Paul Nothaft
22e00f80b6
* feat(feedback): a third identity mode with one shared colour tag per photo (#1197) Split out of #1178, where @boergu asked for a colour tag with no identity dimension at all: not everyone sharing a device's state, but everyone — on any device — sharing the PHOTO's state. Guest A marks it green, guest B later marks it orange, and the tag simply becomes orange. One collaboratively-agreed verdict per photo instead of per-person tallies. identity_mode gains 'shared'. The mode is scoped to the colour tag: likes, ratings, comments, favourites and reactions stay per-visitor exactly as in 'simple', because that is what was asked for and widening it would change what every other control means. Stored as an ordinary photo_feedback row under a reserved identifier rather than as a column on photos. That is what keeps the rest of the system working untouched — the per-colour tally simply has exactly one entry, so dominant_color_label, color_label_count, the admin colour filter and the XMP/CSV export that #745 reads all keep their existing shapes, and no consumer has to learn a second one. The identifier cannot be claimed: real ones are sha256 hashes or server-minted UUIDs, and the per-guest write path rejects it outright. Last write wins, inside a transaction that locks the photo row. Without the lock two guests tapping different colours in the same instant both read 'no tag', both insert, and the photo ends up carrying two shared tags — the per-guest tally this mode exists to remove. Re-sending the colour already on a photo clears it, from any guest: the same toggle every other colour path uses, and the only way to remove a tag without inventing a second control. Switching modes is non-destructive. Existing per-guest labels are left alone and simply not read while shared is on; the shared tag starts empty rather than collapsing marks nobody agreed on, and switching back restores every original exactly. An event can hold both sets, only one of which is live. The tag stays visible with show_feedback_to_guests off — it arrives through the per-viewer channel, being the photo's own state rather than someone else's opinion — while the per-colour tallies stay hidden. The colour filters answer from it for the same reason, so a gallery with sharing off cannot show colours on tiles that no filter can find. Attribution is gone by design, and the settings panel says so before an operator picks the mode. Decisions (1), (4) and (5) from the issue were settled up front, as it asked. Decision (3) turned out not to need anything: guest colour filters already read my_color_label, and the admin's my_color_labels filters photo_admin_marks (#1183), not guest identity — so nothing collapses on either side. * fix(feedback): shared mode saves on Postgres, and dormant labels stay dormant (#1197) Three findings from external review, all confirmed against source before fixing. **The mode could not be saved on Postgres at all.** Migration 078 created identity_mode with a CHECK constraint pinned to ('simple','guest'), guarded on `client === 'pg'` — so SQLite never has it and no SQLite test can see it, while the database every default production install runs rejects the new value outright. Migration 192 drops and re-adds the constraint with 'shared' included; its down() resets any event using the mode to 'simple' first, or the narrower constraint could not be restored. Verified against a real Postgres on a scratch database: the insert fails before, succeeds after, up() is re-runnable, and down() puts the old constraint back. **Dormant labels were still being read.** Switching modes is deliberately non-destructive, which leaves both sets of colour labels in the table with only one live — and every read that did not say which set it meant kept counting the other. The per-colour tallies, color_label_count, the admin grid badge, the XMP/CSV export, both admin colour filters and the guest colour filter all saw labels the mode does not show; switching back exposed the shared row as an anonymous other guest's dot. The settings panel promises these are 'kept but not shown', and that has to mean every surface, not just the badge. Scoped at the source — the two count helpers resolve the mode themselves — so the admin grid and the export are fixed without touching either. **The create form's identity mode was dropped.** CreateEventPage has always rendered the chooser and the create route never read it, so a gallery created as 'guest' came out 'simple' and had to be set again on the event afterwards. A pre-existing bug that adding a third option made worse; threaded through now, which fixes it for all three modes. Six regression tests, each verified to fail against the un-fixed code. * fix(feedback): keep every colour surface consistent across a mode change (#1197) Second review round, four findings, all confirmed in source first. **Stored counters went stale on a mode switch.** photos.color_label_count is denormalized and recomputed on feedback writes, so changing identity_mode — which changes nothing about the rows, only which of them are live — left the old mode's totals on the tiles, the admin grid and the filter summary until each photo happened to be touched again. On a finished gallery that is never. Recounted for the event when the mode actually changes, as two statements rather than a per-photo recompute: four of the five counters cannot have moved. **Duplicating an event dropped the mode**, the same shape as the create-form bug from the last round — a gallery cloned to reuse its proofing setup came back in 'simple'. **The event feedback summary counted dormant labels**, inflating total_feedback in the admin analytics and the guest /feedback-summary while every other surface hid them. **The swatch trusted its optimistic guess over the server.