Migrate from Docker
This guide walks you through migrating from the official Docker Compose deployment to Immich Distribution (the snap package). Immich has a built-in backup and restore system accessible from the web UI. The database backups it produces (.sql.gz files) work the same way regardless of whether Immich is running in Docker or as a snap.
1. Create a backup
Create a database backup from the Immich web UI. See the official Immich backup documentation for details.
2. Install Immich Distribution
Follow the installation guide to install the snap.
3. Move your assets
Copy your photos and videos from Docker's UPLOAD_LOCATION (defined in your .env file) to the snap's upload directory at /var/snap/immich-distribution/common/upload/.
4. Restore the database backup
Open the Immich web UI and click Restore from backup on the onboarding screen. Upload your .sql.gz backup file and wait for the restore to complete. See the official Immich restore documentation for details.
5. Verify
Log in and check that your photos, albums, and metadata are present. Thumbnails and encoded videos will be regenerated automatically if missing. Face recognition and smart search may need time to reprocess.
This migration path is automatically tested in CI. On every build, a fresh Docker Immich instance is populated with test data, a built-in backup is taken, and then restored into the snap through the official onboarding restore flow. The test verifies user authentication, asset metadata, file integrity (SHA-256), and smart search.