digiKam on MariaDB or MySQL

digiKam can keep its database on a MariaDB or MySQL server, which suits a library shared by several computers. iopix supports this fully, for reading and writing.

Settings

Variable	Default	Meaning
DIGIKAM_DB_TYPE	sqlite	mysql for MariaDB or MySQL
DIGIKAM_DB_HOST	127.0.0.1	server address
DIGIKAM_DB_PORT	3306	server port
DIGIKAM_DB_NAME	digikam	database name
DIGIKAM_DB_USER	digikam	account
DIGIKAM_DB_PASSWORD	empty	password

The same can be set in Settings › digiKam and server, which tests the connection before saving.

Server on the Docker host

From a container, use DIGIKAM_DB_HOST: host.docker.internal to reach a MariaDB server on the same machine.

Backups before writes

Before anything destructive (deleting photos, deleting a tag, merging changes back), iopix takes a full dump of digiKam's database with mysqldump or mariadb-dump. The Docker image and the installers include it.

Variable	Meaning
DIGIKAM_DB_BACKUP=auto	a dump before destructive operations (default); without a dump tool, those operations are refused
DIGIKAM_DB_BACKUP=skip	never; your server is backed up another way
DIGIKAM_DB_DUMP	a command that writes a full dump to standard output, used instead of mysqldump, for example through docker exec

Dates and times

digiKam's source writes UTC times on MySQL, but many real libraries hold local time there. iopix measures which one yours uses when it starts, by comparing digiKam's recorded file times with the files themselves. If it cannot see the files, set DIGIKAM_MYSQL_DATES to local or utc.

Account rights

For browsing, the account only needs to read. For editing it needs to insert, update and delete rows in digiKam's tables, the same rights digiKam itself has. Using digiKam's own account is simplest.