[digiKam-users] macOS Apple photo and video libraries...

[Gilles Caulier]

Hi all,

I just updated the online setup collections documentation :

https://docs.digikam.org/en/setup_application/collections_settings.html

...and considering the ignored directories feature under macOS, i
explored the native Apple Application to manage photo and video. macOS
store the collections at this place :

/Users/$HOME/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary

The contents of this directory from my computer is listed below (i
used Apple Photo a little bit for testing):

MacBook-Pro-de-gilles:Photos Library.photoslibrary gilles$ pwd
/Users/gilles/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary
MacBook-Pro-de-gilles:Photos Library.photoslibrary gilles$ tree
.
|____database
| |____Photos.sqlite.lock
| |____Photos.sqlite
| |____photos.db
| |____search
| | |____graphDataProgress.plist
| | |____zeroKeywords.data
| | |____psi.sqlite-shm
| | |____psi.sqlite-wal
| | |____searchSystemInfo.plist
| | |____searchMetadata.plist
| | |____searchProgress.plist
| | |____synonymsProcess.plist
| | |____psi.sqlite
| |____protection
| |____.Photos_SUPPORT
| | |_____EXTERNAL_DATA
| |____Photos.sqlite-wal
| |____DataModelVersion.plist
| |____Photos.sqlite-shm
| |____metaSchema.db
|____resources
| |____derivatives
| | |____thumbs
| | | |____3356.ithmb
| | | |____4133.ithmb
| | | |____thumbnailConfiguration
| | | |____4532.ithmb
| | |____masters
| |____streams
| |____journals
| | |____FileSystemVolume-change.plj
| | |____Album-change.plj
| | |____ImportSession.plist
| | |____ProjectAlbum-change.plj
| | |____FetchingAlbum.plist
| | |____Memory.plist
| | |____HistoryToken.plist
| | |____Person-change.plj
| | |____DetectedFace-change.plj
| | |____Keyword.plist
| | |____Asset.plist
| | |____MigrationHistory-change.plj
| | |____MigrationHistory.plist
| | |____ImportSession-change.plj
| | |____Keyword-change.plj
| | |____FileSystemVolume.plist
| | |____DeferredRebuildFace-change.plj
| | |____Folder.plist
| | |____Folder-snapshot.plj
| | |____ProjectAlbum.plist
| | |____DetectedFace.plist
| | |____Memory-change.plj
| | |____Person.plist
| | |____FetchingAlbum-change.plj
| | |____DeferredRebuildFace.plist
| | |____Asset-change.plj
| | |____Album.plist
| |____cpl
| | |____cloudsync.noindex
| | | |____syncstatus.plist
| | | |____mobileCPL.plist
| | | |____storage
| | | | |____store.cloudphotodb
| | | | |____store.cloudphotodb-wal
| | | | |____store.cloudphotodb-shm
| | | | |____filecache
| | | | |____tmp
| | | |____DownloadCounts.plist
| | | |____cloudphotos-1.0.plist
| | | |____feedbackmessages.plist
| |____caches
| | |____analytics
| | | |____CPAnalyticsPropertiesCache.plist
|____originals
|____private
| |____com.apple.CloudPhotosConfiguration
| |____com.apple.photolibraryd
| | |____appPrivateData.plist
| | |____caches
| | | |____variation
| | | |____CreateDatabase_20221206-103741+01:00
| | | |____libraryavailable
| | | |____clientservertransaction
| |____com.apple.photoanalysisd
| | |____caches
| | | |____graph
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.POI.sqlite
| | | | |____changetoken.plist
| | | | |____CLSPublicEventCache.sqlite
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.Nature.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.AOI.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____CLSPublicEventCache.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.Nature.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.AOI.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____CLSPublicEventCache.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____PGCurationCache.sqlite.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____CLSContactCache.sqlite
| | | | |____CLSLocationCache.sqlite
| | | | |____PGCurationCache.sqlite.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.ROI.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.Nature.sqlite
