Immich•2mo ago

Moving library path

I'm going to move my library from HDD to SSD, and their label is different. Currently my path is /media/4TB/immich/ and the new one will be /media/STORAGE/immich/. What's the process so everything keeps working? Would it be a matter of updating file paths in the db? What would be the right command to do so?

40 Replies

Immich•2mo ago

:wave: Hey @Chaos, Thanks for reaching out to us. Please carefully read this message and follow the recommended actions. 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 docs - Container Status: docker ps -a docs - Reverse Proxy: https://immich.app/docs/administration/reverse-proxy - Code Formatting https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/210298617-Markdown-Text-101-Chat-Formatting-Bold-Italic-Underline#h_01GY0DAKGXDEHE263BCAYEGFJA Checklist I have... 1. :ballot_box_with_check: verified I'm on the latest release(note that mobile app releases may take some time). 2. :ballot_box_with_check: read applicable release notes. 3. :ballot_box_with_check: reviewed the FAQs for known issues. 4. :ballot_box_with_check: reviewed Github for known issues. 5. :ballot_box_with_check: tried accessing Immich via local ip (without a custom reverse proxy). 6. :ballot_box_with_check: uploaded the relevant information (see below). 7. :ballot_box_with_check: 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) Information In order to be able to effectively help you, we need you to provide clear information to show what the problem is. The exact details needed vary per case, but here is a list of things to consider: - Your docker-compose.yml and .env files. - Logs from all the containers and their status (see above). - All the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. - Any recent changes you've made to Immich or your system. - Details about your system (both software/OS and hardware). - Details about your storage (filesystems, type of disks, output of commands like fdisk -l and df -h). - The version of the Immich server, mobile app, and other relevant pieces. - Any other information that you think might be relevant. Please paste files and logs with proper code formatting, and especially avoid blurry screenshots. Without the right information we can't work out what the problem is. Help us help you ;) If this ticket can be closed you can use the /close command, and re-open it later if needed. Successfully submitted, a tag has been added to inform contributors. :white_check_mark:

schuhbacca•2mo ago

Just bring the stack down. Move all the folders that you want to the new location (Not sure if you just have a single upload location, or custom locations setup). Update the env to point to the new location, and bring the stack back up

ChaosOP•2mo ago

oh really? It will update the db automatically? That's great

schuhbacca•2mo ago

The db doesn't keep the file system paths. It just knows the container paths.

ChaosOP•2mo ago

but if I check the db right now (while the library is doing a backup and the server is off) it shows originalpaths showing the full path. You mean they'll get updated as soon as the server starts with a new env, right? @schuhbacca Please confirm when you can before I mess up

schuhbacca•2mo ago

The full path on your actual host machine? Or the full container path eg: usr/src/app/upload/ etc

ChaosOP•2mo ago

let me see, because I'm running it in Home Assistant, and db and Immich are 2 separate addons/containers

schuhbacca•2mo ago

Oh, home assistant I have no idea This is all default docker compose recommendations Home assistant may do things way different

ChaosOP•2mo ago

yeah but the process is the same

ChaosOP•2mo ago

the db tables won't be any different in HA

schuhbacca•2mo ago

I just can't guarantee it there but I would hope it would be the same

ChaosOP•2mo ago

here you go, you can see originalPath showing the path visible to the container (to all containers in HA really)

schuhbacca•2mo ago

Honestly I can't confidently say

ChaosOP•2mo ago

in my case, that 4TB is the drive label, which will change could you check your db to see if originalPath shows a similar path?

Zeus•2mo ago

You can’t change the right side of the mount point. Idk how to change the source (left) side in home asst We don’t support or recommend that deployment

schuhbacca•2mo ago

Yeah mine shows the container path

ChaosOP•2mo ago

I don't follow. Can you please elaborate?

Zeus•2mo ago

Not really, idk how it’s setup on home asst

ChaosOP•2mo ago

what does that mean? Sorry I'm not handy on docker or containers

Zeus•2mo ago

You could reach out to them or their docs. I’m just describing normal docker setup

ChaosOP•2mo ago

yeah I udnerstanmd, but can you clarify what you meant with right and left? With an example ideally

schuhbacca•2mo ago

Normal docker volume mounting Left is host, right is container

ChaosOP•2mo ago

does the db live in the same container?

schuhbacca•2mo ago

They are seperate containers in the docker setup

ChaosOP•2mo ago

so then the OriginalPath in your db is what? /usr/src/app/external/photos? so it's the same in HA really I just want to know if when changing the env, the server will run something on server start that will updatee the paths in the db (because at the end of the day, that needs to happen, either auto or manually)

schuhbacca•2mo ago

For the external library yes. For the internal it's just /data/library/... Like we said, we have no idea. Home assistant could set things up differently, we really only support the default setup

