Export Photos from digiKam via DLNA

Need to quickly push photos in digiKam to a device on the same network? Provided the device supports DLNA, you can do this using the DLNAExport Kipi plugin. Choose Export → Export via DLNA to open the DLNA Export wizard. From the Choose the implementation drop-down list, select either HUPnP API or miniDLNA. Both options have their advantages and drawbacks. miniDLNA supports thumbnails and works with all DLNA-compatible devices. But it can’t handle hierarchical folders or virtual albums. Also, miniDLNA relies on the older UPnP 1.0.0 protocol. HUPnP, in turn, uses the latest UPnP protocol and supports hierarchical folders and virtual albums. The drawbacks include the lack of support for Sony devices and thumbnails.

If you choose the miniDLNA option, you have to install the miniDLNA package on your system. To do this on Debian and Ubuntu-based Linux distributions, run the apt-get install minidlna command as root. Once miniDLNA has been installed, press the Find button in the DLNA Export window and specify the path to the miniDLNA binaries (usually it’s /usr/bin).

Using the DLNA Export Kipi plugin

Press then the Next button, and select the collection you want to export. You have three options here: you can pick the desired albums in the My Albums section, or select tags under the My Tags tab to export photos containing specific tags. If you already have saved searches in digiKam, you can select them in the My Searches section to export photos matching specified search criteria. Note that tags and searches cannot be used with miniDLNA, as it doesn’t support virtual albums.

Press Next again and hit the Start button to start the DLNA server. You can then access the shared photos from any device on the network using a dedicated DLNA client, or DLNA-enabled software.

About Dmitri Popov

Freelance tech writer covering Linux and open source software