Command Overview
All commands follow the pattern fotobuch <command> [options].
Run fotobuch --help or fotobuch <command> --help for details,
or see the Full Flag Reference.
Your original photos are never modified. fotobuch only reads your source files to create cached copies at the configured DPI. Commands like
removedelete photos from the project YAML — your originals on disk are untouched.
Commands at a glance
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
project new | Create a new photobook project |
project list | List all projects in the current repo |
project switch | Switch to another project (checks out its Git branch) |
add | Import photos or folders into the project |
remove | Delete photos from the project entirely |
place | Assign unplaced photos to pages |
unplace | Remove photos from their page slots (they stay in the project) |
build | Solve layout and render preview PDF |
build release | Render final PDF at full resolution (300 DPI) |
rebuild | Re-run the solver on specific pages |
page move | Move photos between pages |
page swap | Swap pages or slots |
page split | Split a page at a slot |
page combine | Merge pages together |
page info | Show photo metadata for slots on a page |
page weight | Set the area weight for one or more slots |
page mode | Toggle a page between auto (solver) and manual placement |
page pos | Move or scale slots on a manual-mode page |
status | Show project overview (or single-page detail) |
config show | Print the resolved configuration with all defaults |
config set | Set a config value using dot-notation (e.g. book.dpi 150) |
history | Show the project change log |
undo | Undo the last N changes |
redo | Redo N undone changes |
For all flags and exact syntax see the Full Flag Reference. For available config keys see Configuration.
remove vs. unplace
removedeletes photos from the project. They are gone (unless youundo).unplacetakes photos off their page but keeps them in the project. They become unplaced and can be re-placed withfotobuch place.
Use remove --keep-files if you want remove-like pattern matching but
unplace-like behaviour (photos stay, just lose their page assignment).
build vs. rebuild
buildrenders the PDF and only re-solves pages that changed since the last build. On the first run it solves everything.rebuild --page Nforces the solver to re-optimize page N from scratch, even if nothing changed. Useful when you’re not happy with a layout.rebuild --allre-solves every page.