Once you turn on "Shared Photo Library," it creates a folder call "photo" in the Shared Folders section of DSM. As an idiot, I needed a lot of help figuring out how to download a local copy of my iCloud Photos to my Synology. I am not 100% sure that there are no problems from the home nas to the remote one. Once your logs indicate that your back-up is complete, you can validate the success of your back-up by comparing your image count on the iPhone Photos app vs. number of images that have been downloaded to your NAS. If it will be your primary image library . Step 3. You can find the files to build the docker image yourself here: https://github.com/jake-b/icloud_photos_downloader/tree/master/docker. They're cheaper now. One of the best things is having whatever you put in your documents folder or on your desktop immediately available on all your devices in the Apple ecosystem. Run as a scheduled task in Synology to keep a local backup of your photos and videos. might investigate a Synology . These instructions assume youre using a Mac, but Windows users should be able to accomplish this with WSL (Windows Systems for Linux) terminal commands. DiskStation Manager - Knowledge Base | Synology Inc. Onsite backup - better to another NAS or to an Expansion unit? I hope this helps other Dads or Moms who were in my same boat. - Before beginning, BACK UP ALL IMAGES to an external hard drive and disconnect it just to be safe! Works on Mac, Linux, Windows, and Synology DSM. Is there a reason against using the Synology Photos app to do this..? Schedule: your preference, I chose once a month. You can easily (and securely) access your NAS box over the Internet in a number of different ways. Im on Windows btw, but I have a Mac notebook as well but thats mainly for work. In the Synology web UI, open Synology > Control Panel > Task Scheduler. iCloud Photos can feel like a backup. While that person could be the most altruistic individual, the data is still not under my control. Hover over the Export option. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The next option I tested was using a cheap miniPC running Windows 10 and Apples iCloud software to copy the files onto the mounted Synology drive. They can also continue to use Apple Photos as usual for editing, etc. (Which will remove things from the local copy which may in turn remove it from iCloud). To run as a scheduled back-up solution, once all images have been downloaded: Also a note here that if you are running the container for the first time, you'll need to go through the proper authentification using 2FA. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. The typical backup time for Synology to back up photos ranges from half an hour to two hours. Final Cut Pro X users rely on QNAP NAS to quickly and efficiently edit, export and transcode their content. The kids create incredible amounts of digital content even after it has been cut, scaled, and compressed. With the exported files, I create my own file structure based on years/Months. Select the data you want to back up > specify the backup path to backup iPad to Synology Nas > Start Backup. You can check the status of your request at privacy.apple.com/account. Preview and check the data you need > click OK. One way to use a Synology device is to back up an iCloudPhoto Library. ; Create an external library for backing up iCloud Photo Library Because of the way this script tracks (and removes) deleted photos, it must be run at a frequency less than 30 days deleted photos are pruned from iCloud after 30 days. Once transferred to Google, the filenames of albums and videos start with "Copy of.. What I have done is moved to using my Synology to holding almost all my photos / videos / files while still retaining the smooth feel of using my Apple products. Step 2. This service is available to customers in over 240 countries around the world for transfers to Google Photos. iCloud Photos Downloader . Posting here in case it comes in handy to someone else. Set up a spare Mac Mini to do this sync regularly to an external drive, and replicate that result over to my NAS. And the second one, do you think that the performance could be good with the HDD connected to the Time Capsule? Open the Photos app. You could also check out https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader which is the same program /u/onestix posted but not in a docker container (you should use the container though), It did exactly what I wanted it to. To start a request to transfer the photos and videos in iCloud Photos: Youll be asked to sign in to your Google account to start the transfer. If you transfer an album with more than 20,000 photos, the additional photos are still transferred but are not added to the album. Run as executable, docker container, or from the source; Run one time or continuously watch for changes to keep a local backup of your photos and videos. I use iCloud photo library so i can view the pics on my apple tv but absolutely want to have a local backup of full res photos. We do not use the "auto import" function of Moments (or Photo Station) because we do not like the file structure it produces. Backup Synology NAS to iCloud via iCloud sync folder. It is succeeded by a new application, Synology Drive Server.DS cloud is only supported by Synology Drive Server versions below 3.0. A few notes: For #1, Python was already installed on the two NAS I tested on, but it's possible it was included as part of a separate package? Find this folder, select files and directly backup them to NAS. