Photobox – Free Open Source Google Photos Clone
photobox.dev
photobox.dev
Probably a good idea to change the name now... However, I'm always surprised people don't search for the name of their project before using it. Also, if common TLDs are already registered, I'd usually avoid using the name as well in case of future success and spoofing the domains.
Here the challenge is to actually understand what "Google Photos" is before claiming that this is a Clone.
In order to successfully clone Google Photos, one needs:
1.- A backing storage.
2.- A web application.
3.- A mobile application (and optionally a desktop application).
4.- A data synchronization model to maintain a 2-way sync between backing storage and each locally installed application.
5.- A data model of pictures, timeline, and albums, that does not depend on where the picture is physically stored (for example, I can create an album on my phone offline, and whenever I come online the sync happens and the same album appears on the web application view).
6.- AI features (eg. face detection) sprinkled on top of the backing storage, and available on both web application and locally installed applications.
From a cursory review, this current attempt only satisfies 1 and 2.
- There an option to compress images before uploading (which is probably on by default). Not unreasonable.
- Content is deleted if you do not access Google Photos in any way during two years AND do not have a paid storage plan. Not unreasonable.
- If you use more storage than you pay for during two years, content will be deleted. Again, not unreasonable.
I really do no get the complaint here.
The next day I download a picture. Quality is q=Y, where Y < X.
One year after, I download the same picture. Quality is q=Z, where Z < Y < X.
So my pictures uploaded to Google Photos suffer from decay, whenever Google chooses to degrade quality.
None of your "not unreasonable" scenarios are involved.
I am planning to use NextCloud for the sync, as I like its YEAR/MONTH/FILE structure, and configuring it as an external library in Immich. I could also use NextCloud Memories, but Immich UI is nicer, and its face/object recognition model is better.
but you say it can also use external libraries? so it does not copy those?
Yes, it only renames files automatically sync'd from your phone. My understanding is it creates a separate metadata file for each external file, but doesn't touch the actual files in an external library.
So if you have existing backups just add them as external libraries.
as far as free, it's absolutely free to spin up. it does require registration (like any other service), but Cloudinary has a generous free tier. it was made pretty clear on the website and repository it relied on that service
just for transparency, i work at Cloudinary, but I stand by the above whether it was Cloudinary or another service
All I want is an app which I can point at a folder and then search for "cat" or whatever and have it show all the pictures with cats.
Seems like all the photo apps I look at are either vastly over-engineered or lack this kind of visual search/tagging.
(Edit: I guess Ente is online)
I am surprised by the over-engineered comment. Object auto-detection is kind of an advanced feature and I would expect a lot of extra infra required for it. Immich hides it because they just publish docker containers for you but I imagine it would feel more complex if you were to look at the internals.
From yesterday on HN:
Desktop Docs is a Mac app that lets you search all your photos and videos in seconds with AI.
Once you find the file you're looking for you can resize it, export it to Adobe Premiere Pro, or drag and drop it into another app.
I built Desktop Docs because I keep tons of media files on my computer and I can never remember where I save stuff (lots of screenshots, memes, and downloads). The Apple Photos app also only supports photos in your iCloud.
Desktop Docs supports adding folders or individual files to an AI Library where you can search by the contents of your files, not just file titles.
You can search by objects ("cardboard box"), actions ("man smiling", "car driving"), by emotion ("surprised woman", "sad cowboy"), or the text in the frame (great for screenshots or memes).
It's also 100% private. Make any media searchable without it ever leaving your computer.
Why?
there's no reason someone couldn't swap out the underlaying tech and take advantage of the UI, but it's a big undertaking
my first past was mainly focused on initial organization and editing, including Creations (which i was most excited about)