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Near-daily alphas grinding toward parity between desktop and every mobile OS
Comparison · Collab
File Browser vs Immich
A side-by-side editorial comparison of File Browser and Immich — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hosted
File Browser vs Immich: at a glance
What is File Browser?
File Browser is shutting down — the repo archives on 2026-09-01 and no security fixes follow.
The project spent July shipping a rapid series of hardening releases — path canonicalization before access checks, atomic user provisioning, TUS upload length enforcement, download-permission gates, case-folded home directory collisions, several GHSA-tracked share and auth advisories — and then announced it was winding down. 2.63.23 is the last planned release; the repository archives on 2026-09-01.
What is Immich?
Immich is four release candidates into v3 with every feature note published somewhere else.
The visible release stream is a v3.0.0 RC series — rc.0 through rc.3, cut over eleven days in June — and each entry is the same template: a release-candidate disclaimer, a database and library backup warning, and instructions to move IMMICH_VERSION from v2 to v3 or the rolling v3-rc tag. The actual release notes live on a work-in-progress preview page outside the changelog.
File Browser vs Immich: editorial side-by-side
File Browser
6.3COLLAB
File Browser is shutting down — the repo archives on 2026-09-01 and no security fixes follow.
◆ Current state
The project spent July shipping a rapid series of hardening releases — path canonicalization before access checks, atomic user provisioning, TUS upload length enforcement, download-permission gates, case-folded home directory collisions, several GHSA-tracked share and auth advisories — and then announced it was winding down. 2.63.23 is the last planned release; the repository archives on 2026-09-01.
◆ Where it's heading
The shape of the final weeks tells the story: almost every commit was a scope-escape or permission-bypass fix, which is a heavy load for a Go binary that many people expose directly to the internet. Rather than keep absorbing that, the maintainers are stopping. Existing releases and Docker images stay online, but from September there is no one fixing the next advisory.
◆ Prediction
Existing deployments keep working and keep accumulating unpatched vulnerabilities; expect the community to consolidate around a fork or one of the existing alternatives before the archive date.
Immich
0.0COLLAB
Immich is four release candidates into v3 with every feature note published somewhere else.
◆ Current state
The visible release stream is a v3.0.0 RC series — rc.0 through rc.3, cut over eleven days in June — and each entry is the same template: a release-candidate disclaimer, a database and library backup warning, and instructions to move IMMICH_VERSION from v2 to v3 or the rolling v3-rc tag. The actual release notes live on a work-in-progress preview page outside the changelog.
◆ Where it's heading
What the feed does show is a project running a disciplined pre-release: a rolling RC tag so testers do not have to chase point versions, and two-to-seven day turnarounds between candidates as bugs come in. What it does not show is a single feature, which means anyone tracking Immich through its changelog learns only that a major version is close, not what it changes.
◆ Prediction
A v3.0.0 stable release follows once the RC turnaround lengthens; the entries give no basis for predicting what it contains, because none of them describe it.
Alternatives to File Browser and Immich
Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either File Browser or Immich.
Jellyfin
Jellyfin drops the 10. prefix and puts 12.0 through a three-candidate preview.
PhotoPrism
PhotoPrism swapped in an ONNX vision pipeline, then opened the library to 360° media at 16K.
EGroupware
Two branches, one deadline: 23.1 security coverage ends August 15th and 26.x is the only exit.
SOGo
SOGo's 5.12 line has become a CVE conveyor belt while the team's attention sits on SOGo 6.
Paperless-ngx
Paperless-ngx shipped its 3.0 rewrite, then spent a week putting out the fires.
See all File Browser alternatives → · See all Immich alternatives →
Recent activity from File Browser and Immich
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5d agoFile BrowserFinal release: project winds down, repo archives 2026-09-01 ⚡
- 5d agoFile BrowserWind-down notice lands with recursive-rule and proxy-token fixes
- 7d agoFile BrowserPaths canonicalized before access rules are checked
- 7d agoFile BrowserProvisioned scope check made atomic with the save
- 8d agoFile BrowserTUS upload limits, checksum permission gate, scope isolation
- 29d agoFile BrowserCopy/move conflict checks and EPUB preview fix
- 1mo agoImmichThird v3 candidate fixes issues found in rc.2
- 1mo agoImmichSecond v3 candidate fixes issues found in rc.1
- 1mo agoImmichRolling v3-rc tag introduced for prereleases
- 1mo agoImmichFirst v3 release candidate opens the major-version cut
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between File Browser and Immich?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Collab. File Browser is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is File Browser better than Immich?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. File Browser is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to File Browser?
Top File Browser alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "File Browser alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/filebrowser for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Immich?
Top Immich alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Immich alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/immich for the full list with editorial commentary on each.