How to move Google Photos to Immich (Google Takeout import) step by step

Import your Google Takeout archives into your Immich server with albums, dates and locations intact — with a dry run first.

Free · no account · 3 free uses of every tool · also for Mac (Intel), Windows, Linux

Google Takeout gives you your photos as a pile of .zip files with the dates, locations and album information stored in separate .json files. Uploading the zips straight to Immich loses that information. The open-source tool immich-go matches everything back up; GUI Hub gives it a simple form.

1. Export from Google

At takeout.google.com select only Google Photos, choose .zip and the largest file size, and download every part of the export. Keep all parts together.

2. Create an Immich API key

In Immich: your avatar → Account Settings → API Keys → New API key. Copy it.

3. Run a dry run

1. Open GUI Hub → Google Photos → Immich.
2. Enter your server address (for example http://192.168.1.10:2283) and the API key.
3. Add all the Takeout zip files.
4. Leave Dry run ticked and press Upload. You get a report of what would be imported; nothing is uploaded.

4. Import for real

Untick Dry run and press Upload. Large libraries take a while; keep the window open.

Importing a normal folder

The From a folder tab uploads any folder of photos and can create albums from folder names.

What powers it

immich-go (AGPL-3.0). Immich and Google Photos are trademarks of their owners; GUI Hub is not affiliated with either.