Filesystem-first gallery management
Galleries are real folders. The database adds metadata, access rules, sort order, tags, votes, and admin state, while the directory structure stays portable and inspectable.
Open-source photo gallery CMS for real shared hosting
A modern gallery system that treats your folders as the source of truth.
PHP Gallery turns an ordinary PHP 8 and MySQL hosting account into a fast, organized, admin-friendly photo archive, with nested galleries, responsive thumbnails, EXIF, GPS maps, theming, updates, logs, and privacy-safe telemetry.
- No build step
- Plain PHP, CSS, and JavaScript
- Shared-hosting ready
- Works with typical FTP deployments
- Filesystem-first
- Folders remain meaningful on disk
EXIF
GPS map
WebP thumbnails
Audit log
Admin tools
Scan, import, reorder, tag, update.
Shared hosting
Upload one installer and configure.
PHP 8+
MySQL / MariaDB
GD thumbnails
ZipArchive downloads
Vanilla JavaScript
No npm required
Product capabilities
Everything needed to run a serious private or public photo archive.
PHP Gallery focuses on the workflows that matter after the first upload: hierarchy, metadata, performance, privacy, maintenance, and predictable hosting requirements.
Responsive image delivery
Generate JPEG and WebP variants, serve thumbnail sizes matched to the rendered grid, and avoid overfetching on mobile and dense gallery pages.
Admin workflows without framework weight
Create galleries, upload images, scan folders, reorder pictures, manage tags, assign covers, handle bulk operations, and review maintenance status from the admin area.
Visibility that matches real publishing
Use public listings, unlisted direct links, admin-only drafts, private access, passwords, and token-style share links without changing the underlying folders.
EXIF, GPS, and maps
Surface camera metadata, lens information, location data, and interactive maps where available, while keeping those features configurable per gallery.
Operational visibility
Use admin audit logs, thumbnail maintenance checks, database integrity tools, update status, and privacy-conscious telemetry exports to understand what the installation is doing.
Visual showcase
Designed for photo collections that grow over years.
The public gallery can stay clean and image-focused while the admin side handles the tedious parts: scanning, thumbnail repair, metadata, sorting, access control, updates, and logs.
- Nested galleries with breadcrumbs and gallery cards.
- Fullscreen viewer with keyboard-friendly navigation.
- Theme controls for colors, radius, layout width, branding, and custom CSS.
- Optional tags, votes, picture game, downloads, and map overlays.
Why PHP Gallery
It is built for the hosting people actually have.
No application platform required
Many galleries assume a VPS, Node stack, container deployment, or package manager access. PHP Gallery targets the more common case: Apache-compatible shared hosting with PHP and MySQL.
Your files remain yours
The filesystem is not treated as a hidden storage backend. It remains the canonical archive shape, so folder moves, imports, backups, and manual inspection stay understandable.
Admin features are part of the product
Maintenance, logs, migrations, updates, thumbnails, integrity checks, and account settings are not afterthoughts. They are first-class workflows for long-running galleries.
Technical highlights
Simple deployment, practical internals, predictable requirements.
PHP 8 and MySQL/MariaDB
Runs on a conventional PHP hosting account with PDO MySQL. MariaDB is supported, and query-string routes can work even where rewrites are unavailable.
GD, WebP, DNG display masters
Thumbnail generation uses GD for common formats, with WebP variants for efficient delivery. DNG originals can be kept while display masters and thumbnails are generated for browsing.
Migrations, updates, logs
Schema migration support, GitHub-based update checks, patch notes, audit trails, log exports, and recovery-oriented maintenance tools support real installations.
Telemetry without invasive tracking
Usage statistics are designed around anonymous operational insight rather than advertising profiles. Admins can disable collection and export the data they keep.
Getting started
Install from one bootstrap file or upload the full package.
The fastest route is the bootstrap installer. Create an empty database, upload setup-gallery.php, open it in the browser, and let the installer fetch and configure the application.
Installer file
https://github.com/klusik/PHP_gallery/raw/main/setup-gallery.php
-
1
Create a database
Create an empty MySQL or MariaDB database in the hosting control panel.
-
2
Upload the installer
Place
setup-gallery.phpin the web root for the new installation. -
3
Open it in the browser
Enter database credentials, create the admin account, and let the installer write the configuration.
-
4
Import galleries
Upload folders or images, scan the filesystem, generate thumbnails, and publish what should be visible.
Ready for phpgallery.site
Launch a credible product page now, then connect demo and release links when they are ready.
This landing page is static, fast, cacheable, and does not require PHP or a database. The gallery app remains separate and can be installed wherever you want the live demo or production gallery.