# Jankees open-sources native iCloud Photos app for Omarchy

> The Linux desktop app browses and manages iCloud Photos locally, including HDR video, Live Photos and delete-with-undo. Its first version syncs only the last month of photos.

- Publication: Go Big News
- By Nifal Adam, Go Big News Staff (Staff News)
- Category: Technology
- Published: 2026-09-21T18:17:33.758+00:00
- Canonical: https://www.gobignews.com/technology/jankees-open-sources-native-icloud-photos-app-for-omarchy

---

Jankees has open-sourced [Omarchy iCloud Photos](https://github.com/jankeesvw/omarchy-icloud-photos), a native desktop app for browsing and managing an iCloud photo library through the Omarchy window manager. The first version syncs only the last month of photos, according to Jankees’ post on X.

The app provides a graphical interface for browsing and managing iCloud Photos without a browser or Apple hardware. It organizes photos in a day-based grid and supports Shared Library participant indicators.

Users can open images, videos and Live Photos in a full-window viewer. The app also offers HDR video tone-mapping, copying or saving media to the clipboard or `~/Downloads`, and Omarchy wallpaper integration.

Deleted items go to a Recently Deleted bin for 30 days, allowing users to undo a deletion. Syncing runs every 30 minutes through a systemd timer. The project uses copy-only syncing, so the local library is not automatically pruned; deletion changes individual asset flags and does not bulk-delete items or empty the Recently Deleted bin.

Omarchy iCloud Photos includes Apple ID sign-in with two-factor authentication and live theme integration. It requires Omarchy 4.0 or later, QuickShell, ImageMagick, FFmpeg, jq, wl-clipboard, Python 3.13 and the `icloudpd` binary.

Its interface uses Quickshell on Qt 6. Backend syncing uses icloudpd, while the pyicloud Python module handles authentication and asset deletion; ImageMagick, libheif and FFmpeg process media. The code is released under the MIT License.

A demo mode, available through `omarchy-icloud-photos --demo`, lets users test the app without Apple account credentials. Jankees announced the news in a post on X.

---

## Companies in this story

- Omarchy: https://www.gobignews.com/company/omarchyorg

---

## X profiles in this story

- @jankeesvw: https://www.gobignews.com/profile/jankeesvw