ImgArchive helps you turn a collection of unorganised photographs into a structured, protected and fully backed-up image archive. It scans for supported image formats, imports valid files, rejects duplicates using cryptographic checksums, generates metadata, stores images in a clear date-based folder structure, and validates all copies against the master archive.
The system is designed to protect original images while still giving users practical access to their collection. A secure vault stores the primary copies, while separate user spaces provide safe copies for browsing, editing, sharing and publishing. The pictures space is intended for day-to-day viewing and local use, while the www space is intended for images prepared for web access or publication.
How ImgArchive works
1. Scanning and import
ImgArchive maintains a list of supported image file extensions, including common picture formats and RAW camera files. For example, JPEG images typically use the .jpg extension, while Nikon RAW files commonly use .nef.
During import, ImgArchive scans the file system for supported image types. Each file it finds is added to an import list. When the scan is complete, ImgArchive processes each file, extracts available EXIF information, and checks whether the image has already been imported into the archive.
2. Duplicate detection
Duplicate detection is performed using cryptographic checksums generated from each image imported into the archive. If two images produce the same checksum, it is cryptographically unlikely that they are different files. In this situation, ImgArchive treats the second file as a duplicate and rejects it from the import.
3. Metadata generation
After the initial processing is complete, ImgArchive creates a metadata file for each archived image. This metadata can be generated from a template, extracted from EXIF information, or built from a combination of both.
4. Date-based file structure
ImgArchive stores images in a simple date-based folder structure, similar to the organisation used by phone galleries and services such as Flickr. The image capture date from the EXIF data is used as the key.
- Images are grouped by capture date.
- Images from the same day are stored in the same day folder.
- Day folders are organised within year folders.
This creates a clear year/day archive structure that is easy to understand, browse and manage.
5. File naming and renaming
During import, ImgArchive checks for file name clashes. A clash can occur when two files with the same name were captured on the same date. To prevent one image from overwriting another, ImgArchive automatically renames the second file with a unique index for that day.
ImgArchive can also optionally rename images to give them more user-friendly names.
6. Backups
Once images have been archived, ImgArchive can back them up to one or more backup locations. These may include local drives, network drives and cloud storage.
Local and network storage usually provide faster read and write speeds. Cloud storage is generally slower, so ImgArchive can use a separate background process for cloud backups. This process can be paused and restarted if the internet connection is interrupted while the backup is running.
7. Validation
Validation is the final step in the import process. ImgArchive compares each backup against the master archive to confirm that all image copies are identical and that the import and backup processes completed without inconsistencies.
Accessing the archive
ImgArchive is designed to protect your images while still making them accessible when needed. To support this, the archive is divided into a protected vault and separate user spaces that receive controlled copies from the vault:
- The vault — the secure area where the primary copies of your images are stored.
- The pictures user space — the day-to-day area for browsing, viewing, selecting and editing working copies of images.
- The www user space — the publishing area for images that are resized, exported or prepared for web use.
When required, images can be copied from the vault into the user space. This can be a complete copy of the vault or a selected subset of images.
If images in the user space are damaged, deleted or corrupted, a fresh copy can be restored from the vault. This protects the original archive while allowing day-to-day access to the collection.
The pictures user space
The pictures user space is the main working copy of the archive for everyday use. It is intended for browsing, viewing, selecting and editing images without exposing the protected vault to accidental changes.
- Purpose: provide convenient local access to images copied from the vault.
- Typical contents: original-resolution copies, selected folders, working selections, exported edits and temporary organisation used during review.
- Permissions and safety: users can read, copy, rename, organise and edit files in this space. Changes made here do not alter the vault unless they are deliberately checked back into the archive as a new version.
- Data flow: images flow from the vault into the pictures space as a full refresh or a selected subset. Damaged, deleted or unwanted files can be replaced by copying clean versions from the vault again.
- Recommended workflow: use this space for viewing, sorting, choosing favourites and preparing edits. For significant edits, work through the workspace and versioning process so the archive keeps a clear history.
- Backups: the vault is the authoritative backed-up source. The pictures space can normally be recreated from the vault, so temporary edits, exports or local-only changes should be checked back in or copied elsewhere if they need to be preserved.
The www user space
The www user space is for images that are intended to be shared, published or served by a website. It keeps web-ready files separate from the protected originals and from day-to-day working copies.
- Purpose: provide a controlled publishing area for images prepared for web access.
- Typical contents: resized images, compressed JPEGs, thumbnails, gallery files, captions, selected metadata and other output generated for online use.
- Permissions and safety: the www space should contain copies or derived files only. It should not be treated as the master archive, and public or web-server access should be limited to this area rather than the vault.
- Data flow: source images are copied from the vault, or from approved edited versions, then transformed into web-ready output in the www space. If web files are deleted or become stale, they can be regenerated from the vault or from the current archived version.
- Recommended workflow: select images in the pictures space, complete any edits through the workspace, then publish only the approved versions into the www space. Avoid editing published files directly unless the change is temporary and can be reproduced.
- Backups: published output may be backed up if required, but it is usually recoverable because it is derived from the vault. Any manual changes made only in the www space should be recorded or promoted back into the archive workflow if they must be retained.
The vault
The vault holds the primary copies of your images, so ImgArchive applies additional checks to maintain their integrity.
Vault validation and repair
When images are imported into the vault, ImgArchive creates cryptographic checksums for each image and its associated metadata files. These checksums are stored separately in checksum files.
At any time, the files in the vault can be compared against their stored checksums. If a checksum does not match, the image or metadata file is likely to be corrupted. In that case, the vault can be repaired by restoring a clean copy from a backup. Backups also include checksum files so they can be validated before being used for repair.
Image version control
ImgArchive is based on the principle that original media should not be directly edited. Once an original image is changed, it may be impossible to return to the untouched version.
To avoid this, ImgArchive supports image versioning through a workspace. When you want to edit an image, you check it out of the archive into a user-defined workspace. After making changes, you check the image back into the archive.
- The edited image becomes the current version in the archive.
- The original image is preserved unchanged as a previous version.
- Each further change creates a new version of the image.
If you need to return to the original or to any previous version, you can check that version out into the workspace. This protects both the original file and any later edited versions that may have required significant work.
The workspace
The workspace is an area on the hard drive where images can be worked on safely. As a best practice, only one working copy of an image should be edited at a time.