mode
  • Configurable allowed upload file types via environment settings

Use Cases

  • Collect guest photos from a wedding day into a single shared gallery
  • Run a live slideshow or projected gallery during the reception
  • Share pre-wedding planning moments (venue visits, fittings, tastings) with friends and family

Limitations and Considerations

  • Galleries are link-accessible; anyone with the link can view and upload, and the optional secret key is only a basic deterrent
  • Some image formats may not be supported by browsers even if uploads are allowed (for example, HEIC)

WeddingShare is a practical option for couples who want a simple, private alternative to social platforms for wedding photo sharing. Its QR-based sharing and display modes make it especially suitable for in-person events.

808stars
56forks
#12
Zenphoto

Zenphoto

A lightweight PHP CMS focused on photo, video and audio galleries with integrated blogging (Zenpage), theme support and extensible plugins.

Zenphoto screenshot

Zenphoto is a standalone, open-source CMS designed for media-focused websites — primarily photo galleries but also supporting video and audio. It provides a compact admin UI, theme-driven frontends and an integrated Zenpage plugin for blogging and custom pages. (zenphoto.org)

Key Features

  • File-system based media management with multi-file upload and dynamic albums (saved searches). (zenphoto.org)
  • Native support for images, video and audio formats; integrated Zenpage for news/blogs and custom pages. (zenphoto.org)
  • Theme-driven frontend with many official and third-party themes; previewable via an official demo site. (demo.zenphoto.org)
  • Search engine with boolean expressions, multimedia metadata handling and album/collection organization. (zenphoto.org)
  • Active release cycle with maintenance releases (latest 1.6.x series and recent 1.6.8 release). (github.com)

Use Cases

  • Photographers, illustrators and designers hosting portfolio galleries with integrated blog/news pages. (zenphoto.org)
  • Small media sites (film makers, musicians) needing a lightweight CMS that handles mixed media formats. (zenphoto.org)
  • Developers building custom gallery themes or plugins who want a file-system-first media CMS and extensible plugin hooks. (github.com)

Limitations and Considerations

  • Official testing and recommendations are primarily for Apache/PHP environments; non-Apache servers may require extra configuration. Server PHP extensions (GD or Imagick, cURL, mbstring/iconv, etc.) are expected and some are required for full functionality. (zenphoto.org)
  • The project maintains compatibility constraints across PHP/MySQL/MariaDB versions; review release notes and requirements before upgrading production installs. (zenphoto.org)

Zenphoto is a compact, purpose-built CMS for creators who need straightforward media gallery management with blogging and theming capabilities. It emphasizes simplicity, file-system media handling and extensibility via themes and plugins, with active community development and an official demo for previewing themes. (zenphoto.org)

316stars
130forks
#13
Omoide

Omoide

Self-hosted photo & video manager that uses local AI (face recognition, OpenCLIP semantic search, duplicate detection) to organize and explore media.

Omoide is a self-hosted, offline-first photo and video library that organizes media locally using on-device AI models. It focuses on privacy and longevity by keeping all processing and search on the user’s machine, and can be run as a desktop app or in Docker for servers and NAS devices. (github.com)

Key Features

  • 100% local / offline-first media management (no cloud required). (github.com)
  • Face detection, embedding and clustering with review/merge tools for people management. (github.com)
  • Semantic (natural-language) image search powered by OpenCLIP embeddings. (github.com)
  • Auto-tagging, perceptual duplicate detection, and video scene extraction for faster curation. (github.com)
  • Map view with EXIF extraction and GPS editing; co-appearance graph to visualize relationships between people. (github.com)
  • Multiple profiles, read-only mode for sharing, and background task management for large libraries. (github.com)

Use Cases

  • Personal archival and private photo/video libraries where users want local AI-powered search and face grouping. (github.com)
  • Photographers or hobbyists organizing large collections on a NAS or local server (Docker support). (github.com)
  • Small galleries or archivists needing an offline, searchable presentation/preview of media with privacy controls. (proxmox.orasoft.net.pl)

Limitations and Considerations

  • License: distributed under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0, which restricts commercial use; review the license before deploying in commercial contexts. (github.com)
  • Resource & setup: initial model downloads and AI processing can require significant CPU/GPU resources; FFmpeg and Python toolchain are required for desktop builds and media processing. Performance and required hardware depend on chosen models (CPU-only runs will be slower). (github.com)
  • Community & support: actively maintained as a passion project; community discussion and feedback appear on self-hosting forums and social channels rather than a dedicated commercial support portal. (reddit.com)

Omoide provides a privacy-focused, local-first alternative for people who want Google/Apple Photos–like discovery features without cloud dependencies. It is suited for users who can accommodate model downloads and local compute demands and who accept the project’s noncommercial license terms. (github.com)

239stars
13forks
#14
circled.me

circled.me

Community-focused server for private photo/video backup, albums, chat and audio/video calls with mobile app support and S3-compatible storage.

circled.me screenshot

Circled.me is a self-hosted community server that provides private photo and video backup, album management, real-time chat and audio/video calls. It targets low resource use and privacy for local communities, families or small groups and includes mobile app integration for multi-account access.

