Immich album naming scheme

Goal: turn the messy on-disk album folders into clean, consistent Immich albums.

The scheme

Pattern: YYYY[-MM[-DD]] Name for anything datable; Category – Detail for undated evergreen sets.

Rules:

Year leads, ISO format. 2015 USA, not USA 2015. Add month/day only when you actually know it: weddings get YYYY-MM-DD, month-tagged trips get YYYY-MM. A leading 4-digit year sorts every dated album chronologically in Immich's (alphabetical) album list; lettered evergreen albums fall below them.
One name, one album. Keep German, keep umlauts (Immich is UTF-8). Title Case.
Separator: a single space after the date; – (en dash) or ( ) for a qualifier. No underscores, no double spaces, no cryptic tokens.
Decode export artifacts. Embedded month numbers (Brindisi 9 2010, Kuba 1 2011) become YYYY-MM. Drop alle / _MobileMe / MobileMe — those are old Apple/full-export copies, not real albums (see Duplicates below).
Flatten the fake Urlaub/ tree. Urlaub (holiday) currently holds weddings, job photos, and applications too. Drop it as a parent; the year prefix does the grouping.

How to apply it (no disk renames)

immich-go derives the album from the folder, but you can override per upload:

immich-go upload \
  --server https://immich.domverse-berlin.eu --api-key <key> --no-ui \
  from-folder \
  --album "2015 USA" \
  "/Users/domverse/Documents/Bilder/pictures/Urlaub/2015 USA/"

One --album per folder, using the Proposed name from the table below. This keeps folder paths (and content hashes) untouched — no re-upload risk. Multiple folders can map to the same --album name to merge them (that's how the duplicates collapse).

Verify the exact flag against your immich-go version — recent builds use --album "<name>" on from-folder; older ones used --create-album-name.

Mapping

[m?] = month inferred from an embedded number, confirm before merging. [y?] = year is a guess, confirm.

Travel (chronological)

Current folder	Proposed album
Urlaub/Indien 2003	`2003 Indien`
Urlaub/Irina München 2003	`2003 München (Irina)`
Urlaub/Mallorca 2003	`2003 Mallorca`
Urlaub/Italien 2004	`2004 Italien`
Urlaub/Irina 2004	`2004 Irina`
Urlaub/Melania 30.Geb 2004	`2004 Melania 30. Geburtstag`
Urlaub/Spanien 2007	`2007 Spanien`
Urlaub/Tauchsafari 2008	`2008 Tauchsafari`
Urlaub/Marokko 2009 + Urlaub/Marokko	`2009 Marokko` (merge)
Urlaub/Tauchen 2009	`2009 Tauchen`
Urlaub/Ägypten 2010	`2010 Ägypten`
Urlaub/Karwendel 2010	`2010 Karwendel`
Urlaub/Maui 2010	`2010 Maui`
Urlaub/Bootsausflug 2010	`2010 Bootsausflug`
Urlaub/Kuba 2010	`2010 Kuba`
Urlaub/Brindisi 9 2010	`2010-09 Brindisi` `[m?]`
Urlaub/Wanderurlaub 6 2010 (+ …alle)	`2010-06 Wanderurlaub` `[m?]` (merge)
Urlaub/Italien 2011	`2011 Italien`
Urlaub/Italien 7 2011 (+ …alle)	`2011-07 Italien` `[m?]` (merge)
Urlaub/Kuba 1 2011 (+ …alle, …_MobileMe, Kuba alle)	`2011-01 Kuba` `[m?]` (merge)
2012 Dienstreise Zürich	`2012 Dienstreise Zürich`
2012 Safari Hochzeitsreise	`2012 Hochzeitsreise (Safari)`
Urlaub/2013 Paris	`2013 Paris`
Urlaub/Schwedenurlaub (Edit) 07-2013	`2013-07 Schweden (Edit)`
Urlaub/Schwedenurlaub (Tanja) 07-2013	`2013-07 Schweden (Tanja)`
Urlaub/2014 Graz Nürnberg	`2014 Graz & Nürnberg`
Urlaub/2014 London	`2014 London`
Urlaub/2015 USA + Urlaub/USA 2015	`2015 USA` (merge)
Urlaub/2015 XMas Paris	`2015-12 Paris (Weihnachten)`
Urlaub/2016 Tauchen	`2016 Tauchen`
Urlaub/2017 Paris	`2017 Paris`
Urlaub/2017 Ägypten	`2017 Ägypten`
Urlaub/2017 Mama in HH	`2017 Mama in Hamburg`
Urlaub/2017 Mammutmarsch + Mammutmarsch	`2017 Mammutmarsch` (merge)
Urlaub/2018 Italien	`2018 Italien`
Urlaub/2018 Ausflug Sylvester	`2018 Ausflug Silvester`
Urlaub/2019 Tauchen	`2019 Tauchen`
Urlaub/Berlin	`Berlin` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Uckermark	`Uckermark` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Malerweg	`Malerweg` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Dresden_im_Winter	`Dresden im Winter` `[y?]`
Sächsische Schweiz	`Sächsische Schweiz` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Kurzurlaube	`Kurzurlaube`
Urlaub/foodlog	`Foodlog`

