Browse and organize
Import reads your files without changing them. Find photos by date, camera, tags, or location, and collect them into albums. Search by metadata does not need AI. Check supported files and previews.
A photo system of record you control
Fotobank is a self-hosted photo library. It keeps your original files and every later version, keeps related files together, and lets you browse and organize through a web app, the command line, or an agent.
Fotobank is pre-alpha software with no stability guarantees. Expect bugs and changing interfaces and schemas. Keep independent copies of irreplaceable photos.
What you can do
Start with copies of a small collection.
Edit files with your own tools
A checkout is a working copy of selected files. Edit them with any program, then commit the edits as new versions. Edits you have not committed are not in backups. Work with checkouts.
Use commands or an agent
List and search photos, read metadata, and manage albums from the command line or the HTTP API. Both talk to the same server as the web app. Set up a first library or read the command reference.
Turn on AI if you want it
AI is off by default. Tagging, captions, and semantic search need a configured provider. Read about providers, consent, and costs before turning it on.
Before importing more, back up and test recovery. Backups include stored files and the photo catalog. They do not include configuration files, provider credentials, or checkouts. Backup repositories are not encrypted.
Related files stay together
A camera RAW, a JPEG, and an XMP sidecar can all belong to one photograph. Fotobank records them as one photo with three files. Docbank stores the exact bytes of each file and every version, so an edit does not replace the earlier file.
Summer fieldPhoto record
IMG_1042.JPGDisplay file
IMG_1042.CR2Camera source
IMG_1042.CR2.XMPEdit sidecar
Docbank also reads source metadata and renders previews. It runs inside the Fotobank process, not as a second server. Fotobank owns albums, privacy, sharing, and the links between files. Restoring a library needs both. See how storage, editing, and recovery fit together.
Related projects
Fotobank is one of several Kenn projects for keeping personal data in software you run yourself. Docbank stores files. msgvault stores messages. Each one has commands and an API so your tools and agents can use it.
Optional AI and search currently run in Fotobank. Some of that may move into Docbank later.
People grouping, MCP integration, and other AI features are not built. Fotobank has no autonomous assistant.
Build from source and try a small collection, or follow the agent setup guide.