immich/docs/docs/guides/external-library.md

External Library

This guide walks you through adding an External Library. This guide assumes you are running Immich in Docker and that the files you wish to access are stored in a directory on the same machine.

Mount the directory into the containers.

Edit docker-compose.yml to add one or more new mount points in the section immich-server: under volumes:. If you want Immich to be able to delete the images in the external library or add metadata (XMP sidecars), remove :ro from the end of the mount point.

immich-server:
    volumes:
        - ${UPLOAD_LOCATION}:/data
+       - /home/user/photos1:/home/user/photos1:ro
+       - /mnt/photos2:/mnt/photos2:ro # you can delete this line if you only have one mount point, or you can add more lines if you have more than two

Restart Immich by running docker compose up -d.

Create the library

:::info External library management requires administrator access and the steps below assume you are using an admin account. :::

In the Immich web UI:

• click the Administration link in the upper right corner. <img src={require('./img/administration-link.webp').default} width="50%" title="Administration link" />

• Select the External Libraries tab and click the Create Library button <img src={require('./img/create-external-library.webp').default} width="80%" title="Create Library button" />

• In the dialog, select which user should own the new library <img src={require('./img/library-owner.webp').default} width="50%" title="Library owner dialog" />

• You are now entering the library management page. <img src={require('./img/library-management-page.webp').default} width="80%" title="Library management page" />

• Click Add in the Folder section to specify a path for scanning and enter /home/user/photos1 as the path and click Add <img src={require('./img/edit-import-path.webp').default} width="50%" title="Add an import path" />

• Click the three-dots menu and select Scan New Library Files <img src={require('./img/scan-new-library-files.webp').default} width="50%" title="Scan New Library Files menu option" />

Confirm stuff is happening

• Click Administration <img src={require('./img/administration-link.webp').default} width="50%" title="Administration link" />

• Select the Jobs tab <img src={require('./img/jobs-tab.webp').default} width="50%" title="Jobs tab" />

• You should see non-zero Active jobs for Library, Generate Thumbnails, and Extract Metadata.