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Store Immich uploads on a NAS ​

Immich backs up and organizes photos and videos uploaded from its web and mobile apps. You can save these uploads directly to a NAS while keeping the database in Olares. The selected media folder also holds generated files such as thumbnails and transcoded videos.

For photos already stored and managed in existing NAS folders, see Import photos from a NAS into Immich. That workflow adds an external library without changing the destination of Immich uploads.

Learning objectives ​

In this guide, you will learn how to:

  • Set a NAS folder as the destination for Immich uploads.
  • Move an existing media library between NAS and local storage.
  • Recover access when NAS storage is unavailable.

Prerequisites ​

  • Use Immich Olares package 1.0.37 (Immich 3.3.5) or a later package that provides UPLOAD_LOCATION. If the setting is missing, the installed package does not support this feature yet.
  • Connect Olares and the NAS to the same network.
  • Prepare an NFS or SMB share with read/write access. NFS permissions must allow UID/GID 1000:1000 to read and write. For SMB, mount the share with a NAS account that has read/write access.

Set up the destination before uploading your first photos. For an existing Immich library, complete Move existing media before changing the setting.

Mount the NAS share ​

  1. Open Files, go to Drive, then External, and select Connect to server.

  2. Select NFS and enter your share address. For example:

    text
    192.168.1.100:/volume1/photos

    Replace the IP address and share path with your NAS configuration. For SMB, select SMB, enter //<NAS-IP>/<share>, and provide an account with read/write access when prompted. See Mount NFS shares for the full NFS procedure.

  3. Select Confirm. Check the folder name shown under External. The following steps use photos as the mounted folder name.

  4. Create an empty folder named immich inside the mounted share and check that you can create a file in it. You can choose a different name, but use that name in the upload path too.

Use a dedicated folder for Immich-managed media. Keep unrelated NAS files outside it.

Set the upload location ​

  1. Open Settings, select Applications, then Immich.

  2. Under Environment variables, open Manage environment variables.

  3. Select the edit icon for UPLOAD_LOCATION and enter the media-folder path:

    text
    /external_storage/photos/immich

    Replace photos with the mounted folder name shown in Files and immich with the dedicated folder you created. Use this path format, not the NAS IP address, NFS export address, or SMB address.

  4. Select Confirm, then Apply. If Immich is running, it restarts to apply the change. If you stopped it for migration, return to its application settings and select Resume after the change is applied.

UPLOAD_LOCATION valueUpload destination
EmptyDefault local media folder in Olares
An existing folder under /external_storage/The selected NFS or SMB media folder

Only this setting is needed. Mounting and unmounting the share itself is managed separately in Files.

Check an upload ​

  1. Open Immich and upload a new photo.
  2. Check that its thumbnail appears and that you can open and download the original.
  3. In Files, open the dedicated NAS folder. Check that new media files appear inside Immich's subfolders, such as upload or library.

Immich manages the folder layout and stored filenames. A stored filename can differ from the name shown in the photo details. The live database continues to use Olares storage.

Move existing media ​

Changing UPLOAD_LOCATION selects a different media folder. It does not copy or synchronize files.

  1. Pause uploads from all connected devices and wait for active jobs to finish. Create a database backup from Immich’s administration interface while the app is running. Follow the database backup instructions. Keep a copy outside the media folder you are moving.
  2. In Settings, select Applications, then Immich, and select Stop. Wait until Resume is available before copying files.
  3. Back up the complete media folder. For this package, the default local folder is in Files under Drive, then Data, at immich/data/upload.
  4. Copy the complete media folder contents to the new destination, including hidden .immich files and all subfolders. Check that the destination contains all originals and generated media by comparing file counts, sizes, and checksums.
  5. Set the upload location to the destination, apply the change, and resume Immich.
  6. Open existing photos, download an original, and test a new upload before removing any old copy.

Keep the same media-root layout at the destination. Do not add an extra directory level between the configured path and Immich's upload, library, thumbs, encoded-video, profile, and backups folders.

To return to default local storage, follow the same backup and stop procedure, then copy the complete media folder to the default local folder. Clear UPLOAD_LOCATION, apply the change, and resume Immich. Before switching back to NAS, repeat the procedure to copy the current media folder, including uploads added while using local storage.

Recover when NAS storage is unavailable ​

If a configured NAS folder is missing at startup, Immich cannot start. It does not silently switch uploads to local storage.

  • To keep using NAS, restore the mount in Files and check that the configured folder exists and is writable. Leave UPLOAD_LOCATION unchanged and allow startup to retry. If Immich remains unavailable, contact support.
  • To use local storage, stop Immich if it is still running, then restore a complete media backup to the default local folder. Clear UPLOAD_LOCATION and apply the change. If Immich is stopped, select Resume. Local mode does not need a NAS mount, but photos whose files have not been restored remain unavailable.

Market status after recovery

Olares Market might still show a failure after access to Immich is restored, including after switching to local storage. Check whether you can open Immich and access your photos. If the status remains incorrect, contact support. Do not delete the library or database to clear it.

Learn more ​