Immich setup with Docker Desktop and Tailscale

This beginner tutorial walks through installing Immich on Docker Desktop and connecting a phone for automatic photo backups. The speaker describes Immich as an open source, self-hosted photo and video manager with AI search and facial recognition. Examples include searching for cats or dogs without manual tags and grouping photos of the same person.

The setup uses a Windows command prompt and Notepad. It starts with a data folder and the Docker Compose and example environment files from Immich's documentation. The presenter explains the upload location and optional time zone setting, renames example.env to .env, then starts the containers with docker compose up -d. The web interface opens on localhost port 2283 for account creation and initial settings. The speaker says other Docker environments, including a Synology NAS, can also work.

For iPhone or Android, the guide connects the Immich app using HTTP, the server's IPv4 address and port 2283. It covers photo permissions, Wi-Fi and charging settings, selecting upload albums, and enabling backup. The demonstration selects a folder containing 46 assets.

Remote access assumes Tailscale is already installed on both the server and phone; installation is covered in a separate guide. The presenter replaces the local server address with its Tailscale IP and says this allows access away from home without opening router ports.