Key Features

  • Photo and video backup from mobile devices with album and moment grouping
  • Local disk or S3-compatible object storage support per-user or per-bucket
  • Real-time chat with push notifications and browser/mobile call support (WebRTC)
  • Automatic video conversion to H.264 for web compatibility
  • Face detection and tagging with optional CNN mode for improved accuracy
  • Albums, secret-link sharing, contributor/viewer roles and reverse geocoding for assets
  • SQLite default database with optional MySQL support and Docker Compose deployment

Use Cases

  • Private family or community photo backup and sharing with controlled access
  • Lightweight media server for small groups needing chat and occasional video calls
  • Field or event teams collecting photos and geolocation-enriched media with tagging

Limitations and Considerations

  • Project is actively developed and may introduce breaking changes; exercise caution for primary/sole backup use
  • Mobile app is the primary client currently; web UI/client capabilities may be more limited
  • TURN server and NAT traversal require additional configuration and port forwarding for reliable peer-to-peer calls
  • Face-detection CNN mode is slower and more CPU-intensive than the default option

Circled.me is a compact, privacy-oriented community server suitable for self-hosted photo sharing and lightweight collaboration. It emphasizes low resource usage and flexible storage backends while providing integrated chat and calling features.

205stars
6forks
#15
SPIS

SPIS

Minimal, fast image and video gallery server with PWA support, thumbnail generation, slideshows, filtering, and simple filesystem-based operation for self-hosting.

SPIS is a Simple Private Image Server that provides a minimal, fast web gallery for images and videos stored on a filesystem. It is designed for low-resource hosts and mobile use, exposing a progressive web app frontend while delegating media serving to a separate webserver.

Key Features

  • Progressive Web App (PWA) frontend optimized for mobile and desktop
  • Endless scrolling gallery with thumbnail generation and fast pagination
  • Favorites, archive, slideshow playback, and basic filtering by year/month/subdirectory
  • Video support with processing using external tools (transcoding/metadata via ffmpeg/ffprobe)
  • Custom commands configurable in the UI to run scripts on selected media files
  • Configuration via CLI, environment variables, or TOML file with templating for nginx, systemd, and docker-compose
  • Docker image and prebuilt binaries for easy deployment
  • Filesystem-first design: no database required, multi-threaded Rust backend for indexing and metadata processing

Use Cases

  • Personal photo and video galleries hosted on a NAS or single-board computer
  • Lightweight media viewer for private collections with PWA installability on phones
  • Embeddable admin/viewer for shared media directories with custom command hooks

Limitations and Considerations

  • SPIS does not serve raw media files directly; a separate webserver must be configured to serve media and thumbnails
  • No built-in user authentication or access control; protection should be implemented at the webserver or reverse-proxy layer
  • Video features require ffmpeg/ffprobe on the host for processing and metadata extraction

SPIS is focused on simplicity, performance, and low operational overhead, making it a practical choice for self-hosted personal galleries and lightweight media browsing on modest hardware.

187stars
11forks
#16
Pellicola

Pellicola

Self-contained PHP photo publishing app with per-album organization, EXIF data, and optional geolocation maps.

Pellicola is an easy-to-use PHP web app for instant photo publishing. It runs on a PHP-enabled web server and supports uploading photos into albums, displays basic EXIF data, and can show locations on a map via OpenStreetMap.

Key Features

  • Simple deployment: Pellicola requires no installation, and it can be deployed on any web server with PHP.
  • Instant publishing: Upload photos and Pellicola handles indexing and presentation.
  • Responsive design: Pellicola works well on mobile devices.
  • Pagination: Automatically splits photo collections into pages with configurable photos per page.
  • Basic EXIF data: Displays aperture, focal length, shutter speed, and ISO for photos.
  • Map support: If enabled, shows geotagged photos on a map with OpenStreetMap links or geo URIs.
  • Descriptions: Optional album descriptions (preamble.html) and per-photo descriptions (txt files or UserComment EXIF data).
  • Language + RSS: Automatic language detection and an RSS feed for new photos.
  • Self-contained & GDPR-compatible: No external data collection.

Use Cases

  • Personal photo galleries and family travel albums published on a self-hosted site.
  • Event galleries with geolocation context for audiences or attendees.
  • Small collections or community projects requiring simple album organization and search.