** In shared mode the tag belongs to the photo, so another guest can move it between this viewer's last read and their click: a viewer still showing green clicks green, the server sets green because the tag had become red meanwhile, and the optimistic 'same colour, so clear' blanked the swatch against a server that holds one. The response already says which happened, so it is used. The per-guest modes are unaffected — only the guest can move their own label, so guess and answer always agreed there. Three regression tests, each verified to fail against the un-fixed code. * fix(feedback): shared tag is not a participant, and the keyboard path reconciles too (#1197) Third review round, two findings. **feedback_count counted the shared tag as a guest.** It is COUNT(DISTINCT guest identity) across all feedback types, and the reserved identifier looked like a person: a photo with one rating and a shared tag reported two. The column is exported as rating_count (photoExportService), so merely tagging a photo inflated its rating count in the CSV and JSON exports. **The lightbox keyboard path still trusted its own guess.** The reconciliation from the last round covered clicks through PhotoColorLabels, but the proofing shortcuts call PhotoLightbox.submitColorLabel directly and set local state from a locally computed toggle. That is the path a proofing client actually uses, so it had the divergence the previous fix was for: another guest moves the tag, this viewer presses the key, the server sets a colour and the swatch blanks. Both branches now read the outcome off the response. One regression test, verified to fail against the un-fixed code. * fix(feedback): identity-mode lookup must survive a migration-time caller (#1197) updatePhotoFeedbackStats is called from migrations as well as from the request path — migration 186's duplicate-photo dedupe (#1162) recomputes the survivor's totals — and a migration runs against a half-built schema where event_feedback_settings need not exist yet. The new inner join threw there, which took the whole stats update down with it, so the reparented rows were never counted and eight assertions in the 186 suite failed. Falls back to 'simple', which is the right answer rather than merely a safe one: an install with no feedback settings table has no event in shared mode, so the non-shared scope is exactly correct. Caught by CI, not by me — I had been running affected suites rather than the full one after each review round. * fix(feedback): atomic shared-tag write, scoped feedback list, safe PG fallback (#1197) Round 4 of external review, and one of the three is about the fix I made for the CI failure two rounds ago. **The identity-mode fallback could poison a Postgres transaction.** The join was wrapped in try/catch so a migration-time caller with a half-built schema would fall back to 'simple'. On Postgres a failed statement aborts the entire transaction, so catching it and carrying on left the caller's trx poisoned and the aggregate that follows failed with 'current transaction is aborted' — defeating the very compatibility the fallback was added for. It now asks whether the table exists before issuing the join, which is safe to ask and aborts nothing. Memoised once true, since a table does not un-create itself and this sits on the feedback write path. **The shared-tag stats were recomputed after the commit.** A failure there returned 500 for a tag that had already been written, so the client reverted its swatch and the next tap on the same colour toggled the committed tag off instead of setting it. Two concurrent writers could also race their aggregate updates. Recomputed inside the transaction now, while the photo row is still locked. **The raw feedback list still carried both label sets.** Only the tallies and my_feedback had been scoped, so a dormant per-guest label was still visible to anyone reading the list — and with sharing off it came back flagged is_mine. getPhotoFeedback now filters colour labels to the active set. One test for the list; the migration suite that caught the original CI regression still passes. --------- Co-authored-by: Paul Nothaft <paul@MacStudio-von-Paul.local>
📸 PicPeak
Open-source, self-hosted photo sharing for events.
PicPeak is a powerful, self-hosted open-source alternative to commercial photo-sharing platforms like PicDrop.com and Scrapbook.de. Built for photographers and event organizers, it makes it simple to share beautiful, time-limited photo galleries with clients while keeping full control over your data and branding.
Important
PicPeak has moved to its own GitHub organization. Docker images are now at
ghcr.io/picpeak/picpeak/{backend,frontend,aio,ml}(and on Docker Hub aspicpeak/{backend,frontend,aio,ml}) and active development is onmain. The oldghcr.io/the-luap/...path still responds but its tags are frozen at 2026-05-27 — if updates never arrive, check your image path first. Seedocs/migration-to-org.mdfor the one-linedocker-compose.ymledit.
Contents
- Live Demo
- Quick Start
- Why PicPeak?
- Features
- Documentation
- Comparison
- Tech Stack
- Contributing & Support
- License
🎮 Live Demo
Try PicPeak without installing anything — demo.picpeak.app · admin panel
| Password | |
|---|---|
demo@picpeak.app |
Demo2026! |
The demo resets periodically. Uploaded content may be removed without notice.
