immich-drop: A Zero-Login Web App for Collecting Photos to Immich

Introduction

immich-drop is a lightweight, zero-login web application designed to simplify the process of collecting photos and videos from anyone directly into your Immich server. Built with FastAPI and Uvicorn on the backend, and static HTML/JS (Tailwind) for the frontend, it offers a secure and private way to gather media. Key features include public-by-URL invite links, optional password protection, automatic album assignment, robust duplicate prevention, and support for chunked uploads for large files. It also boasts a fully responsive UI with dark mode, ensuring a great experience across all devices.

For more details, visit the official GitHub repository: Nasogaa/immich-drop.

Installation

The recommended way to deploy immich-drop is using Docker Compose, which allows you to configure all settings directly within the docker-compose.yml file, eliminating the need for a separate .env file in production.

Here's a quick start guide using docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.9"

services:
  immich-drop:
    image: ghcr.io/nasogaa/immich-drop:latest
    pull_policy: always
    container_name: immich-drop
    restart: unless-stopped

    # Configure all settings here (no .env required)
    environment:

      # Immich connection (must include /api)
      IMMICH_BASE_URL: https://immich.example.com/api
      IMMICH_API_KEY: ${IMMICH_API_KEY}

      # Optional behavior
      IMMICH_ALBUM_NAME: dead-drop
      PUBLIC_UPLOAD_PAGE_ENABLED: "false"   # keep disabled by default
      PUBLIC_BASE_URL: https://drop.example.com

      # Large files: chunked uploads (bypass 100MB proxy limits)
      CHUNKED_UPLOADS_ENABLED: "false"      # enable chunked uploads
      CHUNK_SIZE_MB: "95"                  # per-chunk size (MB)

      # App internals
      SESSION_SECRET: ${SESSION_SECRET}

    # Expose the app on the host
    ports:
      - 8080:8080

    # Persist local dedupe cache (state.db) across restarts
    volumes:
      - immich_drop_data:/data

    # Simple healthcheck
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "python - <<'PY'\nimport os,urllib.request,sys; url=f\"http://127.0.0.1:{os.getenv('PORT','8080')}/\";\ntry: urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=3); sys.exit(0)\nexcept Exception: sys.exit(1)\nPY"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 10s

volumes:
  immich_drop_data:

To run it, use the following CLI commands:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

For local development, you can use a .env file as described in the repository's documentation.

Examples

immich-drop offers a straightforward usage flow:

• Admin Workflow: Log in to the admin panel, navigate to the menu, and create an invite link. You can configure options such as one-time use, expiry dates, password protection, and assignment to a specific Immich album. Once created, share the link or its QR code with your intended recipients.
• Guest Workflow: Guests simply open the provided invite link in their browser. They can then drag and drop files or select them from their device. The application displays real-time upload progress and results, ensuring a smooth experience without requiring any login.
• Optional Public Uploader: For general collection, you can enable a public uploader page at the root URL (/) by setting PUBLIC_UPLOAD_PAGE_ENABLED=true and optionally defining IMMICH_ALBUM_NAME for automatic organization.

Why Use immich-drop?

immich-drop stands out as an excellent solution for media collection due to several compelling reasons:

• Effortless Media Collection: Provides a simple, zero-login interface for anyone to upload photos and videos directly to your Immich server, making it ideal for events, family sharing, or public submissions.
• Privacy and Security: Keeps your Immich API key server-side, never exposes server media to the browser, and offers public-by-URL invite links that can be password-protected, ensuring controlled access.
• Robust Features: Includes essential functionalities like duplicate prevention (local SHA-1 cache and optional Immich bulk-check), support for large files via chunked uploads, and automatic album assignment.
• User-Friendly Experience: Features a fully responsive UI with mobile-safe file pickers, dark mode support, and a progress queue with WebSocket updates and retry functionality for failed uploads.
• Seamless Immich Integration: Designed specifically for Immich, it ensures smooth asset ingestion, preserving metadata like EXIF timestamps and allowing for efficient organization within your Immich library.

Links

• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Nasogaa/immich-drop
• License: MIT License