Immich•17mo ago

Setting up new instance using external mounted drive on Mac

I'm trying to compose a new instance of immich using an external ssd drive on Mac.
A local path for the drive (accessible through Terminal) is /Volumes/TRANSCEND
When I specify the path in .env like this: "/Volumes/TRANSCEND/immich_data/library" and "/Volumes/TRANSCEND/immich_data/postgres" composer fails with error:

error while creating mount source path '/host_mnt/Volumes/TRANSCEND/immich_data/library': mkdir /host_mnt/Volumes/TRANSCEND/immich_data/library: no such file or directory

When I simply change the path in .env to something in the local directory (like "./immich_data/library") everything works just fine.

Why does it change the specified path to "/host_mnt..."? And how to deal with this case?

docker-compose.yml3.05KB

1.env921B

Immich•8/12/24, 6:07 PM

:wave: Hey @d1m2k_,

Thanks for reaching out to us. Please follow the recommended actions below; this will help us be more effective in our support effort and leave more time for building Immich :immich:.

References

Container Logs:
```
docker compose logs
```
```
docker compose logs
```
docs
Container Status:
```
docker compose ps
```
```
docker compose ps
```
docs
Reverse Proxy: https://immich.app/docs/administration/reverse-proxy

## Checklist

:blue_square: I have verified I'm on the latest release(note that mobile app releases may take some time).
:blue_square: I have read applicable release notes.
:blue_square: I have reviewed the FAQs for known issues.
:blue_square: I have reviewed Github for known issues.
:blue_square: I have tried accessing Immich via local ip (without a custom reverse proxy).
:blue_square: I have uploaded the relevant logs, docker compose, and .env files, making sure to use code formatting.
:blue_square: I have tried an incognito window, disabled extensions, cleared mobile app cache, logged out and back in, different browsers, etc. as applicable

(an item can be marked as "complete" by reacting with the appropriate number)

If this ticket can be closed you can use the

/close

/close

command, and re-open it later if needed.

Zeus•8/12/24, 6:09 PM

Immich creates multiple subfolderds. You need fix the permissions /structure on your external drive.

Zeus•8/12/24, 6:10 PM

This is some kind of docker desktop or filesystem related issue, not immich related

Zeus•8/12/24, 6:10 PM

Check the permissions you’ve given to docker

d1m2k_OP•8/12/24, 6:11 PM

but what is "/host_mnt"? is it ok?

Zeus•8/12/24, 6:11 PM

It must be how docker desktop on Mac maps drives to the host

d1m2k_OP•8/12/24, 6:13 PM

ok I'm gonna try to figure out the permissions

enrigios•1/11/25, 10:10 PM

Hi mate. I'm dealing with a similar problem. Did you find the solution? @d1m2k_

d1m2k_OP•1/12/25, 9:46 AM

Hi @enrigios
I stopped using external media so the problem went away

enrigios•1/18/25, 10:49 PM

I see. Thank you, mate

Athul•1/19/25, 3:03 PM

I had a similar error recently - external drive wasn't working (some permission error) but internal did, although didn't have a path-change issue.

You can see that discussion here: https://discordapp.com/channels/979116623879368755/1329527574984130762/1329527574984130762

What worked:
1) Set up these 5-6 folders that immich needs manually. It seemed like immich didn't have any issues thereafter. If it errors again, create a file called .immich (you can leave it empty) inside each of these folders.
2) Database error! Reset the database by deleting everything in DATABASE_PATH and install immich again. It seems that immich can tell if you're running the same db after making some changes in the .env file or the DB.

I went with solution (2) and got immich working on external hard drive.

References

Container Logs:

docker compose logs

docker compose logs

docs

Container Status:

docker compose ps

docker compose ps

docs

Reverse Proxy: https://immich.app/docs/administration/reverse-proxy

# Checklist

:blue_square: I have verified I'm on the latest release(note that mobile app releases may take some time).

:blue_square: I have read applicable release notes.

:blue_square: I have reviewed the FAQs for known issues.

:blue_square: I have reviewed Github for known issues.

:blue_square: I have tried accessing Immich via local ip (without a custom reverse proxy).

:blue_square: I have uploaded the relevant logs, docker compose, and .env files, making sure to use code formatting.

:blue_square: I have tried an incognito window, disabled extensions, cleared mobile app cache, logged out and back in, different browsers, etc. as applicable

(an item can be marked as

"complete

" by reacting with the appropriate number

)

If this ticket can be closed you can use the

/close

/close

command

, and re

-open it later if needed

Setting up new instance using external mounted drive on Mac

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