# Immich 2.6: Key Updates for Self-Hosted Media Storage
The stable version of Immich 2.6 was released at the end of March 2026. This open-source platform, licensed under AGPLv3, gives you full control over your photo and video files without relying on cloud services. It supports Docker deployment, local storage of originals, and multi-account access via web, desktop, Android, and iOS. The interface is similar to Google Photos, with a focus on family use.
Version 2.0 was released in October 2025. Immich 2.6 focuses on optimizing text recognition, mobile sync, network performance, and administration.
Interface and Navigation Improvements
The web version now features a sidebar with a map and mini-timeline. When working with resource clusters on the map, users get quick access to the chronology without a full page reload.
The mobile app has gained:
- Custom album cover selection.
- Enhanced sharing links with custom labels.
- Improved link expiration management in the web UI.
These changes simplify collaborative access and customization without sacrificing performance.
Network Stack Optimization
Switching to native HTTP clients in the mobile apps adds support for:
- Mutual TLS.
- Self-signed certificates.
- Basic authentication.
- Custom headers.
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 have been implemented with multiplexing and caching. This reduces latency when syncing large media files, especially on high-load networks.
Media Processing and Viewing
The mobile viewer has been overhauled for speed and stability:
- GIF playback support.
- Video scaling.
- New control interface with built-in metadata instead of a bottom panel.
Search is optimized: results load incrementally without grid relayouts. This minimizes delays and improves scalability for large libraries.
Administration and Database
The new CLI command immich-admin schema-check automatically verifies DB integrity on startup. It detects missing indexes, constraints, tables, or columns, preventing downtime.
Authentication has been improved: profile reading from OAuth ID token or userinfo endpoint. Bugs fixed with video transcoding, Sony XAVC metadata, web keyboard input, and RTL languages.
Additional fixes include GIF thumbnail uploads, timeline corrections, and cross-platform metadata unification.
Server-Side Scalability
Server components are optimized for high loads. Animation handling, timelines, and sync data processing have been improved. Multi-account support is now more stable with concurrent access.
Developers report 20–30% performance gains in scenarios with thousands of files, thanks to caching and async processing.
Key Highlights
- Map sidebar with mini-timeline for geo-clusters.
- Native HTTP clients with HTTP/3 and TLS for mobile sync.
- CLI
immich-admin schema-checkfor automated DB checks. - Incremental search and overhauled media viewer.
- OAuth authentication and metadata fixes.
— Editorial Team
No comments yet.