# Immich Testing & Validation Plan

**Goal:** Decide if Immich is stable and complete enough to replace iCloud Photos + Synology Photos as Claudio's primary photo management system.

**Valid for:** Claudio's personal use + eventual family migration (Alena + others)

**Last updated:** 2026-04-01

---

## What We Need to Validate

1. Automatic phone backup (iOS + Android)
2. Immich library + database backup and restore
3. Public sharing with non-account holders (guest experience)
4. Overall stability under real-world use

---

## 1. Automatic Phone Backup

### How it works

Immich has a mobile app (iOS + Android) with two backup modes:

- **In-app backup:** User opens the app, goes to the album they want to back up, and hits the backup icon. New photos/videos in that album upload automatically.
- **Background backup (Android):** The app periodically checks selected albums in the background and uploads new photos without opening the app.
- **iOS background backup:** iOS restricts true background processing, so the app relies on resume-triggered uploads when you open or return to the app.

### What to test

| Test | Expected behavior | Pass criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Select album for backup | Immich shows only that album's new photos | Correct album selected |
| New photo taken → app open | Photo appears on server within minutes | Upload completes |
| Multiple new photos at once | All upload, progress shown | No dropped uploads |
| App killed, reopened | Pending uploads resume | No data loss |
| Battery impact | Not excessive (subjective) | Acceptable to Claudio |
| Backup of HEIC/HEVC videos | Transcoded or original preserved | Plays back correctly |
| Backup while on mobile data | Configurable: WiFi only or all networks | Respects setting |

### Action items

- [ ] Install Immich app on Claudio's iPhone, log in
- [ ] Enable backup for Camera Roll album (or most important album)
- [ ] Take 5 test photos, wait 2 min, verify on server
- [ ] Enable background backup if Android (not applicable for iOS)
- [ ] Test backup while on LTE/mobile data (with WiFi-only disabled)
- [ ] Check battery usage after 24h with background backup

### Notes from research

- iOS app uses `https://demo.immich.app` as demo server endpoint for initial setup — not needed for self-hosted
- The app connects to `immich.frusetik.com` directly (behind Pangolin)
- If Pangolin auth is ever re-enabled on Immich, mobile backup will break — keep Immich **Not Protected** in Pangolin
- For Alena's Android phone: test background backup there too when migration time comes

---

## 2. Immich Library + Database Backup

### What needs to be backed up

Immich stores three critical data volumes:

| Volume | What it contains | Size |
|---|---|---|
| `UPLOAD_LOCATION` (`immich-upload`) | Original photos + videos | Largest |
| `DB_DATA_LOCATION` (`pgdata`) | PostgreSQL database (metadata, thumbnails, users, albums) | Medium |
| `THUMB_LOCATION` (`immich-thumbs`) | Generated thumbnails | Medium |
| `ENC_DATA_LOCATION` (`immich-encrypted`) | Encrypted files (if used) | Varies |

### Backup approach

**Database backup (PostgreSQL):**
```bash
docker exec immich_postgres pg_dumpall \
  --clean \
  --if-exists \
  --username="${DB_USERNAME}" \
  > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql
```

**Volume backup:**
```bash
# Using docker volume backup
docker run --rm \
  -v immich_app_upload:/src \
  -v /path/to/backups:/dst \
  alpine \
  tar czf /dst/immich_upload_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /src .
```

### Recommended backup script (from Immich docs template)

The official backup script (`docker/immich/backup.sh` in the Immich repo) handles:
- Pause the Immich server before backup
- Run `pg_dumpall` to SQL file
- Backup the upload volume
- Unpause the server
- Retention: keeps last N backups

### What to test

| Test | Expected behavior | Pass criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Run `pg_dumpall` backup | Clean SQL file created, no errors | File size > 0, valid SQL |
| Restore from SQL dump | Immich starts with correct data | All albums, users, metadata present |
| Volume backup + restore | Photos play back correctly | No corruption |
| Test restore on fresh Immich install | Full recovery | All data intact |
| Backup during active upload | No corruption, consistent state | Server pauses cleanly |

