A reachable server
Your Immich needs a web address Timeline Scan can reach, the same one you'd use away from home. Local-only addresses won't work.
Immich Integration
Your Immich Library, Dated in Place
Connect your own Immich server and pick the scans that need dating. We write the results straight back onto the same photos. No re-uploads, no duplicates.
Import + write-back
Metadata only
Originals never modified
Both directions, carefully
Import Light, Write Back Precisely
We read small preview copies of your photos, your existing dates, and the people you have already named. Your full-size originals never leave your server.
Your Immich
Self-hosted, your hardware
Small previews, for analysis
Dates, notes, rotation & people
Timeline Scan
Dating & handwriting
We update each photo's details only. The original file is never changed. If a photo changed on your server since import, we skip it rather than guess.
No hunting required
Your Undated Scans, Found for You
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Scanned photos rarely know when they were taken. The scanner stamps the day they were digitized, so a print from 1987 files itself under 2019, buried among thousands of correctly dated photos. Timeline Scan combs your library and gathers those stuck photos into one list. Picking what to date takes a minute, not an afternoon.
- scan_0034.jpg Mar 12, 2019 the day it was scanned
- epson_batch07_112.jpg Mar 12, 2019 same scanning session
- attic_box_two_08.tif Jan 4, 2021 another batch
- … and 211 more, gathered into one list
You pick which ones to send. Photos that already carry a real date are left alone.
The manifest
What Gets Written Back
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Four things, written onto the exact photos you picked. Backs get their front's date and note, so pairs stay together.
Updated on each photo
The capture date
Written onto the photo and locked, so Immich will not overwrite it. The photo moves to its right spot on your timeline.
Handwriting from the backs
Saved as the photo's description, right where Immich shows captions. No quirks, unlike Google Photos.
Upright orientation
Rotated using Immich's own edit feature (needs Immich v2.5 or newer). The stored file itself is never re-rotated.
The people you tagged
Each named face becomes a person in Immich. We match existing people by name, and create the rest.
Never touched
Your original files
Never modified, replaced, or re-uploaded. Every byte on your server stays exactly as it was.
The names & faces Immich already has
We never rename a person. Immich's own face groups are left alone.
After the sync
What You'll See in Immich
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Open a synced photo in Immich. Point at a number to see where it lands.
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The corrected date
The photo now sits in its real year, and the date is locked so it stays there.
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Handwriting as the caption
The note from the back shows right where Immich displays descriptions, and it's searchable.
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People, with their names
The faces you tagged arrive as real Immich people, names included. Google Photos cannot accept this from any app.
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Same file, same photo
Only the photo's details changed. Your original file stays exactly as it was, on your own hardware.
Illustrative recreation of the Immich detail panel, using a sample generated family photo.
Good to know
What You'll Need
An API key
Made in Immich under Account Settings, then API Keys. We store it encrypted. Disconnect any time and we delete it.
A recent Immich version
Dates, notes, and people write back to any recent release. Upright rotation uses Immich's own edit feature, which needs v2.5 or newer.
More ways to get your photos back
Date Your Library Where It Lives
Start with free photos, no credit card required. Connect Immich when you're ready.
Try Photos FreeImmich is an open-source project; its name and logo belong to the Immich project (FUTO). The interface above is an illustrative recreation, not a screenshot. Timeline Scan is not affiliated with or endorsed by Immich or FUTO.
In final testing
The Immich Integration Is Almost Ready
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We're finishing an integration that imports scans from your own Immich server and writes the corrected dates, handwriting notes, rotation, and tagged people straight back onto the same photos. Details only, originals untouched. It's being tested against real libraries now.
In the meantime, Timeline Scan already works well with Immich: the file download writes every corrected date inside the files themselves, so Immich reads them the moment you import.