Clarification on --manage-heic-jpeg=KeepHeic

[vw-kombi]

I am battling duplicates issue in immich where the heic is deemed the throw away as the Jpeg is bigger - I have tens of thousands of these. I see there is this new thing so I am thinking I will delete all photo's and start again.

If I do it in this order, with the jpg's in the file system come into immich, or will immich-go see that there is one there already (the heic ?)

1 - Import all heic from icloudPD on my file system - this will do all photos and vids currently on iphone
2 - import my photo's from my filesystem (going back to 1999) - this will do all photos' but has some jpg's from the old heic-jpg conversion in the early days for heic.
3 - import google photos takeout (just in case of any missed).

[simulot]

The HEIC-JPEG de-duplication relies on the file name and the date of capture.
The success depend on how the conversion has been done. You should do some tests using the dry mode and check the logs.

Immich-go could de-duplicate the input during the upload process.
You can run immich-go stack --manage-heic-jpeg=KeepHeic command to clean up your immich database:

Stack photos related to each other according to the options

Usage:
  immich-go stack [flags]

Flags:
  -k, --api-key string                 API Key
      --api-trace                      Enable trace of api calls
      --client-timeout duration        Set server calls timeout (default 5m0s)
      --date-range date-range          photos must be taken in the date range (default unset)
      --device-uuid string             Set a device UUID (default "gl65")
      --dry-run                        Simulate all actions
  -h, --help                           help for stack
      --manage-burst BurstFlag         Manage burst photos. Possible values: Stack, StackKeepRaw, StackKeepJPEG
      --manage-epson-fastfoto          Manage Epson FastFoto file (default: false)
      --manage-heic-jpeg HeicJpgFlag   Manage coupled HEIC and JPEG files. Possible values: KeepHeic, KeepJPG, StackCoverHeic, StackCoverJPG
      --manage-raw-jpeg RawJPGFlag     Manage coupled RAW and JPEG files. Possible values: KeepRaw, KeepJPG, StackCoverRaw, StackCoverJPG
  -s, --server string                  Immich server address (example http://your-ip:2283 or https://your-domain)
      --skip-verify-ssl                Skip SSL verification
      --time-zone string               Override the system time zone

[simulot]

You have a plan!

If you have a question, could you provide the concerned log files?

[vw-kombi]

Will be back once I execute the plan. Thanks heaps.

[simulot]

The stacking of HEIC and JPG is based on the file name and the date of capture read from the EXIF and HEIC metadata.

[vw-kombi]

Sorry, I am a newb - what does stacking mean ? I only want the heic version and not the jpg. what happens when they are stacked ?

[simulot]

grouping related photos

[vw-kombi]

So, I got a re-setup with a brand new immich (as I could not delete all 300000+ photos.
I not have one admin users with no photos, then other users (me, wife, shared), so I can drop the users and content to re-upload again when I get a working workflow.
Phase 1 - upload all my current icloud photos (from icloudPD) went well, only 20 dupes reported in immich and they were sorted (similar photos).
Phase 2 - I added the last 10 years Iphone Backups - which would have had a few dupes possible, plus would have had a load of JPG versions of the current imported HEIC photos. After running that, I have 2,200 duplicates reported.

For example, there is a IMG_6591.jpg, and a IMG_6591.HEIC. Immich want to throw away the HEIC which is the main issue (and reported by lots of others). But - these have the same 'date taken' and 'time taken', so should immich-go NOT have imported the JPG ? as I ran the import with --manage-heic-jpeg=KeepHeic

[vw-kombi]

After running the database cleanup for this user, there are now 1132 dups reported in immich -
./immich-go stack --server=http://192.168.1.175:8080 --api-key=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --manage-heic-jpeg=KeepHeic

[vw-kombi]

Rerunning the cleanup does not delete anymore and shows the same stacking log lines again - so I guess this is the best I can get it........... But the wife has 10x more photos than me, so this will be a mammoth task for her. I guess I need immich to introduce the tick box in the duplicate utility to prefer any HEIC over JPG still.

[simulot]

I can't tell without the logs

[vw-kombi]

I can send the logs, but if the photo does not appear in the logs at all, and immich is showing a duplicate for a HEIC/JPG, not sure what that is going to tell you.

Or do you mean the import logs from when the first and second import were done (with the second adding a duplicate). - they are massive.