Performance

Quick Wins

• Install djpeg (libjpeg-turbo) - See Quick Start installation instructions for 2-6x faster JPEG processing in some cases.
• Install ExifTool - Better metadata support, especially for videos. Provides more comprehensive metadata extraction than built-in parsers.
• Use SSD storage - Significantly improves indexing and access speed, particularly for the thumbnail cache and database operations.

Configuration Tuning

Cache Settings

media:
    caches:
        image:
            max_size: 1GB  # Adjust based on available RAM

Set cache size to balance memory usage with performance. Larger caches reduce disk I/O but consume more RAM.

Concurrent Processing

media:
    concurrent_meta_loads: 4   # Number of CPU cores
    concurrent_color_loads: 8  # Usually 2x CPU cores

Tune these values based on your hardware. More concurrent operations can speed up initial indexing but may impact system responsiveness.

Debugging Performance

Monitor thumbnail usage with debug modes, which can be toggled in Settings (Cog Wheel) -> Downward Arrow.

• Debug Overdraw - Shows resolution efficiency and helps identify when thumbnails are too large (red) or too small (blue).
• Debug Thumbnails - Shows which thumbnail source is used on top of each image and many other details.

Storage Tips

• Separate cache storage - Put cache database on faster storage if possible.
• Network storage - Ensure good bandwidth for NAS setups. Ideally run the API server on the same machine as the storage to minimize latency.