🚀 Quick Start
Get PicPeak running in under 5 minutes:
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/PicPeak/picpeak.git
cd picpeak
# Copy the environment template — the defaults work out of the box.
# Machine secrets (JWT, DB, Redis) are auto-generated on first run, and the
# admin account is created in the browser. Edit .env only to customise
# (domain, SMTP, storage paths, …) — nothing is required.
cp .env.example .env
# Start with Docker Compose
docker compose up -d
# Access at http://localhost:3000
On first start, open http://localhost:3000/admin and follow the in-browser setup to create your admin account. Full details — the one-time setup token, Docker file permissions, and ARM64 notes — are in First-run setup.
Updating / release channels: set
PICPEAK_CHANNEL(stabledefault, orbeta) in.env, thendocker compose pull && docker compose up -d. See RELEASING.md for the promotion cadence.
Or: one container, no compose file
For a home server, a NAS, or a single small studio, the all-in-one image runs the whole app as one process with SQLite — no compose file, no separate database, no reverse proxy to wire up:
docker run -d --name picpeak -p 3000:3000 \
-v picpeak:/data \
ghcr.io/picpeak/picpeak/aio:main
No environment variables to set — the JWT secret is generated on first start and kept on the volume.
Then open http://localhost:3000/admin and read the setup token with docker exec picpeak cat /data/db/SETUP_TOKEN, or open db/SETUP_TOKEN on the volume with any file manager if the host has no shell.
:main is the active-development tag, and today it is the only one the all-in-one image has — Dockerfile.aio landed after the current stable release, so :stable and :latest first appear for this image once the aio build reaches the stable branch. Switch to :stable then, or pin a published version tag if you would rather not track main.
The compose stack above is still the right choice for anything busier — SQLite takes one writer at a time, and Postgres is what scales. You can move to it later without reinstalling: take a .picpeak backup and restore it into the full stack. See Single-container install for the volume layout, the external-Postgres variant, TLS, and the limits.
Docker images
| GHCR | Docker Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Backend | ghcr.io/picpeak/picpeak/backend |
picpeak/backend |
| Frontend | ghcr.io/picpeak/picpeak/frontend |
picpeak/frontend |
| All-in-one | ghcr.io/picpeak/picpeak/aio |
picpeak/aio |
| ML sidecar (optional) | ghcr.io/picpeak/picpeak/ml |
picpeak/ml |
Both registries get the same digests and the same tags — stable/latest, a pinned x.y.z, and beta/main for the active development channel — for linux/amd64 and linux/arm64. Keep every image in one install on the same tag.
🌟 Why PicPeak?
Unlike expensive SaaS solutions, PicPeak gives you:
- 💰 No Monthly Fees — one-time setup, unlimited galleries
- 🔒 Complete Data Control — your photos stay on your server
- 🎨 White-Label Ready — full branding customization
- 📱 Mobile-First Design — beautiful on all devices
- 🌍 Multi-Language — built-in i18n (EN, DE)
✨ Features
For photographers — drag & drop upload, auto-expiring & password-protected galleries, automated emails, an analytics dashboard, custom themes, a public landing page, and a Live Slideshow projector view that auto-picks-up new uploads during live events.
For clients — clean mobile-optimized galleries, one-click bulk downloads, smart search, People in this gallery face grouping (opt-in per gallery, needs the optional ML sidecar), optional guest uploads, and download protection (watermarking + right-click prevention).
Technical — Docker-ready, automatic thumbnail generation, external media reference mode, smart archiving of expired galleries, S3-compatible storage backends, webhooks, and security-first defaults (JWT, rate limiting, CORS).
🧾 For studios — CRM & Accounting (Beta, off by default)
- 📝 Quotes → Contracts → Invoices — one deal lineage; cancel-and-reissue (Storno) keeps issued invoices immutable
- ⏱️ Hours Logging & Calendar — per-customer time tracking; admin calendar of events, logged hours, and pending quotes/contracts
- 🧾 Inbound Supplier Invoices & Expenses — capture received invoices (upload/camera, rasterised server-side), categorise, and re-bill costs to clients
- 📊 Tax Report & Accountant Export — period-scoped income/cost report with VAT breakdown; PDF/CSV plus a Treuhänder/Banana (Swiss/LI) journal export
- 🌍 VAT & Multi-currency — single VAT-code registry snapshotted onto each document
Warning
CRM & Accounting — examples only, verify locally. Feature-flagged off by default. Seeded contract blocks are written by the maintainer, not a lawyer; QR-bills/SEPA payloads and every tax, VAT and Treuhänder/Banana figure are computed from your input and defaults and are jurisdiction-specific guidance only. Have your lawyer review contracts, scan a test QR with your bank's app, and verify all numbers with your accountant / Treuhänder / tax authority before customer-facing use. Read the CRM disclaimers first.