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://github.com/icloud-photos-downloader/icloud_photos_downloader, https://github.com/gilesknap/gphotos-sync. She has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade at a variety of websites. You have basically now created a situation like the old "Aperture" used to function with a referenced library. DX unit can't work without the main DS one. As an idiot, I needed a lot of help figuring out how to download a local copy of my iCloud Photos to my Synology. Way 2. If you've turned on the Download Originals option for your Photos library but don't want to back it up automatically, you can always copy your Photos library to an external drive regularly. My concern is that if my photos are wiped on one device accidentally, the Mac Minis library would also be wiped). JavaScript is disabled. Transfer photos & videos directly between targets without having to first import them into the iOS Photo Library / Android Photo Gallery. Ah. I always have to run my files through exiftool to change the modified and creation timestamps. You are using an out of date browser. Photos and videos are transferred either in the original format or in industry-standard formats that are easy to open and read. This enabled me to get up and running and now my entire 500GB+ iCloud Photo Library is synced to my Synology. Apple's 2TB family plan is just not enough with a wife who is a photo-hobbyist and two teenagers who have their own websites and Youtube channels. Well, that is it. that is, if I put stuff in the local dir, it won't sync it to iCloud? First I looked into ways to get the Synology to pull my photos down directly. I keep my photo library on a Synology DS212+. Also, Apple's iCloud photo and video transfer works so well that we really do not want another app. - In Photos, under Preferences/General, check "Metadata: Include location information for published item". Worth a mention. The container will quit after it has pulled all new photos/videos from iCloud. It may not display this or other websites correctly. In the Finder, open the folder that contains Photos Library. You're using iCloud Photos to store photos and videos with Apple. I suppose you could delete them from iCloud now if you wanted to actually move them, What the hell is going with Apples servers lately? It took only one Apple iCloud server error which cut our access to our files/photos/videos for about 38 hours to teach me that you should not leave things that are important to you on someone else's computer unless it is an encrypted backup of a backup that you likely will not ever need. You can install the iCloud windows application to automatically download or bulk download the images, or use an app on your phone to store your camera roll on the server. On your computer, mount the Synology NAS as a network disk. Videos are transferred separately, without their albums. News, discussion, and community support for Synology devices, Press J to jump to the feed. There was a problem. I didn't write the actual downloader python script, and it uses a plaintext keyring within the container to hold your iCloud credentials so proceed at your own risk. Best thing is that we won't ever run out of space with our family Synology. Finally I installed Synologys Cloud Station Backup Mac client on the Mac Mini and told it to monitor the photos directory and mirror those files to the Synology. backup journal to an external disk (newbie question), MariaDb problems "connection refused" after restored backup, DS923+ migrates to 1GbE LAN, not 10GbE LAN. You can request to transfer a copy of your iCloud Photosphotos and videos associated with your Apple IDto another service. If your device has . Is there a similar app for Google photos? Once done, you will have a local copy of your documents and desktop, and after sync, they will be on your Synology which is easily accessible from the Synology Drive App on any mobile platform. Updated June 2022: These are still the proper steps to back up your iCloud Photo Library. Note: If you plan to back up your entire digital library to your Mac's hard drive, you'll likely want to do it on a desktop Mac with at least a 1TB drive or more. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I then used SMB (network drive) on my iMAC to transfer over my entire folder structure of photos and videos I had just exported. We use this time to verify that the request was made by you, and to make the transfer. If you are subscribed to iCloud, and you want to move your photos to NAS, your synology photo apps mobile back up functionality works as expected; just choose "backup all photos" and let it have access to all your photos then your whole iCloud will start to be downloaded to the NAS. Thanks. Nobody else has anything close. Now, the magic, I go into the Apple Photos preferences menu and uncheck "Importing: Copy Items to the Photos library." You can download all of your photos in bulk first, then setup synology photos to only sync new images to your library. 1. Then, you can access your NAS files in the same way as you would local hard drive data. If youre a digital pack rat with every photo youve ever taken, this is for you. Press Export. I just got this working, thanks! Run it as a cron task and you wont have to think about it (full disclosure: I havent done this yet, I just run the program every month or so), Now I have full-res versions of my iCloud photos. Using HB will enable you to keep your user configurations and certain package settings. Select either Export # Photos or Video or Export Unmodified Original for # Photos or Videos. DS file functions as a document provider, allowing files to be directly accessed and imported from other cloud storage providers (e.g., iCloud or another Synology NAS with DS file installed on your iOS device). Some contentincluding shared albums, smart albums, photo stream content, live photos, some metadata, and photos and videos stored in other folders or locationsis not transferred at all. With iCloud Photo Library enabled, your photos get . On your Mac, select Finder > iCloud Drive. There's another app which gives far more scope for what to backup called PhotoSync but it has a subscription. However, an acceptable solution for me has been to use DSPhoto on my iPhone to automatically back up my photos to my NAS by setting up a geofence (sounds harder than it is) - this really works great. Additionally, the 128GB iPhone I have does not have enough storage to hold all of my photos/videos. We work hard to maintain accuracy and consistency, so the data associated with your account and our responses to data requests may change as our means of storage and collection change. useradd: Invalid user name Find: unknown user, Im guessing its why Initialise never asks me for an iCloud password. Tip: You can also try the option iPhone to PC from Phone Transfer to transfer photos, music, etc. All you have to do to back up your data to iCloud is copy it into this folder, paste it, or drag it there. