IMatch to Socials

The IMatch to Socials system automates the addition, update and deletion of images between IMatch and flickr or pixelfed. I created it to reduce the time taken updating and managing photos across all three platforms.

Page under development. Scripts have only just been written.

Features

• Uses metadata directly from the IMatch database and formats it (to my liking) for sharing with others.
• Processes photos from a dedicated “Socials” category within IMatch and adds any new photos to the matching social platform.
• Updates photos flagged for update.
• Deletes photos flagged for deletion.
• When the target platform is flickr, adds/removes the photo from albums and groups.
• When the target platform is pixelfed, provides alt-text alongside the photo.
• Can be run as an IMatch app for processing without leaving IMatch.

Platform actions

flickr

• Add
  • Upload image
  • Set title and description
  • Set date taken
  • Add to album(s)
  • Add to group(s)
• Update
  • Upload image
  • Set title and description
  • Set date taken
  • Add to/remove from albums(s)
  • Add to/remove from groups(s)
• Delete
  • Delete image
• Typical error conditions - mean add/update/delete won’t happen
  • Missing title or description
  • Photo size > 200MB

pixelfed

• Add
  • Upload image
  • Set title, description and image alt-text
• Update
  • Set title, description and image alt-text
• Delete
  • Delete image
• Typical error conditions - mean add/update/delete won’t happen
  • Missing title, description or headine (for alt-text)
  • Photo size > 15MB

Requirements

For this system to run you need:

• Experience with code. I cannot emphasise this enough. I have taken steps to automate and bullet-proof this system as much as I can and as much as I need for my own purposes. It may not be right for you. The system modifies data and deletes data.

It is your responsibility to test how this system works for you and to support that testing with adequate backups for your needs.

• IMatch from https://www.photools.com (and this means Windows 10 or Windows 11)
• Python at least version 3.10
• For flickr
  • Python Flickr API - once you have Python installed run pip install flickrapi
  • TZ data for timezone manipulation - once you have python installed run pip install tzdata
• For pixelfed
  • Mastodon.py - once you have Python installed run pip3 install Mastodon.py
  • Your own Pixelfed account and ‘personal access token’
• Code downloaded from GitHub

Installation and Configuration

Environment

1. Set up with all the Requirements listed above.
2. …

Create IMatch Categories

Create IMatch Application Variables

Create IMatch Attributes

Configure IMatch Application

Under the Hood

So, what’s going on under the hood?