Uploading my scattered collection to Immich

First of all, this is my first time setting up a NAS. I followed the official Immich installation instructions for TrueNAS: https://immich.app/docs/install/truenas

So far, everything seems to be working well. I’ve uploaded some photos via the web browser without any issues.

The problem I’m facing is that my collection of photos and videos is scattered across different formats and locations (CDs, external hard drives, USB drives, folders on different computers, and recently Google Photos). I’m not sure how to organize this data so that it is properly managed in Immich.

There are duplicates, triplicates, even quadruplicates with different qualities, files lacking metadata, WhatsApp images, etc. Some files are organized in album folders, but most aren’t. Some have the original filename, while others have been renamed based on what appears to be the name of the photo.

My question is: if I start uploading files in bulk through the web browser, will it work fine or will it turn into a mess?

My plan is to bring everything to my personal PC first, then purge the duplicates to reduce the number of files I need to organize. Afterward, I plan to use ExifTool to set the creation date in the metadata based on the filename (whenever possible) so everything is properly sorted. However, I’m unsure about what steps to take afterward or if these are the best path to follow.

My questions are:

  1. Is it possible to set up albums by automatically importing folders?
  2. Would it be better to create an external library and manage it there, or should I manage everything directly in Immich?
  3. Should I use immich-go to migrate Google Photos and then delete duplicates using Immich tools, or is it better to download everything first, process the data, and then upload it?

Any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

I had the same situation, files everywhere multiple incomplete “backups”. So i am not sure about the external library linking, i read it will not suport all features, so i dumped everthing into the WebUi and the nice effect is, it will sort out all duplicates. I even dump Mini DV Recording and Phone Videos in there. Really nice! Make sure you create an extra dataset which you can easily resahre for “backup” purposes. Also make sure you set up your Storage Template which suits your needs

See: Storage Template | Immich

With this i have a nice folder structure year/month which i can easily manage if exported.

So start with testing, see if it fits your needs, before dumping all the content

Cheers