Download All Photos and Videos

You can download your entire PixelUnion photo and video library to your own computer. This is useful when you want to:

• Keep a local copy of your media alongside your PixelUnion library
• Download your data before deleting your account
• Transfer your library to another service
• Keep an offline copy of your memories

There are two tools for this:

• immich-archiver is built and maintained by PixelUnion. Use this for a straightforward copy of your whole library. It is the one we recommend.
• Immich Go is a community tool with more filtering options, such as downloading only specific albums, tags, or date ranges. It is currently affected by a bug, described further down.

Both tools need an API key, so start there.

Step 1: get your API key

1. Log in to your PixelUnion domain (e.g., https://yourname.pixelunion.eu)
2. Click on your profile icon in the top right corner
3. Select Account Settings
4. Navigate to API Keys
5. Click New API Key
6. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., “Download Tool”)
7. Copy the generated API key - you’ll need it in the next step

⚠️ Important: Keep your API key secure and don’t share it with anyone. You can revoke it later if needed.

immich-archiver (recommended)

immich-archiver copies every photo and video in your timeline into dated folders on your disk, and writes a .json file next to each one containing all the metadata we hold for it: capture date, camera, GPS location, album membership, faces, and ratings.

Your files end up looking like this:

PixelUnion-Backup/2005/2005-06/IMG_0001.jpg
PixelUnion-Backup/2005/2005-06/IMG_0001.jpg.json

Run it again later and it only downloads what is new, so keeping your copy up to date is quick.

Step 2: download immich-archiver

1. Go to the immich-archiver releases page
2. Download the file for your system:
   • Windows: immich-archiver_..._windows_amd64.exe
   • macOS (Apple Silicon): immich-archiver_..._darwin_arm64
   • macOS (Intel): immich-archiver_..._darwin_amd64
   • Linux: immich-archiver_..._linux_amd64 (or linux_arm64 on a Raspberry Pi or similar)
3. Move the downloaded file into the folder where you want your backup
4. Rename it to immich-archiver (on Windows, immich-archiver.exe). The downloaded name includes the version number, and renaming keeps the commands below the same when you update later.

The macOS builds are signed and notarized with Apple, so they run without a security warning.

On macOS and Linux you need to make the file executable once. Open a terminal in that folder and run:

chmod +x immich-archiver

Step 3: run it

Open a terminal in the folder containing the file:

• Windows: right-click the folder → “Open in terminal”
• macOS: open the Terminal app, type cd followed by a space, drag the folder into the window, and press Enter
• Linux: open a terminal and navigate to the folder

Then run the tool, replacing the placeholders with your own details:

Windows:

.\immich-archiver.exe --url https://yourname.pixelunion.eu --api-key YOUR_API_KEY --dir .\PixelUnion-Backup

macOS/Linux:

./immich-archiver --url https://yourname.pixelunion.eu --api-key YOUR_API_KEY --dir ./PixelUnion-Backup

Replace yourname.pixelunion.eu with your own domain and YOUR_API_KEY with the key from Step 1.

To avoid typing your key every time, you can set them as environment variables instead: IMMICH_URL, IMMICH_API_KEY, and IMMICH_DIR. With those set, running immich-archiver on its own is enough.

Useful options

Run the tool with --help to see everything it supports.

Immich Go (for advanced filtering)

Immich Go is a community-built command-line tool. It offers filters that immich-archiver does not have yet, such as limiting the download to particular albums, tags, or a date range.

Download Immich Go

1. Go to the Immich Go releases page
2. Download the version for your operating system:
   • Windows: Download the .exe file
   • macOS: Download the file with darwin in the name
   • Linux: Download the file with linux in the name
3. Extract the downloaded .zip file
4. Place the immich-go executable in a folder where you want to download your photos

Run the download command

Windows:

./immich-go.exe archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup

macOS/Linux:

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup

Replace:

• yourname.pixelunion.eu with your actual PixelUnion domain
• YOUR_API_KEY with the API key you copied in Step 1
• ./PixelUnion-Backup with the path where you want to save your photos

Note: The --write-to-folder flag is required.

Immich Go filtering options

Download only photos (Skip videos)

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup --from-include-type=IMAGE

Download only videos (Skip photos)

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup --from-include-type=VIDEO

Download only favorite photos

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup --from-favorite

Download photos from specific albums

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup --from-albums="Album Name 1" --from-albums="Album Name 2"

Download photos with specific tags

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup --from-tags="tag1" --from-tags="tag2"

Download photos from a date range

./immich-go archive from-immich --from-server=https://yourname.pixelunion.eu/ --from-api-key=YOUR_API_KEY --write-to-folder=./PixelUnion-Backup --from-date-range="2024-01-01:2024-12-31"

Troubleshooting

Connection issues

• Make sure your PixelUnion domain is correct and includes https://
• Verify your API key is correct and hasn’t been revoked
• Check your internet connection

“Permission denied” on macOS or Linux

• You need to make the file executable first: chmod +x immich-archiver_*

Download interrupted

• Both tools resume where they stopped if you run the command again
• Files that are already downloaded won’t be fetched a second time

Large libraries

• For very large libraries (thousands of files), the download may take several hours
• Make sure your computer doesn’t go to sleep during the download
• Consider running the download overnight

After downloading

Once the download is complete:

• Your photos and videos are in the folder you specified
• Files keep their original names and dates
• You can now back these files up elsewhere or transfer them

It is worth checking your copy before you rely on it. Open the folder and confirm that a few photos actually open.

Need help?

If you run into problems:

• For immich-archiver, see the project page on GitHub
• For Immich Go, see the Immich Go documentation
• Contact our support team for assistance