Damselfly Web vs Lychee
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Damselfly Web | Lychee |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 700 | ★ 4,303 |
| First released | 2011 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Flickr, YouTube | Google Photos, Flickr |
What are Damselfly Web and Lychee?
Damselfly Web
MediaGoblin is a free software media publishing platform for hosting photos, video, audio, and more on your own server. It is decentralized, federated, and designed as an alternative to centralized media silos.
- Multi-media publishing
- Decentralized and federated
- Photo, video, and audio support
- Plugin system
Lychee
Lychee is a self-hosted photo management tool focused on simple, attractive galleries with quick uploads and sharing. It targets users who want a straightforward photo gallery. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Clean photo galleries
- Quick upload and sharing
- Albums and tags
- EXIF metadata display
Damselfly Web vs Lychee: key differences
Damselfly Web is written in Python, while Lychee is built with PHP. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Damselfly Web versus MIT for Lychee. Lychee is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Damselfly Web. Lychee has the considerably larger community, at 4,303 GitHub stars versus 700.
Why pick each one
Choose Damselfly Web if…
- Handles many media types
- Privacy respecting
Watch out for
- Complex setup
- Slower development
Choose Lychee if…
- Simple and attractive
- Easy to host
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No AI features
- Basic search
Frequently asked questions
Is Damselfly Web or Lychee better?
Lychee is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Damselfly Web if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Damselfly Web and Lychee free and open-source?
Yes. Damselfly Web is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Lychee under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Damselfly Web and Lychee with Docker?
Damselfly Web: yes. Lychee: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Damselfly Web or Lychee?
Lychee has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Damselfly Web. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.