Immich Avatar Bug: Blank Page On Synology NAS Fix

by Alex Johnson 50 views

Experiencing a blank page when clicking on people avatars in Immich on your Synology NAS? You're not alone! This article dives into a common bug affecting Immich users on Synology NAS devices, where the "People" page fails to load correctly after the first avatar click. We'll explore the issue, discuss the steps to reproduce it, and provide insights into potential causes and solutions. If you're struggling with this frustrating problem, read on to get your Immich photo library back on track.

Understanding the Immich Blank Avatar Page Bug

If you're using Immich on a Synology NAS, you might have encountered a peculiar issue: the "People" or faces page displays a blank screen after clicking on an avatar. Initially, the first avatar click works flawlessly, directing you to the respective person's photo collection. However, upon returning to the people list and selecting another avatar, the page frustratingly turns blank. To view the photos, you're forced to manually refresh the page (Ctrl+F5) or press Enter in the address bar. This disruption doesn't occur when Immich is deployed on Ubuntu with the same configuration, making it a particularly perplexing problem for Synology NAS users.

This immich avatar page bug specifically manifests as a frontend loading issue within the Immich web interface. The core symptom is the inability to seamlessly navigate between different people's photo collections after the initial successful load. This blank page issue disrupts the user experience and hinders the efficient browsing of photos organized by faces. The error, as indicated in the browser console, points to a potential issue with Svelte's state management, specifically an "unsafe mutation." This suggests that the frontend's reactivity system isn't correctly updating the view when navigating between avatars, leading to the blank display. Understanding the nuances of this issue is crucial for both users seeking a fix and developers aiming to resolve the bug.

Reproducing the Bug: A Step-by-Step Guide

To confirm if you're experiencing this specific Immich issue on your Synology NAS, follow these detailed steps to reproduce the bug. These steps will help you identify the problem and provide valuable information for troubleshooting or reporting the issue to the Immich developers. Pay close attention to each step to ensure accurate reproduction.

  1. Deploy Immich on Synology NAS: Begin by deploying Immich on your Synology NAS using Docker. Use the official Immich server image (ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:release) for a consistent setup. Ensure your Docker configuration is correctly set up, with all necessary volumes and environment variables configured.
  2. Access the Web Interface: Open your web browser and navigate to the Immich web interface. This is typically done by accessing the NAS's IP address or domain name followed by the Immich port (e.g., http://<NAS-IP>:2283).
  3. Go to the “People” Tab: Once in the Immich web interface, click on the “People” tab. This section displays the detected faces and avatars from your photo library.
  4. Click the First Avatar: Select one person’s avatar from the list. This action should load the photo collection page for that specific person.
  5. Verify Correct Page Load: Observe that the person’s photo collection page loads correctly, displaying all the photos associated with that individual.
  6. Return to the People List: Use the browser's back button or the UI back action to navigate back to the “People” list, where all the avatars are displayed.
  7. Click a Second Avatar: Now, click on a different person’s avatar from the list.
  8. Observe the Blank Page: This is the crucial step. Observe that the page becomes blank, and no photos are rendered. This is the core symptom of the bug.
  9. Force Load the Page: To verify the issue, try manually refreshing the page by pressing Ctrl+F5 or pressing Enter in the browser address bar.
  10. Verify Successful Load: After the manual refresh, the person’s photo collection should load correctly, confirming the bug's intermittent nature.
  11. Repeat for Confirmation: Repeat steps 4–6 multiple times, clicking on different avatars. This will help you confirm the consistent occurrence of the blank-page behavior. Note that it might not happen every single time, but it should occur frequently.
  12. Capture Browser Console Error (Optional but Recommended): For a more detailed diagnosis, open your browser's developer console by pressing F12. Navigate to the Console tab. Then, repeat steps 3–5 and observe any error messages that appear in the console. The error message "Uncaught Error: https://svelte.dev/e/state_unsafe_mutation" is a strong indicator of this specific bug. Include the stack trace if available.

By following these steps, you can accurately reproduce the Immich avatar page bug on your Synology NAS and gather valuable information for troubleshooting or reporting the issue. This detailed reproduction process ensures that the problem is correctly identified and can be addressed effectively.

Expected vs. Actual Behavior

To fully grasp the impact of this bug, let's clearly outline the expected behavior of the Immich application and contrast it with the actual behavior observed when the bug occurs. This comparison highlights the discrepancy and underscores the frustration experienced by users encountering this issue.

Expected Behavior

In a properly functioning Immich setup, clicking on a person's avatar in the