Immich server failed due to my mistake. Best way to recover.

[kindred arrow]

Basically the title. I had to reinstall immich and now all files are just in the library folder, not visible on the app. Should I just CLI upload them or should I use external Library to the previously generated library? What would be the best practice? I have 3tb of data so thats 24h+ to get the CLI to scan everything and move it around. Trying to avoid that but will have to do if no other solution. Thank you!

[muted ferry]

:wave: Hey @kindred arrow,

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 .

References

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

Checklist

1. :ballot_box_with_check: I have verified I'm on the latest release(note that mobile app releases may take some time).
2. :ballot_box_with_check: I have read applicable release notes.
3. :ballot_box_with_check: I have reviewed the FAQs for known issues.
4. :ballot_box_with_check: I have reviewed Github for known issues.
5. :ballot_box_with_check: I have tried accessing Immich via local ip (without a custom reverse proxy).
6. :blue_square: I have uploaded the relevant logs, docker compose, and .env files, making sure to use code formatting.
7. :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 command, and re-open it later if needed.

[muted ferry]

Successfully submitted, a tag has been added to inform contributors. :white_check_mark:

[lean stag]

Either approach is fine, but making an external library would be much faster than reuploading through the CLI

That’s what we generally recommend when needing to make a new immich instance

It’s a good thing you had storage template migration enabled since the files would otherwise have UUID names when you reimported them

[kindred arrow]

If I add the external library to the Library folder(Not thummbnails or videos encoded), would immich be able to find the data about thumbnails and encoded videos if i use the same folder structure?

[lean stag]

No, those would be regenerated. Also, you need to move the library folder for your old instance to a different directory and mount it separately

[kindred arrow]

Alright, and for future reference, does immich generate something like a .lib file, like lightroom does? Or how would I export the complete library "info"?

[lean stag]

Do you mean for backup purposes or to set up the external library?

For backups, the DB is very important since it’s the source of truth for the assets, metadata, file paths, etc.

[kindred arrow]

And how would I go about backing up the DB? And yes, for backups

[lean stag]

This page covers backups https://immich.app/docs/administration/backup-and-restore

[kindred arrow]

found a page on the immich.app docs, thank you!

you were faster haha

thank you either way. I decided to just reupload everything for "cleaniness", and will backup right after that