What you need¶
A digiKam library¶
iopix is built around digiKam's own database and does not need digiKam itself to be running. It has been checked against digiKam 9.1.
- Database: SQLite (the
digikam4.dbfile) or MariaDB/MySQL. Both are fully supported for reading and writing. - Photos: the folders digiKam calls album roots. One or several roots work.
- Sidecars: if digiKam writes XMP sidecars (
photo.jpg.xmporphoto.xmp), iopix reads and writes them the same way.
iopix can also keep running when digiKam's database is unreachable, from its own copy of the library. See Sync and working without digiKam.
A machine to run it on¶
| Minimum | Comfortable | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2 cores | 4 cores or more (AI jobs use half by default) |
| Memory | 2 GB for browsing | 4 GB with content search and objects; 8 GB with photo descriptions |
| Disk for iopix's data | a few GB for thumbnails | plus about 1.6 GB for the default AI models, and room for backups |
| System | Linux (amd64 or arm64), macOS, or Docker |
The AI features run on the CPU. A graphics card is not needed. On a Mac with Apple silicon, photo descriptions use the GPU automatically.
Tools iopix uses¶
The installers add these for you. If you install by hand, have them on the path:
| Tool | Used for |
|---|---|
| Python 3.10 or newer | iopix itself |
| exiftool (12.58 or newer recommended) | reading and writing metadata |
| ffmpeg | video thumbnails and playback |
| jpegtran (libjpeg-turbo) | lossless rotate, flip and crop |
MariaDB client (mysqldump) |
backing up a MariaDB digiKam database before writes |
A browser¶
Any current browser: Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, on desktop or phone. To install iopix as an app on a phone, it must be served over HTTPS.