Hydrus Network vs imaginary
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Hydrus Network
Self-hosted tag-based media organizer and image database
VS
imaginary
Self-hosted microservice for on-demand image processing
| Feature | Hydrus Network | imaginary |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | WTFPL | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,148 | ★ 6,076 |
| First released | 2011 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, Eagle | Cloudinary, imgix |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Hydrus Network or imaginary better?
imaginary is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Hydrus Network if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Hydrus Network and imaginary free and open-source?
Yes. Hydrus Network is licensed under WTFPL and imaginary under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hydrus Network and imaginary with Docker?
Hydrus Network: check the project docs for container support. imaginary: yes.