Login

[robflo]

When I go to login, all i see on the display is the QR code and IP address.
When I go to device IP only a basic login on first boot... never changes .. no admin access.
I deleted the JSON file as outline in README however this did not work and neither did it get replace on next boot.

[gotenash]

At the end of setup.sh, the initial admin password is generated and should be printed in the SSH session output. If this step is missing, something likely went wrong during the setup process.

[robflo]

Thanks so much for your reply. Perhaps this could be added to documentation as it took ages to see this. Had to use Google translate visual too find it. Now working well. Good work!! Rob Rob Flodine FLODINE Audio - Visual - Technology flodine.com.au 0428 248 296

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On 14 Dec 2025 at 2:44 AM +1000, Aurélien ***@***.***>, wrote: gotenash left a comment (gotenash/Pimmich#2) At the end of setup.sh, the initial admin password is generated and should be printed in the SSH session output. If this step is missing, something likely went wrong during the setup process. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[gotenash]

Thanks so much for the kind words, Rob!
I really appreciate the feedback — I’ll improve the documentation to make this clearer for everyone.
If you have any other suggestions or run into anything else, please don’t hesitate to let me know! 😊

[bongiozzo]

If you have any other suggestions or run into anything else, please don’t hesitate to let me know! 😊

Hi

Thank you for sharing!

Suggestions

• Setup process (git clone) should be in English
• Setup should not install packages without confirmation
• There is no need for French models for most users interested in looking photos (why??? I'd like to be questioned before download and install that )
• ended with Mistake, which I cannot read, but clearly understand the reason :-)

ERREUR: Impossible de créer le fichier d'identification à '/boot/firmware/credentials.json'.
Détails: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/boot/firmware/credentials.json'

I have very similar Khadas VIM3 (not Raspberry) with Ubuntu 24 and GNOME and I could configure auto start myself

Now I'm disappointed with installed python packages and French model )

But I'm pretty sure that I could start using your solution with several simple controllable steps and without this setup.sh.

Let's make your project better together.

What is your advice to me? :-)

I can start web server and it's running on 5000 port.
But I don't have my admin password due to mistake.

Where is it? :-)

[gotenash]

Hi,

Thank you for your detailed and honest feedback, I really appreciate it.

You’re absolutely right on many points. The setup should be in English, dependencies should not be installed without confirmation, language models must be optional, and Raspberry Pi–specific assumptions clearly break on other hardware. Thank you for pointing this out so clearly.

I also want to be transparent: I’m still relatively new to GitHub and application development. My main motivation was to make Pimmich work out of the box for non-technical users, without asking too many questions during installation. I had no intention to impose choices or do things the wrong way, this was simply my attempt to keep things simple for beginners.

The admin password issue comes from the setup stopping before creating the credentials file, so no password was generated. This part clearly needs better error handling.

For now, I recommend skipping setup.sh and running Pimmich manually using a Python virtual environment and manual credentials creation. I plan to refactor the setup into optional and explicit steps, and to improve support for non-Raspberry systems.

I’d be happy to continue improving the project together via GitHub issues or pull requests if you’re interested.
Thanks again for your time and constructive spirit.

Best regards,
Goten

[bongiozzo]

Thank you, Goten!

For better understanding I'll give you more context.

• I'm leaving Adobe ecosystem due to growing Open Source alternatives (triggered by AI in code generation)

• I've chosen Immich as solution for sharing photos. It's very good on my Mac Studio as server.

• Quick search for solution to show photos from Immich on devices as photo frame takes me to
  https://github.com/immichFrame/ImmichFrame with 1.7k stars

• I putted it onto khadas VIM3 together with docker for frame - looks nice, but crashes chromium after 30 minutes with 35 thousand of photos

• I compiled rust binary for linux arm64 and add debug output https://github.com/bongiozzo/ImmichFrame_Desktop - created pull request

• much better, but CPU load is very high, and SSD is constantly used for swapping

• I tried your alternative - you know result

• for now I've rolled back to primitive but working solution to shuffle photos using

Exec=swayimg -r -f -l --config=general.slideshow_time=10 --order=random /mnt/smb_share_with_photos

• It works with any photo solutions and doesn't consume resources, but not so nice

• Next possible step is try https://github.com/damongolding/immich-kiosk

  • look at docs - it's very good
  • it recommends to place docker for kiosk on Immich server - which is right
  • it has compiled binary for linux arm64
  • it has configurable image effects, which probably will decrease load and memory consumption

IMHO, Open Source is not about competition in repeating already good working code
It's about collaboration

What you solution has and do better than immichkiosk?
Web administation?
Lightweight implementation?
Something else?

What about make Pull Request for immichkiosk or just fork it and add your features?

[gotenash]

Hi,

Thank you for your detailed message and for sharing your broader journey with open source photo solutions. I really appreciate the time you took to explain your context.

Pimmich originally started from a very personal need. I wanted a simple, reliable digital photo frame for family members who are not technical at all. From the beginning, the main goal was not performance tuning or feature completeness, but simplicity for the end user.

My philosophy is that using a tool should not require understanding how it is built internally. Just like driving a car does not mean you need to know how to completely disassemble the engine, displaying photos should not require knowing Docker, browsers, containers, or GPU tuning. The solution should “just work” once installed.

This is also why Pimmich currently makes strong assumptions and automates many steps. The intent was to reduce friction for non-technical users, even if that means less flexibility for advanced setups. Your feedback clearly shows the limits of this approach, especially for more advanced or heterogeneous hardware, and that’s something I’m actively learning from.

I fully agree with you that open source is about collaboration, not competition. Pimmich is not meant to replace or compete with projects like immich-kiosk. It explores a different path: a lightweight, offline-first, device-side slideshow with a very simple web administration interface.

Your questions are very valid, and they help clarify what Pimmich is and what it is not. I’m still exploring where the project should go next, and discussions like this are extremely valuable.

Thanks again for sharing your experience and your thoughts.

Best regards,
Goten