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.ROI.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____PGCurationCache.sqlite.sqlite
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.POI.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.POI.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____ftemetrics
| | | | |____PGSearchComputationCache.plist
| | | | |____CLSLocationCache.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____PGSharingFeatureExtractorRecords.plist
| | | | |____CLSLocationCache.sqlite-shm
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.ROI.sqlite
| | | | |____PhotosGraph
| | | | | |____construction-photosgraph.kgdb-shm
| | | | | |____construction-photosgraph.kgdb-wal
| | | | | |____construction-photosgraph.kgdb
| | | | | |____photosgraph-tmp.kgdb-wal
| | | | | |____photosgraph-tmp.kgdb-shm
| | | | | |____photosgraph.kgdb
| | | | | |____photosgraph.kgdb-shm
| | | | | |____photosgraph-tmp.kgdb
| | | | | |____photosgraph.kgdb-wal
| | | | |____CLSContactCache.sqlite-wal
| | | | |____PhotoAnalysisServicePreferences.plist
| | | | |____revgeoprovider.plist
| | | | |____CLSBusinessCategoryCache.AOI.sqlite
| | | | |____CLSContactCache.sqlite-shm
| | | |____vision
| |____com.apple.MobileSMS
| |____com.apple.mediaanalysisd
| | |____MediaAnalysis
| | | |____mediaanalysis.db
| | | |____mediaanalysis.db-wal
| | | |____mediaanalysis.db-shm
| | |____caches
| | | |____vision
| | | | |____mediaAnalysisVersionState.plist
|____external
| |____com.apple.CloudPhotosConfiguration
| |____com.apple.photoanalysisd
| |____com.apple.MobileSMS
| |____com.apple.mediaanalysisd
|____scopes
| |____syndication
| | |____resources
| | | |____derivatives
| | | | |____masters
| | | | | |____9
| | | | | | |____9EB2CAE2-D86F-487D-BEC2-22F31D0FE00C_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____0
| | | | | | |____0F4F4067-8BA7-4BDE-A378-B3E2163FEBD2_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | | |____08F4F6A2-2EE6-4EF8-BB4A-970E8B5DE269_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____7
| | | | | | |____7F4CC38E-7C5B-4073-8BF9-893C525DE666_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____6
| | | | | | |____6FDF9C8A-3A17-42C5-B610-FD0152926059_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | | |____6DEBD3B6-123F-4DC0-91B7-C8682C2DD2FC_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____1
| | | | | | |____109BE542-99F1-4219-B7DE-21D66F1044F5_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____8
| | | | | | |____8DD869D8-8B66-469B-9FE9-63004B880143_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____A
| | | | | | |____ABEDC2A9-B388-4549-991C-89D09DEE44F2_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____C
| | | | | | |____C42CC35A-C127-4C0D-92B6-BFE4C21A150D_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____4
| | | | | | |____4CF9A5DE-5B15-4EC3-B834-0F92CA006C90_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____3
| | | | | | |____3CB85936-845F-45FD-B650-3C969DB935F7_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____E
| | | | | | |____E2507B1F-F6DA-40C5-AAFF-2F58AE450E9F_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | | |____E70C75EC-6FC2-4B49-8609-C4FEBCB17674_4_5005_c.jpeg
| | | | | |____B
| | | | | | |____B0E78A8C-5A5B-4FE3-953A-05DA52698D40_4_5005_c.jpeg
| |____cloudsharing
| | |____caches
| | | |____diskcacherepository.plist
| |____momentshared

This directory is plenty of bulk. The question is : do you recommend
to ignore this directory by default or lets the user to define
specific rules ?

Note that unlike digiKam, Apple Photos application copy the images in
the /Users/$HOME/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary, in a sad
manner, changing names, album names, and hide/complexify the hierarchy
(after all it's Apple taking the rights to users contents).

Thanks for your feedbacks

Gilles Caulier