Plan an Immich Library Around Xiaomi NAS Carefully

Immich components and where they should live

RAM, storage and database planning

Immich uses separate services for its application, database, cache and machine-learning tasks. Four gigabytes in Xiaomi Smart Storage is not evidence that those services can be installed or run comfortably. A separate host with at least 8GB gives a more realistic baseline, with more memory helping large imports and concurrent background jobs.

Preserve the original upload directory and database backups together. Restoring only image files can lose albums, users and application state. Store database dumps independently, snapshot the photo share, and keep one copy outside the NAS.

Remote access and security

Do not expose an unmaintained container or database directly to the internet. Use Immich's current reverse-proxy guidance, strong authentication and prompt updates on the actual server. Xiaomi's remote file access does not automatically make an externally hosted Immich instance secure.

When native Xiaomi Photos already meets the household's backup and browsing needs, adding Immich may introduce more administration than value. Use Immich for its specific self-hosted workflow, not merely because both products mention photo intelligence.