### Action items

- [ ] Locate Immich docker volumes on the home lab machine (`docker volume ls | grep immich`)
- [ ] Write and test `pg_dumpall` backup script
- [ ] Test backup of `UPLOAD_LOCATION` volume
- [ ] Do a **practice restore** to a test Immich instance
- [ ] Set up automated daily backup via cron
- [ ] Verify backup lands offsite (parents' NAS or cloud storage)
- [ ] Document exact restore procedure — time to restore SLA

### Notes from research

- Immich docs explicitly recommend `pg_dumpall --clean --if-exists` over plain `pg_dump`
- Database backup should be taken with Immich server **paused or in maintenance mode** to ensure consistency
- Volume snapshots via docker or restic are the most reliable for file-level backups
- The official Immich Docker setup already uses named volumes — good for scripted backup

---

## 3. Public Sharing with Non-Account Holders

### How it works

Immich has a built-in **public sharing** feature:

- Create an album (or select an existing one)
- Generate a public share link
- Share the link with anyone — no Immich account needed
- Recipients can **view** and **download** photos from that album

The shared link is read-only for non-account holders.

### What to test

| Test | Expected behavior | Pass criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Create public link for album | Unique URL generated | Link works immediately |
| Open link in incognito browser | Photos load without login | No auth prompt |
| Photos load on mobile browser | Thumbnails + full-size load | Responsive, no broken images |
| Download single photo | Correct file, original quality | Matches uploaded file |
| Download full album as ZIP | ZIP with all photos | Correct files, no corruption |
| Link expiry settings | Link works before expiry, blocked after | Respects setting |
| Shared video playback | Video plays in browser | No plugin needed |
| Very large album (500+ photos) | Loads without crashing | Performance acceptable |

### Action items

- [ ] Create test album with 10 photos, generate public link
- [ ] Open link on laptop (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
- [ ] Open link on phone (Chrome/Safari) without being logged in
- [ ] Test download of a photo from shared link
- [ ] Test download ZIP of entire album
- [ ] Test sharing a video — does it play or only download?
- [ ] Verify no Immich instance details leak in shared page (no internal IPs, no API endpoints visible)
- [ ] Set up immich-public-proxy if extra privacy layer is desired (see notes below)

### Notes from research

- **immich-public-proxy** (GitHub: `alangrainger/immich-public-proxy`) — a separate proxy that front-ends Immich sharing to hide instance details and add extra safety for truly public links. Worth evaluating if sharing with strangers is a core use case.
- Built-in sharing is already functional without extra proxy
- Public links do not require the viewer to have an Immich account
- Album visibility: only explicitly shared albums are accessible — nothing else is exposed

---

## 4. Overall Stability

### What to test

| Test | Expected behavior | Pass criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Upload 100+ photos via web | All processed, thumbnails generated | No dropped uploads, no errors |
| Search by date, location | Correct results | Relevant photos found |
| Create album, add photos | Album contains correct photos | Album persists after reload |
| Delete photo | Removed from server + app | Gone from all views |
| Duplicate detection | Duplicates flagged | Accurate detection |
| Memory usage on server | Not excessive under load | < 4GB RAM under normal use |
| Long-running server (1 week) | No crashes, no memory leaks | Stable, no restarts needed |

### Action items

- [ ] Upload 50-100 test photos via web upload
- [ ] Test search (date range, maybe location if geolocation is on)
- [ ] Test duplicate detection
- [ ] Monitor server resource usage for 24h
- [ ] Let it run for 1 week before declaring stable

---

## Decision Criteria

Before Claudio commits to Immich as primary:

| Criterion | Must pass before going live |
|---|---|
| Phone backup works reliably | ✅ |
| Backup + restore tested | ✅ |
| Public sharing guest experience good | ✅ |
| Stable for at least 1 week | ✅ |

---

## Migration Path

Once all criteria pass:

```
Phase 1: Claudio uses Immich alongside iCloud + Synology Photos (dual feed)
Phase 2: Claudio confirms Immich backup is trustworthy → stop iCloud sync
Phase 3: Alena + family migration (per their capacity and interest)
Phase 4: Decommission Synology Photos (or keep as secondary backup)
```

---

## Related

- [[Frusetik Access Architecture]] — Immich is NOT protected by Pangolin auth (required for iOS app compatibility)
- [[Homelab Todo List]] — backup system items tracked separately