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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source photo management apps

The best open source photo management app is Immich (AGPL-3.0, 117,454 GitHub stars, Docker image). PhotoPrism stands out for AI features named in its own description, and Ente stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (19,069).

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Immich leads for home use.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Immich

    immich-app/immich

    Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    FeaturedPhoto GalleriesTypeScriptDocker

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Immich has 117,454 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,902 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

  2. Rank 2:

    PhotoPrism

    photoprism/photoprism

    Personal photo management powered by Go and Google TensorFlow. Browse, organize, and share your personal photo collection, using the latest technologies to automatically tag and find pictures.

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    Photo GalleriesGoDocker

    AI-nativeStands out for AI features named in its own description. PhotoPrism has 40,372 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,596 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

  3. Rank 3:

    Ente

    ente/ente

    An end-to-end encrypted photo-sharing platform (alternative to Google Photos, Apple Photos).

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Photo GalleriesDartDocker

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (19,069). Ente has 29,691 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 19,069 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom.

At a glance

Open source photo management apps compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 21 apps in the photo galleries category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Immichthe most GitHub starsAGPL-3.0117,4542,902Oct 28, 2026Yes
PhotoPrismAI features named in its own descriptionAGPL-3.040,3723,596Oct 27, 2026Yes
Entethe most commits in the last 12 months (19,069)AGPL-3.029,69119,069Oct 28, 2026Yes
LibrePhotosa permissive MIT licenseMIT8,1181,302Oct 28, 2026Yes
Thumborthe longest track record (since 2011)MIT10,528197Oct 25, 2026Yes
Lychee–MIT4,316842Oct 27, 2026Yes
Photoview–AGPL-3.06,55898Oct 24, 2026Yes
Nextcloud Memories–AGPL-3.03,8651,392Oct 28, 2026No
Immich Kiosk–AGPL-3.01,7321,120Oct 27, 2026Yes
ChronoFrame–AGPL-3.01,964645Oct 28, 2026Yes

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 21 apps in the photo galleries category.

  1. 1

    Immich

    Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Immich has 117,454 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,902 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

  2. 2

    PhotoPrism

    Personal photo management powered by Go and Google TensorFlow. Browse, organize, and share your personal photo collection, using the latest technologies to automatically tag and find pictures.

    AI-nativeStands out for AI features named in its own description. PhotoPrism has 40,372 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,596 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

  3. 3

    Ente

    An end-to-end encrypted photo-sharing platform (alternative to Google Photos, Apple Photos).

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (19,069). Ente has 29,691 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 19,069 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom.

  4. 4

    LibrePhotos

    Photo management service with a slight focus on cool graphs (alternative to Google Photos).

    AI-nativeStands out for a permissive MIT license. LibrePhotos has 8,118 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,302 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom.

  5. 5

    Thumbor

    A smart imaging service and enables on-demand cropping, resizing, applying filters and optimizing images.

    Stands out for the longest track record (since 2011). Thumbor has 10,528 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 197 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    Lychee

    Grid and album based photo-management-system.

    Lychee has 4,316 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 842 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

  7. 7

    Photoview

    Simple and user-friendly photo gallery for personal servers. It is made for photographers and aims to provide an easy and fast way to navigate directories, with thousands of high resolution photos.

    Photoview has 6,558 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 98 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos.

  8. 8

    Nextcloud Memories

    Fast, modern and advanced photo management suite. Runs as a Nextcloud app.

    Nextcloud Memories has 3,865 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 1,392 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    Immich Kiosk

    Lightweight slideshow for running on kiosk devices and browsers that uses Immich as a data source.

    Immich Kiosk has 1,732 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,120 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    ChronoFrame

    Personal gallery application with online photo management, supporting Live/Motion Photos, and explore map.

    ChronoFrame has 1,964 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 645 commits in the last year.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Which open source photo management app is best for home use?

For home use, Immich ranks first (AGPL-3.0, 117,454 GitHub stars), followed by PhotoPrism and Ente. Ranked for home use on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Immich

    Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).

    Immich has 117,454 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,902 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    PhotoPrism

    Personal photo management powered by Go and Google TensorFlow. Browse, organize, and share your personal photo collection, using the latest technologies to automatically tag and find pictures.

    AI-nativePhotoPrism has 40,372 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,596 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Ente

    An end-to-end encrypted photo-sharing platform (alternative to Google Photos, Apple Photos).

    Ente has 29,691 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 19,069 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    LibrePhotos

    Photo management service with a slight focus on cool graphs (alternative to Google Photos).

    AI-nativeLibrePhotos has 8,118 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,302 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Thumbor

    A smart imaging service and enables on-demand cropping, resizing, applying filters and optimizing images.

    Thumbor has 10,528 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 197 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is Immich free?

Yes. Immich is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these photo management apps with Docker?

Yes, 9 of the 10 picks. Immich, PhotoPrism and Ente publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these photo management apps open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these photo management apps is the most actively developed?

Ente, with 19,069 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, locker-v1.0.11, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 21 apps in the photo galleries category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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