Weddings

Current folder	Proposed album
Urlaub/Hochzeit Alex _ Tanja	`2012-04-05 Hochzeit Alex & Tanja` (your wedding)
Urlaub/Hochzeit 05.04.2012 - Dia	`2012-04-05 Hochzeit Alex & Tanja (Dia-Scan)`
Urlaub/Hochzeit 05.04.2012 - Farbe	`2012-04-05 Hochzeit Alex & Tanja (Farbscan)`
Urlaub/Hochzeit 05.04.2012 - SW	`2012-04-05 Hochzeit Alex & Tanja (SW-Scan)`
2012 Hochzeit	→ fold into `2012-04-05 Hochzeit Alex & Tanja` `[?]`
Urlaub/Hochzeit (934) + Urlaub/Hochzeit_Gesamt (577)	`2012-04-05 Hochzeit Alex & Tanja (Gesamt)` `[?]` (confirm same wedding)
Urlaub/Hochzeit_Astrid_Paul	`Hochzeit Astrid & Paul` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Hochzeit_Carlos	`Hochzeit Carlos` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Hochzeit_Carlos Freunde	`Hochzeit Carlos (Freunde)` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Hochzeit_Cosimo	`Hochzeit Cosimo` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Hochezeit_Bjoern	`Hochzeit Björn` `[y?]` (typo fixed)
Urlaub/Sardinien & Hochzeit Alberto Kerstin	`Sardinien – Hochzeit Alberto & Kerstin` `[y?]`
Urlaub/Hochzeitessen Italien	`Hochzeitsessen Italien` `[y?]`

Applications / Job

Current folder	Proposed album
Urlaub/Bewerbung 2006	`2006 Bewerbung`
2008_erste Bewerbungsbilder	`2008 Bewerbungsbilder (erste)`
Urlaub/Bewerbungsfotos 2011	`2011 Bewerbungsfotos`
Urlaub/Bewerbungsfotos (Auswahl)	`Bewerbungsfotos (Auswahl)`
bewerbungsbilder	`Bewerbungsbilder`
bewerbungsbilder/foto_karoline_wolf	`Bewerbungsbilder (Karoline Wolf)`
Urlaub/FOKUS SE 2007 + Urlaub/Fokus 2007	`2007 Fokus SE` (merge)
job/Capgemini	`Job – Capgemini`
job/Capgemini/jugendhackt	`Job – Capgemini (Jugend Hackt)`
job/adesso	`Job – adesso`
job/lucanet	`Job – LucaNet`
job/TS MMS	`Job – TS MMS`
Urlaub/2014 Jugend Hackt	`2014 Jugend Hackt`
Urlaub/2016_GTA	`2016 GTA` `[?]`

People / Family / Personal

Current folder	Proposed album
Urlaub/Fotos Tanja _ Alex 3 2008	`2008-03 Tanja & Alex` `[m?]`
Teenie Jahre	`Teenie Jahre`
Teenie Jahre/[Originals]	`Teenie Jahre (Originals)`
eltern	`Familie – Eltern`
eltern_tanja	`Familie – Eltern (Tanja)`
tanja	`Tanja`
Camera_Tanja + 0_Open/Camera_Tanja	`Kamera – Tanja` (merge, same 243)
0_Open/Tanja Best Of Egypt	`Ägypten – Best Of (Tanja)` `[y?]`
selfies	`Selfies`
selfies/alex	`Selfies – Alex`
selfies/tanja	`Selfies – Tanja`
selfies/wir	`Selfies – Wir`
profile	`Profilbilder`
workout	`Workout`

Evergreen / camera roll / misc

Current folder	Proposed album
Camera Roll	`Camera Roll`
Urlaub/iphone	`iPhone`
Urlaub/Handyvideos	`Handyvideos`
Wohnung	`Wohnung`
2012_Wohnung DD	`2012 Wohnung Dresden`
Urlaub/Zu Hause	`Zu Hause`
fun_pics	`Fun Pics`
Urlaub/Auswahl Abzug Bild	`Abzüge (Auswahl)`
Urlaub/Unterschrift	`Unterschrift` `[?]`
Wallpaper/UW_Bilder	`Wallpaper – Unterwasser`
Wallpaper/wallpaper_sfw	`Wallpaper`
Wallpaper/wallpaper_ww	`Wallpaper – WW` `[?]`

Duplicates to merge (point several folders at one `--album`)

Marokko — Marokko 2009 + Marokko → 2009 Marokko
Kuba — Kuba 1 2011 + …alle + …_MobileMe + Kuba alle → 2011-01 Kuba; keep Kuba 2010 separate as 2010 Kuba
Italien 7 2011 + …alle → 2011-07 Italien
Wanderurlaub 6 2010 + …alle → 2010-06 Wanderurlaub
USA 2015 + 2015 USA → 2015 USA
Mammutmarsch (top-level) + Urlaub/2017 Mammutmarsch → 2017 Mammutmarsch
Camera_Tanja (top-level) + 0_Open/Camera_Tanja → Kamera – Tanja
Fokus — FOKUS SE 2007 + Fokus 2007 → 2007 Fokus SE

immich-go dedupes on content hash, so uploading two folders into the same album never creates duplicate assets — identical files land once, the album just gains both source sets.

Needs your call (I guessed or couldn't tell)

Years for: Berlin, Uckermark, Malerweg, Dresden im Winter, Sächsische Schweiz, and all the friends' weddings (Astrid & Paul, Carlos, Cosimo, Björn, Sardinien). Add YYYY if you know them.
2016_GTA (620) — game screenshots? Greater Toronto? a person? → real name.
Unterschrift (378, "signature"), SiS (24), ZGIDC (18), Horka (1), Neues Album (4), Tanja (4) — cryptic/tiny; rename or skip.
Big Hochzeit (934) / Hochzeit_Gesamt (577) — confirm these are your own 2012 wedding before merging into that album.
Month inferences [m?] — verify 9 2010, 1 2011, 7 2011, 6 2010, 3 2008 are months, not sequence numbers, before locking the -MM.

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