ChaosOP•2mo ago

I understand. Does that mean I cannot ask some guidance to figure things out myself though?

schuhbacca•2mo ago

You certainly can, we just may not know or may inadvertently steer you wrong. So your at your own risk basically

Zeus•2mo ago

The server will not handle or detect any of those changes

ChaosOP•2mo ago

ofc cool, that was my guess tbh. I think I will still do a test boot and see the errors happen, just to make sure as it should be harmless. So I'd need to manually run a db query to update all the assets paths, right? Can someone help me with that? Otherwise I'll try AI for guidance

Sergey Katsubo•2mo ago

Just to recap. 1. It's an external library. 2. Your current Import path in Immich settings is like /media/4TB/immich 3. Could you post your Immich volumes: section? I guess the external library (directory) is mounted approximately like: - /media/4TB/immich:/media/4TB/immich 4. You are going to move files on host from 4TB to STORAGE 5. And switching to smth like - /media/STORAGE/immich:/media/STORAGE/immich ? (In principle, you can choose more storage-agnostic internal path, such as /photo. Then upon changing/moving on-host, only compose volume definition has to be updated: /media/4TB/immich:/photo -> /media/STORAGE/immich:/photo, everything will be /photo/... inside the Immich container and the database)

ChaosOP•2mo ago

1. No, it's not an external library. 2. Yes. Probably that's not how the Home Assistant addon is set up. In HA there's a setting that passes the env for all immich content.

ChaosOP•2mo ago

I just tried, and guess what, it was much easier than expect. The addon maintainer had already thought of this and implemented the thing.

[33m[Nest] 1197  - [39m08/29/2025, 9:14:54 AM [33m   WARN[39m [33m[Api:StorageService][39m [33mDetected a change to media location, performing an automatic migration of file paths from /media/4TB/immich to /media/STORAGE/immich, this may take awhile[39m

[33m[Nest] 1197  - [39m08/29/2025, 9:14:54 AM [33m   WARN[39m [33m[Api:StorageService][39m [33mDetected a change to media location, performing an automatic migration of file paths from /media/4TB/immich to /media/STORAGE/immich, this may take awhile[39m

it just updated all db paths for me automatically after changing the env path

Zeus•2mo ago

That’s immich, not the addon maintainer. This is such a weird path for an internal library, pretty surprised I wish they had a more standard deployment but glad it worked

ChaosOP•2mo ago

huh? How can it be Immich? That was my initial question all along and all of you explained that it didn't make sense in the default setup because the path would be relative to the container.

Mraedis•2mo ago

For future tickets, when you ask questions here we always assume a "normal" deployment, HA Addon is very much not normal

Sergey Katsubo•2mo ago

https://github.com/immich-app/immich/blob/147accd9579b6d7800a62cdbe5824a1ded1da85b/server/src/services/storage.service.ts#L122-L125 Yeah, seems HA manages IMMICH_MEDIA_LOCATION var, then Immich detects the change

Immich•2mo ago

          this.logger.warn(
            \`Detected a change to media location, performing an automatic migration of file paths from ${previous} to ${current}, this may take awhile\`,
          );
          await this.databaseRepository.migrateFilePaths(previous, current);

          this.logger.warn(
            \`Detected a change to media location, performing an automatic migration of file paths from ${previous} to ${current}, this may take awhile\`,
          );
          await this.databaseRepository.migrateFilePaths(previous, current);

ChaosOP•2mo ago

I'll still leave this here in case someone needs doing this manually. The Query to update all paths in the db.

BEGIN;

-- 1. asset table
UPDATE public.asset
SET originalPath = replace(originalPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE originalPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

UPDATE public.asset
SET sidecarPath = replace(sidecarPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE sidecarPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

UPDATE public.asset
SET encodedVideoPath = replace(encodedVideoPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE encodedVideoPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

-- 2. asset_file table
UPDATE public.asset_file
SET path = replace(path, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE path LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

-- 3. person table
UPDATE public.person
SET thumbnailPath = replace(thumbnailPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE thumbnailPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

COMMIT;

BEGIN;

-- 1. asset table
UPDATE public.asset
SET originalPath = replace(originalPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE originalPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

UPDATE public.asset
SET sidecarPath = replace(sidecarPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE sidecarPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

UPDATE public.asset
SET encodedVideoPath = replace(encodedVideoPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE encodedVideoPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

-- 2. asset_file table
UPDATE public.asset_file
SET path = replace(path, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE path LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

-- 3. person table
UPDATE public.person
SET thumbnailPath = replace(thumbnailPath, '/media/4TB/immich/', '/media/STORAGE/immich/')
WHERE thumbnailPath LIKE '/media/4TB/immich/%';

COMMIT;

yeah, I'm def aware, that's why I always mention it (I thought I did but it seems this time I forgot)

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