Skip to content

Browse and find photos

Use the web app to find photos, organize albums, and download original files. Open the URL printed by fotobank daemon start. If your library is empty, import a folder on the machine running Fotobank first.

Browse your library

Open Library to browse photos, or Sessions to explore capture sessions. Sessions starts independently of Library filters. Open a photo to inspect it; ready thumbnails appear as background processing finishes. A missing preview does not mean the original is missing. Check files and previews for format limits.

On a phone, photos use the full width of the screen. Open Browse & filters to reach the sidebar. Changing a filter keeps that panel open so you can make several choices; close it to return to your photos.

If Library, Sessions, or Search cannot load a page, use Retry. Loaded photos, the query, and filters remain in place. A failed request shows an error instead of claiming that the library has no matching photos.

Search and narrow the results

Search filenames, camera and lens information, tags, captions, and location labels without enabling AI. Optional AI search can also match images by meaning when embeddings are available.

Open Filters to narrow the results. Sorting and active filters stay visible when you close the panel, and you can remove an active filter without reopening it. Filter choices remain in the URL when you reload the page. Continue browsing to load more results; pagination stops at the last page.

Search and Map are for browsing. To select photos for an action, use Library, Sessions, an album, or Hidden.

Select photos and manage albums

Use a photo's checkbox to select it without opening it. Library, Sessions, Albums, and Hidden support checkbox selection by touch or keyboard. Ctrl/Cmd-click and Shift-click selection are also available in these views.

Albums group photos without making another copy. Removing a photo from an album or deleting the album leaves the photos in the library. If some removals fail, those photos stay selected so you can retry. If album deletion fails, the album stays open and shows the error. An outstanding share can block deletion; revoke that share first.

For scripts, use album commands.

Photo details offer the primary original and its attached RAW or XMP files. A photo with no attachments still has a primary-file download. See related files for grouping rules.

A download is an independent copy. To save edits back into Fotobank as new versions, create a checkout. For a download that verifies size and checksum, use the CLI.

Find privacy, AI, and workflow help

Open Settings for Hidden photos, AI processing, and links to import, editing, and backup guides. Hidden photos require an unlock; hiding does not encrypt their files. The AI guide explains provider setup and consent.

Sharing with another person needs an external identity proxy and broker. The default single-user setup does not publish shares remotely, and sharing controls are hidden by default. Read sharing setup and limits before enabling them.