The latest articles on DEV Community by boulbaal (@boulbaal). https://dev.to/boulbaal https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3981352%2F189c99ae-55c9-477e-9dd5-9abd1b77b35a.png https://dev.to/boulbaal en boulbaal Fri, 12 Jun 2026 13:26:55 +0000 https://dev.to/boulbaal/i-built-a-free-open-source-photo-video-organizeopensourcephotographynodejselectronr-for-27000-1a19 https://dev.to/boulbaal/i-built-a-free-open-source-photo-video-organizeopensourcephotographynodejselectronr-for-27000-1a19 <p>I had 27,000+ photos and videos scattered across a Linux PC, external SSD, and multiple USB sticks. Every existing solution either required cloud access, a subscription, or was too complex for non-technical family members.</p> <p>So I built <strong>FotoApp</strong> — a free, open-source local photo &amp; video organizer.</p> <h2> What it does </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Scan folders recursively</strong> — finds all photos and videos (JPG, PNG, RAW, MP4, MKV, MOV...)</li> <li> <strong>Detect duplicates</strong> by MD5 hash — shows groups, lets you mark which to keep</li> <li> <strong>GPS map view</strong> — media pinned on a Leaflet map, with automatic reverse geocoding via Nominatim (no API key, no data sent to Google)</li> <li> <strong>Smart export</strong> — filenames like <code>Belgium_Brussels_12_06_2026.jpg</code>, organized into <code>year/month</code> folders</li> <li> <strong>Google Takeout support</strong> — reads the <code>.jpg.json</code> sidecar files for date and GPS fallback</li> <li> <strong>Dashboard</strong> — stats by year, camera model, country (with flag emoji 🌍), and source folder</li> <li> <strong>Video support</strong> — thumbnails, metadata, duration shown alongside photos</li> <li> <strong>Multi-language UI</strong> — switch between NL / EN / FR / DE in the app header</li> </ul> <h2> Tech stack </h2> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>Layer</th> <th>Tech</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Desktop wrapper</td> <td>Electron</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Backend</td> <td>Node.js + Express</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Database</td> <td>SQLite (better-sqlite3)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Image processing</td> <td>sharp + exifr</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Maps</td> <td>Leaflet + Nominatim</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Frontend</td> <td>Vanilla JS (no framework)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <p>No framework overhead, no build step. Just open and it works.</p> <h2> Privacy first </h2> <p>Everything runs <strong>locally</strong>. No cloud upload, no account required, no telemetry. The only external call is to Nominatim for reverse geocoding (OpenStreetMap), and that can be disabled.</p> <h2> Download </h2> <p>Windows installer ready. Mac and Linux builds are automated via GitHub Actions.</p> <p>→ <a href="https://github.com/boulbaal/fotoApp/releases/latest" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download from GitHub Releases</a><br> → <a href="https://boulbaal.github.io/fotoApp/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Landing page (NL/EN/FR/DE)</a><br> → <a href="https://github.com/boulbaal/fotoApp" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source code</a></p> <h2> Contributing </h2> <p>The project is open to contributions. If you have a feature idea, bug report, or want to help with translations — open an issue or PR.</p> <p>Feedback especially welcome from people with large photo/video collections (10k+ files).</p> opensource photography node electron