[opensourcedex]

foss_photo_libraries is a free, open source digital asset management (dam) project written in Python and released under MIT. It has 2,818 GitHub stars, 73 forks and 27 open issues, and was last pushed 7 months ago. On this registry it ranks #12 of 25 tracked projects in Digital Asset Management (DAM), with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 10 stars over the last 30 tracked days.

What is foss_photo_libraries?

What it is

foss_photo_libraries is a free and open-source comparison project for photo libraries and digital asset management tools. It is an MIT-licensed Python repository that maintains a public list of alternatives, including Chevereto, Damselfly, Ente, Foldergram, HomeGallery, Immich, Librephotos, Lychee, Nextcloud Photos, Nextcloud Memories, Photonix, Photofield, PiGallery2, PhotoPrism, Photoview, Piwigo, and Snapcrescent.

The project solves the problem of choosing among many free, open-source, closed-source, and paid photo library options. It focuses on gratis open-source photo libraries, while libre projects are also welcome through pull requests because testing each project takes significant time. The comparison tracks feature sets across projects so users can see which alternatives exist and how complete they appear.

Key capabilities

  • It compares feature sets across free and open-source photo libraries, including cross-platform options indicated by the repository topics.
  • It records feature status as present in a limited form, potentially impractical or unreleased, absent, or rated on a subjective quality scale from 0 to 10.
  • It shows GitHub star counts for each compared project, giving readers a basic signal of repository visibility.
  • It maintains a public comparison table for a named set of photo library projects.
  • It accepts libre photo library submissions through pull requests rather than automatically treating every open-source project as fully tested.
  • It provides a homepage where the comparison can be viewed as a browsable project list.

Who uses it and how

  • People use it when they want to replace closed-source or paid photo software with a free and open-source alternative.
  • Readers browse the comparison table to evaluate feature availability, subjective quality scores, and project popularity.
  • Contributors submit new libre projects through pull requests, and the repository owner may adjust those submissions.
  • Users inspect the list to identify candidate projects such as Immich, PhotoPrism, Lychee, Piwigo, or Nextcloud Photos.

Getting started

The README does not provide installation, runtime, or deployment instructions for this comparison repository; users view the project through its homepage at https://meichthys.github.io/foss_photo_libraries/. Contributors update or add entries by submitting pull requests to the GitHub repository.

When to use it — and when not to

Use this project when you need a broad feature comparison among free and open-source photo libraries, especially if you want to identify gratis alternatives to closed-source or paid tools. Do not rely on it as an operational guide, because it does not describe database, storage, SMTP, or hosting requirements for the compared applications. The comparison mixes objective and subjective measures, the repository has 27 open issues, and the repository owner reserves the right to change pull requests, so final selection should be verified against each project's documentation.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

📸 Free and OpenSource Photo Libraries

There are many great free and open-source alternatives to closed source and/or paid photo libraries. This project aims to track and compare the feature set between the many different options with a focus on 'Gratis' (free as in free beer) open source photo libraries. 'Libre' (free as in free speech) projects are also welcome, but will likely need to be submitted via a pull request since the time in testing each different project is significant.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This repository displays both objective and subjective measures of feature quality. The owner of this repository reserves the right to make changes to any pull request.

⚖️ Comparison

✅ = Feature exists in at least a limited fashion
🚧 = Feature may exist but may not be practical or officially released
❌ = Feature does not yet exist
#️⃣ = Subjective measure of feature quality (on scale of 0-10)
Tip: Hover over emoji for additional information (🔗 link to related issue, 🔑 demo credentials, etc)
Feature Chevereto Damselfly Ente Foldergram HomeGallery Immich Librephotos Lychee Nextcloud Photos Nextcloud Memories Photonix Photofield PiGallery2 Photoprism Photoview Piwigo Snapcrescent
Logo Chevreto Logo Dameslfly Logo Ente Logo Foldergram Logo HomeGallery Logo Immich Logo Librephotos Logo Lychee Logo NextcloudPhotos Logo Memories Logo Photonix Logo Photofield Logo PiGallery2 Logo Photoprism Logo Photoview Logo Piwigo Logo Snapcrescent Logo
Github Stars ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Contributors ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Last Commit ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Source Language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language GitHub top language
License ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Demo ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅3️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣
Freeness ✅5️⃣ ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟 🚧7️⃣ ✅🔟 ✅🔟 ✅🔟
Automatic Mobile Upload ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣
Web App ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣
Android App ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅3️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ❌ ❌ 🚧4️⃣ 🚧3️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣
iOS App ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ 🚧3️⃣ ❌ 🚧3️⃣ 🚧3️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ❌ ❌ 🚧4️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌
Desktop App ❌ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ 🚧2️⃣ 🚧2️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
LivePhotos ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌
Videos ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅7️⃣
Geolocation/Map ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌
Discovery ✅2️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅1️⃣ ❌
Existing Folders ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ✅4️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌
Albums ✅8️⃣ ❌ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣
Nested Albums ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌
Slideshow ❌ ✅4️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅4️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅5️⃣ ❌
Timeline ✅3️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ✅5️⃣
Sharing ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅5️⃣
Search ✅5️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅4️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌
Duplicate Handling ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅5️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣
User Defined Tags ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ❌
Docker Installation ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅8️⃣
Object/Face Recognition ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅5️⃣ ❌
Basic Editing ✅1️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅4️⃣ ❌ ✅1️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
EXIF Data ✅3️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ❌ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅3️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅6️⃣ ✅7️⃣
Multiple User Support ✅8️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ❌ ✅8️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅6️⃣ ✅8️⃣ ✅5️⃣
Authentication Providers ✅5️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅7️⃣ ❌ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ✅9️⃣ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅5️⃣ ❌ ✅5️⃣ ❌

Note: This list is by no means comprehensive and is provided on a best efforts basis. No guarantees are made to it's accuracy or completeness. If you see an error or inaccuracy, please report it and contribute a fix if you can!

For links to other photo library projects, see:

An HTML version of this comparison table is here: https://meichthys.github.io/foss_photo_libraries/

👋 More Feature Comparisons

Check out other similar feature comparisons:

📝 foss_note_apps 📖 foss_book_libraries

🤝 Contributing

Please contribute additions and corrections! Please refer to CONTRIBUTE.md for details.

🆘 Support

Maintaining this list of projects takes a lot of time. If you found this comparison helpful, please let me know by considering supporting me. This lets me know that someone is finding this project useful and gives me an incentive to keep it up to date. You can support me on Liberapay or Github Sponsors:

Donate using Liberapay

Frequently asked questions

Is foss_photo_libraries free to use?

foss_photo_libraries is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does foss_photo_libraries do?

Free and Open Source Photo Libraries

What is foss_photo_libraries written in?

foss_photo_libraries is primarily written in Python. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/meichthys/foss_photo_libraries, and it has 2,818 GitHub stars.