LattePanda + Immich: A Privacy-First Photo Storage Solution for Your Homelab

LattePanda + Immich: Building a Family Photo Cloud at Home

As a technical SEO and also a kindergarten mom, I’ve always been exploring ways to efficiently manage both personal work and family digital content. I use Jellyfin to host family videos, but for photos, I wanted something with powerful search capabilities. After some research, I decided to build my own photo storage and management system using LattePanda + Immich. This article walks you through the entire process and offers some practical tips.

Build Your Own Photo Hosting Platform with LattePanda + Immich

What Is Immich?

Immich is an open-source, self-hosted photo and video backup solution. Its key features include:

Automatic backup: Supports iOS, Android, and Web auto-uploads

Smart search: Built-in AI that recognizes faces, places, and objects

RAW and EXIF support: Great for photography enthusiasts managing originals

Multi-user sharing: Perfect for families or small teams

Self-hosting & privacy control: All data stays on your own server

Compared to Google Photos or iCloud, Immich’s biggest advantage lies in data ownership and a localized AI search experience — ideal for users who prefer to manage their family’s digital life independently and securely.

What Is LattePanda?

LattePanda Sigma is a small but powerful x86 single-board computer (SBC) that features:

High performance: Equipped with Intel Core i5/i7 processors

Supports Windows & Linux: Runs full desktop environments

Rich I/O: USB, HDMI, GPIO, and more for DIY or homelab projects

Low power consumption: Ideal for 24/7 operation

For me, LattePanda’s strength lies in its stable Windows environment, low power draw, and compact form factor, making it perfect for a home self-hosted server.

Beyond family use, my LattePanda Sigma also serves as a work companion — especially impressive when running Ollama’s vision and reasoning models to generate high-quality image alt attributes for SEO.

Why LattePanda + Immich for a Photo Storage Homelab?

Here are my key reasons:

Powerful photo search: Quickly find family photos by content — e.g., “birthday cake” or “park.”

Full data control: Everything stays private on your home network.

Simple setup: LattePanda runs Windows natively, and Immich supports both Docker and Windows deployment.

Perfect complement to Jellyfin: Jellyfin manages videos; Immich manages photos — a complete digital ecosystem for family media.

Installing Immich on LattePanda (Windows + Docker)

Immich Quick start

Step 1 – Download Required Files

Create a working directory to store the Docker files (e.g., ./immich-app):

mkdir ./immich-app cd ./immich-app

Install Immich in Lattepanda Windows environment - Create directory

Download the Docker Compose and environment files:

wget -O docker-compose.yml https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/docker-compose.yml

wget -O .env https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/example.env

Or, download them manually via browser and rename example.env to .env.

Install Immich in Lattepanda Windows environment - download docker-compose.yml and. env files

Step 2 – Edit the .env File

Example configuration:

# You can find documentation for all the supported env variables at https://immich.app/docs/install/environment-variables
 
# The location where your uploaded files are stored
UPLOAD_LOCATION=./library
 
# The location where your database files are stored. Network shares are not supported for the database
DB_DATA_LOCATION=./postgres
 
# To set a timezone, uncomment the next line and change Etc/UTC to a TZ identifier from this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones#List
# TZ=Etc/UTC
 
# The Immich version to use. You can pin this to a specific version like "v1.71.0"
IMMICH_VERSION=release
 
# Connection secret for postgres. You should change it to a random password
# Please use only the characters `A-Za-z0-9`, without special characters or spaces
DB_PASSWORD=postgres
 
# The values below this line do not need to be changed
###################################################################################
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_DATABASE_NAME=immich

Set UPLOAD_LOCATION to a directory with sufficient storage.

Change DB_PASSWORD to a custom alphanumeric password (A–Z, a–z, 0–9).

Optionally uncomment and set TZ for your timezone.

Step 3 – Start the Container

In the directory with your docker-compose.yml and .env files, run:

This launches Immich as a background service.

docker compose up -d

Installing Immich Docker bootable container in Lattepanda Windows environment

Step 4 – Access Immich in Browser

Once running, open your browser to:

http://localhost:2283

or from another device on the network:

http://<machine-ip-address>:2283

Start installing Immich in Lattepanda Windows environment - open port 2283 in the browser

Start installing Immich in Lattepanda Windows environment - Set account password

Start installing Immich in Lattepanda Windows environment - Set Language

Install Immich - Set Service Privacy in Lattepanda Windows Environment

Start installing Immich in Lattepanda Windows environment - Set User Privacy

Install Immich - Set Storage Template in Lattepanda Windows Environment

Start installing Immich - Backup in Lattepanda Windows environment

Immich - Excellent search function

Using Immich on Mobile

On iPhone, open App Store and search for “Immich.” Install the app, connect it to your server, and enable automatic backup — all your new photos will sync directly to your LattePanda homelab.

Download Immich from the Apple App Store and access it on your mobile device

Summary

By combining LattePanda and Immich, I built a self-hosted family photo platform that:

Delivers fast, AI-powered search for any photo

Ensures data security and privacy with full local control

Runs efficiently 24/7 on a compact SBC

For me, this was not only a technical experiment but also a way to solve a real family problem — managing years of photos safely and smartly. At the same time, it became part of my content and SEO research, allowing me to observe how detailed setup guides like this might get indexed or prioritized by large language models.

📚 FAQs

Q1: Why use LattePanda instead of a Raspberry Pi for a photo homelab?

A1: LattePanda is x86-based and can run full Windows or Linux environments, providing stronger AI and Docker performance — ideal for Immich’s database and search workloads.

Q2: How much storage does Immich require? 

A2: It depends on your photo library size. You can connect an external SSD or HDD to your LattePanda for scalable storage.

Q3: Can Immich recognize people and locations automatically? 

A3: Yes, it includes built-in AI recognition for faces, objects, and geotags, making photo search extremely fast.

Q4: Is it safe to expose Immich to the Internet? 

A4: It’s better to access it through your local network or VPN. Direct exposure may risk privacy unless secured with HTTPS and firewall rules.

Q5: What’s the power consumption of LattePanda Sigma when used as a homelab? 

A5: Typically around 10–15W under normal operation — low enough for 24/7 home use.