Self-Hosting Immich on Unraid (My Google Photos Replacement)
Note: This setup was originally built on Unraid, I’ve since migrated my homelab to Proxmox, but the concepts still apply.
I wanted to move away from Google Photos and start hosting my own photo backup system.
After some trial and error, I deployed Immich on my Unraid homelab using Docker along with PostgreSQL and Redis.
The result is essentially my own private Google Photos replacement running locally on my server.
Why I Wanted to Leave Google Photos
Google Photos is convenient, but it comes with tradeoffs:
- Storage limits
- Subscription fees
- Privacy concerns
- Vendor lock-in
I wanted something that was:
- Self-hosted
- Private
- Fast
- Works with iPhone auto backups
Immich checked all those boxes.
My Homelab Environment
The stack running this looks like:
- Unraid Server
- Docker containers
- Immich
- PostgreSQL database
- Redis
- 1TB photo storage disk (this turned out to not be enough as I filled the 1TB before they all uploaded. Need more storage, that’s a later upgrade)
The containers I deployed were:
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immich
postgresql15
redis
Setting Up PostgreSQL
Immich requires PostgreSQL with vector support for machine learning features.
The standard PostgreSQL container does not include the required extension, so I switched to the Immich-supported image:
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ghcr.io/immich-app/postgres:15-vectorchord0.4.3-pgvectors0.3.0
Environment variables used:
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POSTGRES_USER=potato
POSTGRES_DB=immich
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=*****
Database storage path:
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/mnt/cache/appdata/postgresql15
Setting Up Redis
Immich also requires Redis for caching and background jobs.
I deployed the official Redis container with the default port:
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6379
No password was required since this runs only inside my internal Docker network.
Deploying the Immich Container
The Immich container connects to both PostgreSQL and Redis.
Important environment variables:
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DB_HOSTNAME=172.17.0.4
DB_USERNAME=potato
DB_PASSWORD=*****
DB_DATABASE_NAME=immich
DB_PORT=5432
REDIS_HOSTNAME=172.17.0.5
REDIS_PORT=6379
SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
SERVER_PORT=8080
Web interface port mapping:
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Host: 8088
Container: 8080
Photo storage location:
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/mnt/disks/New_Volume/photos
External library folder:
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/mnt/disks/New_Volume/libraries
Once the container started successfully, the web UI became available at:
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http://192.168.8.159:8088
Creating User Accounts
The first account created in Immich becomes the admin user.
After logging in, additional users can be created under:
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Administration > Users > Create User
This allowed me to create separate accounts for:
- Myself
- My wife
Each user gets their own photo library while still allowing shared albums.
Mobile Backup (iPhone / Android)
Immich provides a mobile app that automatically backs up photos.
Steps:
- Install the Immich app
- Enter the server URL
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http://192.168.8.159:8088
- Login
- Enable Auto Upload
Now every photo taken on our phones automatically backs up to the server.
Migrating Photos from Google Photos
To migrate our existing photos, I used Google Takeout.
Steps:
- Export Google Photos using Takeout
- Download the archive
- Extract the files
- Move them into the Immich storage folder
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/mnt/disks/New_Volume/photos
Then create an external library in Immich:
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Administration > External Libraries
Run a scan and Immich indexes the entire collection.
The Result
Now my homelab provides:
- Private photo backup
- Mobile auto uploads
- Facial recognition
- Fast search
- Shared albums
All without paying for cloud storage.
And most importantly:
My photos stay in my lab.
Final Thoughts
Immich has become one of the most impressive self-hosted applications I’ve deployed.
It genuinely feels like a self-hosted Google Photos replacement.
Running it locally gives me:
- full ownership of my data
- no subscription costs
- fast local access
For anyone building a homelab, this is absolutely worth deploying!
If it’s not broken, fix it til it is.