Limitations and Considerations

  • See the repository README for deployment requirements and server considerations (PHP7+, GD/EXIF libraries).

Conclusion

Pellicola provides a lightweight, self-hosted solution for publishing photo collections with basic metadata, optional maps, and per-album organization, all powered by PHP with no external dependencies.

182stars
16forks
#17
Imagor Studio

Imagor Studio

Self-hosted image gallery and live editing app with virtual scrolling, non-destructive edits, instant URL-based transforms, S3/local storage support, and mobile-optimized UI.

Imagor Studio screenshot

Imagor Studio is a self-hosted image gallery and live editing web application designed for creators. It provides a high-performance gallery plus professional, non-destructive image editing with instant preview and URL-based transforms.

Key Features

  • High-performance virtual-scrolling gallery for fast browsing of large photo collections
  • Live, non-destructive image editing with real-time preview, color adjustments, effects, and cropping
  • Instant URL generation for transformed images to enable on-the-fly delivery and embedding
  • Universal storage support: local filesystems and S3-compatible object stores
  • Zero-configuration quick start with SQLite by default and Docker images for easy deployment
  • Touch-optimized, responsive React-based interface with EXIF metadata display
  • Built on a performant image processing stack (libvips/imagor) for efficient transforms and streaming

Use Cases

  • Photographers and hobbyists managing large local photo libraries with fast browsing and edits
  • Designers and content creators applying quick non-destructive transforms and producing shareable image URLs
  • Teams or websites that need on-the-fly optimized images via generated URLs backed by an image processing server

Limitations and Considerations

  • Intended primarily for single-site or small-team use; large-scale, multi-tenant deployments may require separate imagor scaling, caching, and storage tuning
  • Feature set assumes an external imagor processing backend for heavy production workloads; performance depends on that infrastructure

Imagor Studio combines a modern, touch-friendly UI with a high-performance image processing ecosystem to provide fast browsing and professional live editing for creators. It is suited for local and S3-backed collections and is deployable via Docker for quick setup.

179stars
4forks
#18
SharedMoments

SharedMoments

A self-hosted web app for couples to upload photos/videos, create galleries, track moments on a timeline, set countdowns, playlists, and receive event notifications.

SharedMoments is a web application designed for couples to capture, organize, and relive shared memories. It provides a private feed, galleries, timelines and event reminders tailored to a pair's relationship.

Key Features

  • Upload and play photos and videos to a personalized feed
  • Create multi-photo galleries for trips or albums
  • Chronicle key events on a timeline (first kiss, move-in, anniversaries)
  • Countdown timers for upcoming special events
  • Movie and bucket lists for shared experiences
  • Customizable banner showing relationship duration
  • Upload and play a soundtrack to accompany the feed
  • Notifications via Push (note: iOS push not supported), Telegram bot, and email
  • Import and export user data as CSV for portability
  • Translations available for multiple languages; packaged for Docker Compose deployment

Use Cases

  • A private, long-term timeline of memorable moments for couples
  • A shared multimedia album for trips, events, and playlists
  • Automated reminders for anniversaries and important dates via email or Telegram

Limitations and Considerations

  • Push notifications exclude iOS support per project notes
  • Targeted at a single couple; lacks enterprise/multi-tenant social features
  • Requires self-hosting and Docker Compose for recommended deployment; initial startup can take several minutes

SharedMoments is a focused, privacy-oriented tool for couples who want a simple, private place to store and celebrate shared memories. It favors lightweight deployment and direct multimedia sharing over social or federated features.

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GNU MediaGoblin

GNU MediaGoblin

GNU MediaGoblin is a self-hostable media publishing platform for sharing photos, video, and other media types, designed as a decentralized alternative to proprietary services.

GNU MediaGoblin screenshot

GNU MediaGoblin is a free software media publishing platform you can run yourself to host and share user-uploaded media. It is designed as a decentralized, user-controlled alternative to centralized media sites, with an emphasis on extensibility and multiple media types.

Key Features

  • Media publishing with user accounts and public-facing pages
  • Support for multiple media types (including video)
  • Extensible architecture for adding new media types and features
  • API documentation included in the project (for integrations and clients)
  • Deployment options via Docker and Docker Compose, with Nginx templates

Use Cases

  • Personal or community-run photo and video sharing site
  • Organization-hosted media gallery for publishing updates and assets
  • Small-scale alternative media hosting for collectives or clubs

Limitations and Considerations

  • Ecosystem and feature set may be less comprehensive than large commercial platforms
  • Video and other rich media types can require significant storage and CPU for processing, depending on configuration

GNU MediaGoblin is a solid choice for people who want control over their media hosting while keeping a flexible foundation for future customization. It fits best when you value decentralization, extensibility, and freedom-focused software.

Why choose an open source alternative?

  • Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running