Media
Self-host PhotoPrism on a VPS
AI-powered browsing, tagging and search for your photo library.
A self-hosted photo manager with automatic tagging, face recognition and powerful search, built for large libraries.
Why self-host PhotoPrism?
PhotoPrism brings Google-Photos-style search to your own originals, so you get discovery without uploading anything to a cloud.
How to install PhotoPrism
- 1
Provision a VPS
Choose a plan with room for your data as well as the app.
- 2
Install the stack
Install Docker + storage volume.
- 3
Deploy the application
Follow the project’s official install guide for your distribution.
- 4
Enable HTTPS
Serve it on your own domain behind a reverse proxy with a certificate.
- 5
Back it up
Schedule a database dump plus a copy of any uploaded files to an off-box location.
Practical tips
- Give PhotoPrism its own database user with rights only on its own schema.
- Reverse-proxy PhotoPrism and terminate TLS at the proxy so certificates are managed in one place.
- Take a VPS snapshot before major upgrades so you can roll back cleanly.
- Keep PhotoPrism patched — most self-hosting incidents are unpatched software.
Frequently asked questions
- How much RAM does PhotoPrism need?
- Plan on 4 GB (8 GB for AI features) for typical use; add headroom if you expect many concurrent users.
- What stack does PhotoPrism run on?
- Docker + storage volume.
- Can I run other things on the same VPS?
- Yes — size the plan so PhotoPrism plus your other workloads fit in RAM with room to spare.
Looking for something else? Popular alternatives include Immich, Piwigo, LibrePhotos — browse all app guides.