Self-host ImageFlow
v3.0Image hosting with automatic WebP/AVIF optimization
docker-compose up -d- Stars
- 606
- RAM
- Minimum 1GB RAM recommended
- Storage
- Sufficient disk space for image storage
- Ports
- 3000 (Next.js frontend web interface), 8686 (Go backend API server)
soyorins/imageflow-backend
What is ImageFlow?
ImageFlow is a full-stack image hosting and delivery platform for people running their own image service for websites and applications. Uploaded pictures are converted to WebP and AVIF by a libvips-powered Go backend, and each visit is served the best format the browser supports (AVIF first, then WebP, then the original). It can also pick a portrait or landscape variant depending on the device, which makes it handy as a random-wallpaper endpoint. A Next.js 14 web UI covers drag-and-drop batch uploads, tagging, browsing and deletion, while a public REST API endpoint (GET /api/random) serves images filtered by tags, orientation and format. Files live on the local filesystem or in any S3-compatible bucket, Redis stores metadata and tag indexes, and images can be given an expiry time after which they are deleted automatically. Management endpoints are guarded by an API key. Self-hosting is a three-container Docker Compose stack; the project is MIT-licensed with stable releases up to v3.0.
Should you self-host ImageFlow?
ImageFlow scores 49/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #3 of 9 in Image Management. It has 606 GitHub stars.
It shipped 1 stable release in the past year. The latest, v3.0, came out on 12 December 2025.
Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in Typescript.
Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Slink (59/100, 1 614 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See ImageFlow vs Slink side by side.
Features
- Animated GIF preservation
- API Key Authentication
- Async background processing
- Automatic WebP/AVIF conversion
- Browser format negotiation
- Configurable CORS
- Device-aware image serving
- Drag-and-drop batch upload
- Expiring images with auto cleanup
- Image management UI
- Local or S3-compatible storage
- Multi-tag filtering
- Random image API
- REST API
- Sensitive content exclusion
ImageFlow README
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