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Setting Up PhotoPrism with Docker Compose

PhotoPrism Docker Compose Setup

This configuration sets up PhotoPrism, a personal photo management solution. It includes important notes on memory requirements, security considerations for public deployments, and advanced configuration options.

Docker Compose Configuration

Below is the Docker Compose file you will need. Copy this into a docker-compose.yml file in your project directory:

Change all passwords before deploying

PHOTOPRISM_ADMIN_PASSWORD is set to insecure. Change this and both MySQL password variables (PHOTOPRISM_DATABASE_PASSWORD and MYSQL_PASSWORD) to strong values before starting the stack.

version: '3.9'
services:
  photoprism:
    image: photoprism/photoprism:latest
    ports:
      - '2342:2342' # Port mapping Host:Container for HTTP access
    environment:
      PHOTOPRISM_ADMIN_USER: "admin"  # Admin username for initial setup
      PHOTOPRISM_ADMIN_PASSWORD: "insecure"  # Initial admin password, change this!
      PHOTOPRISM_SITE_URL: "http://localhost:2342/"  # Public URL for your instance
      # Other environmental variables as per your configuration needs
    volumes:
      - "./photos:/photoprism/originals"  # Path to your photos
      - "./storage:/photoprism/storage"  # Persistent storage for thumbnails, database
    depends_on:
      - mariadb  # Ensure that the database is started first

  mariadb:
    image: mariadb:10.5  # Recommended MariaDB version
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: "database_password"  # Root password for MariaDB
      MYSQL_DATABASE: "photoprism"  # Database name for PhotoPrism
      MYSQL_USER: "photoprism"  # Database user for PhotoPrism
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: "database_password"  # Password for the PhotoPrism database user
    volumes:
      - "./database:/var/lib/mysql"  # Persistent storage for the database

Configuration Notes

Minimum 4 GB RAM required

PhotoPrism requires at least 4 GB of RAM. Running on lower-spec hardware will cause crashes during photo indexing.

  • Memory Management: PhotoPrism should run on a server with at least 4 GB of RAM and sufficient swap space to handle large files and intensive processes without crashing.
  • Security: If deploying publicly, ensure that PhotoPrism is behind an HTTPS reverse proxy like Traefik or Caddy to secure your data and credentials.
  • Database: Using MariaDB provides better performance than SQLite and is recommended for production environments.
  • Environment Variables: Customize the environment variables according to your needs. For detailed configuration options, visit PhotoPrism Configuration Options.

Deployment Instructions

  1. Prepare Your Environment: Make sure Docker and Docker Compose are installed on your host.
  2. Configure Volumes: Create directories for photos and database if they do not already exist to ensure data persistence.

  3. Launch PhotoPrism: Navigate to the directory containing your docker-compose.yml file and run: 

    docker compose up -d
    This command starts PhotoPrism in detached mode, running in the background.

  4. Access PhotoPrism: Once the services are up and running, you can access PhotoPrism through http://<your-server-ip>:2342 or the domain you have configured. Update PHOTOPRISM_SITE_URL in your compose file to match the URL you use to access the instance.

Updating PhotoPrism

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Back up before updating

Your data lives in the ./photos, ./storage, and ./database host directories. Back these up before major version updates.

If there is an issue with this guide or you wish to suggest changes, please raise an issue on GitHub.