Installation

Download the package from the AIPPics Desktop Server page (Linux, x86_64). Both packages install the server as a systemd service that starts by itself and runs as your own user — never as root — so it can reach your photo folders.

Debian and Ubuntu (.deb)

The smallest download; it pulls Node.js in through apt.

sudo apt install ./aiudtfs_<version>_all.deb

Any other Linux (.tar.xz)

This archive carries its own Node.js, so nothing has to be installed first.

tar -xJf aiudtfs-<version>-linux-x64.tar.xz
cd aiudtfs
sudo ./scripts/install-linux.sh

The script asks a few questions (where to keep the server's own files, the device name, the port, the photos folder) and offers a sensible default for each. Add -y to accept every default without questions. It unpacks into /opt/aiudtfs.

What you get

	Default
Photos folder	~/AIUDTFS_DataDir
Server's own files (config, password, album database, log)	~/.aiudtfs_state
Port	48651
Service name	aiudtfs

"~" is the home folder of the user the service runs as (the one who ran sudo).

Check that it runs and read its address:

systemctl status aiudtfs
journalctl -u aiudtfs -n 30

On start the server prints the computer's network address(es), the port, the address of the admin page and whether the password is still the default.

First login

A new server starts with the password changeme. Open http://<computer-address>:48651/admin, enter it and press Unlock — the server immediately asks for a new password (at least 8 characters, typed twice) and will not let you go on before you choose one. The same password is then used by the phone app and the web gallery.

The firewall

Open TCP 48651 so that other devices can reach the server, and UDP 5353 (mDNS/Bonjour) so the AIPPics app can find it without typing an address. For example, with ufw:

sudo ufw allow 48651/tcp
sudo ufw allow 5353/udp

Updating and removing

Install a newer package the same way as the first one: the server's own files and your photos live outside /opt/aiudtfs and are not touched.

sudo apt remove aiudtfs      # removes the program; the service stops
sudo apt purge aiudtfs       # also removes the service definition

Neither command deletes your photos or the server's own folder (~/.aiudtfs_state) — delete those by hand if you really want them gone.