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Open a browser, enter icloud.com and sign in, and upload the files from the local computer to iCloud, your Synology iCloud photo sync task will be started. If it's an external drive, click on it in Finder. Wait until the initial . Any stand alone NAS (DS) would be a "smarter" choice. Once all the backups are complete, I go and delete all my photos and videos off of iCloud that I exported. I only keep 3 versions and use inteliversioning. Fill out each tab as follows: General: Give it a name, run as your user. If you have iCloud Photos turned on then your photos will not be included in an iCloud Backup. But my C: doesnt have 2TB of space and mapping iCloud folder to a network drive on windows 10 isnt allowed. And if you don't currently use a backup service, well now's a good time to start! https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowake_Synology_NAS_accessible_over_the_Internet, https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/4r2t2q/backup_icloud_photo_library_to_synology_with/, https://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic.php?t=119592, https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/5m80su/ds_photo_app_and_reliability_of_backup/, transfer them to another computer with Image Capture or Photos, Buying Stuff We Dont Need The TouchArcade Show #550, TouchArcade Game of the Week: Stuffo the Puzzle Bot, The X-Men Take the Spotlight as Marvel Snap Visits Days of Future Past, SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring PowerWash Simulator Midgar DLC, Plus the Latest Releases and Sales, Action-Packed Shoot Em Up AirAttack 2 Updated for the First Time in 6 Years, Now Optimized for Modern Devices, Dead by Daylight Mobile Announces a Sadako Rising Collab Event for its Relaunch on March 15th, Kimono Cats Is Out Now on Apple Arcade Alongside a Few Notable Updates to Existing Games, Minecraft Update 1.20 Is Officially the Trails and Tales Update, Coming Later This Year. Note: Synology Cloud Station Suite is not supported on DSM 7.0 and above. This process is rather lengthy so just let it run through. Command: ~/.local/bin/icloudpd -d -u --set-exif-datetime --auto-delete --no-progress-bar --threads-num 2 --log-level info, Open Synology > Control Panel > Task Scheduler > Settings, Check save output results and give it a folder that you are ok with filling up, Highlight the upgrade task by clicking on it and then click Run, Select Action > View Result to see terminal output, Make sure that the current status says Normal (0), Highlight the download task and then click Run, This will download your entire iCloud Photo Library dont do this when you need your bandwidth. I am doing the backup. Pro is it also renames the photos based on date and creates a date based folder structure. If your final integrity check comes back with a success/complete message, you can start running below compose for scheduled back-ups. Lots of software will backup your Mac to it. While Synology Drive's paid plans are quote-based, Apple iCloud, on the other hand, offers three storage plans that are perfect for your needs. Downloaded images retain exif data and are neatly placed into a folder structure that you can define. Having your entire photo library in iCloud is a mild risk. the option to create a new System Photo Library in the place of . iCloud Photos is for syncing between your devices and replacing your photos if you lose your device. Hi fredbert and sorry for the delayed response. For some reason Synology CloudSync can't sync from Apple iCloud - probably because Apple does not allow this. If you use macOS TextEdit app to copy/paste/tweak your commands, make sure you select Format>Make Plain Text! The permissions for your Photos library may conflict with those for the Time Machine backup. You probably shouldnt empty the deleted photos folder more frequently than you run this script or it will leave photos on your Synology that youve removed from iCloud, Synology with plenty of extra storage space, Your Synologys local IP or domain (something like .local), Familiarity with ssh, the terminal in general, and other computer inner workings, Allow SSH through your Synology firewall (only if your firewall is on), Make sure Encrypted Terminal Service appears on one of the entries with an action of allow, Enter the command `ssh @ as in ssh sam@harddrive.local', Enter your synology password when prompted, Youll see a slightly different command prompt, Check that it is by typing python -V into your terminal and pressing enter, The result needs to be at least 3.6 (Mine was 3.8.8 which I believe is included with DSM 7.1), In order to install more Python packages, we need to install an up-to-date version of pip, the Python package manager, I followed this great guide to enable pip, Run the following commands in your terminal, sudo python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip, The order of this step is very important we need to install WHEEL first, Run ~/.local/bin/icloud username , Enter your real iCloud password when prompted app-specific passwords do NOT work because it is the API, Two factor users will get prompted for your code.