📖 Documentation
Full documentation lives at docs.picpeak.app — deployment, admin settings, API, branding, and more.
| Topic | Link |
|---|---|
| 🚀 Deployment (Docker, env, reverse proxy, SSL) | docs.picpeak.app/deployment |
📦 Single-container install (one docker run, SQLite) |
docs.picpeak.app/deployment/single-container |
| ⚙️ Admin settings reference | docs.picpeak.app/guides/admin-settings |
| 🎯 Creating events | docs.picpeak.app/guides/creating-events |
| 📽️ Live Slideshow | docs.picpeak.app/features/live-slideshow |
| 🙂 People in galleries (face grouping) | docs.picpeak.app/features/face-recognition |
| 💾 Backup & Restore | docs.picpeak.app/guides/backup-restore |
| 🔌 API reference | docs.picpeak.app/api |
| 🪝 Webhooks | docs.picpeak.app/features/webhooks |
| 💾 Storage backends (local / S3) | docs.picpeak.app/features/storage-backends |
| 💻 System requirements & tuning | docs.picpeak.app/deployment/system-requirements |
| 🧾 CRM & Accounting | docs.picpeak.app/features/crm · disclaimers |
| 🗺️ Roadmap | GitHub Issues |
Project meta: Contributing · License · Security · Code of Conduct
📊 Comparison with Alternatives
| Feature | PicPeak | PicDrop | Scrapbook.de | Pixieset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Hosted | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Custom Branding | ✅ Full | Limited | Limited | ✅ (paid) |
| Monthly Cost | $0* | $29-199 | €19-99 | ~$60 |
| Storage Limit | Unlimited** | 50-500GB | 100-1000GB | 3GB–Unlimited*** |
| Client Uploads | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Limited |
| API Access | ✅ | Paid | ❌ | ❌ |
| Open Source | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Customer Accounts | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Quotes / Contracts / Invoices | 🧪 Beta | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Incoming Invoices & Accounting | 🧪 Beta | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
*You bring your own server and, optionally, a domain. **Limited only by your server storage. ***Pixieset's "unlimited" is photos only; video is capped by plan. 🧪 Beta = built but feature-flagged off by default.
🏗️ Tech Stack
- Backend: Node.js, Express, SQLite/PostgreSQL
- Frontend: React, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion
- Storage: Local filesystem (default) or S3-compatible object store (AWS S3, MinIO, R2, B2, Wasabi, Spaces) — see Storage Backends
- Email: SMTP with customizable templates
- Analytics: Privacy-focused with Umami integration
- External media: point PicPeak at
EXTERNAL_MEDIA_ROOTto reference existing originals read-only, index quickly, and generate thumbnails on demand
📸 Screenshots
Click to see the admin dashboard, analytics, and event management
🎛️ Admin Dashboard
📊 Analytics & Insights
📁 Event Management
🤝 Contributing
We love contributions! PicPeak is built by photographers, for photographers — whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, or improving docs. See the Contributing Guide to get started.
Found a security issue? Please open a security issue. See SECURITY.md for the policy.
☕ Support the Project
PicPeak is free, open source, and self-hostable forever. If it saves you time or replaces a paid subscription, consider buying me a coffee — it directly funds new features, bug fixes, and keeping the demo + docs running. You can also ⭐ star the repo, share it, file good bug reports, or open a PR.
🙏 Acknowledgments
PicPeak is inspired by the best features of commercial platforms while remaining completely open source. It's developed with AI assistance, but human-tested end-to-end, security-audited, and human-reviewed for quality.
👥 Contributors
A huge thank you to the people whose code, reports, and feedback have shaped PicPeak:
@the-luap — creator and lead maintainer
- Gallery foundation (events, uploads, sharing, download protection, templates)
- Backup & restore, analytics, branding/theming
- The architecture every later feature builds on
- Native Apple Silicon multi-arch images
- CRM & accounting suite (quotes/contracts/invoices)
- Hours logging & Treuhänder/Banana tax export
- Gallery header/banner decoupling
@Rekoo-PS — bug reports & product feedback
- Login-loop fix, mobile-lightbox overhaul, bulk-delete workflow
- Also a BuyMeACoffee supporter
If you've contributed and aren't listed here, please open a PR — this list is meant to grow.
📄 License
PicPeak is released under the MIT License. Use it freely for personal or commercial projects.
Made with ❤️ by photographers, for photographers
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