fix(web): preserve local time for browser uploads

mobile/openapi/lib/api/assets_api.dart

@@ -1252,8 +1252,11 @@ class AssetsApi {
   /// * [MultipartFile] sidecarData:
   ///   Sidecar file data
   ///
+  /// * [String] timeZone:
+  ///   IANA time zone of the upload client
+  ///
   /// * [AssetVisibility] visibility:
-  Future<Response> uploadAssetWithHttpInfo(MultipartFile assetData, DateTime fileCreatedAt, DateTime fileModifiedAt, { String? key, String? slug, String? xImmichChecksum, int? duration, String? filename, bool? isFavorite, String? livePhotoVideoId, List<AssetMetadataUpsertItemDto>? metadata, MultipartFile? sidecarData, AssetVisibility? visibility, }) async {
+  Future<Response> uploadAssetWithHttpInfo(MultipartFile assetData, DateTime fileCreatedAt, DateTime fileModifiedAt, { String? key, String? slug, String? xImmichChecksum, int? duration, String? filename, bool? isFavorite, String? livePhotoVideoId, List<AssetMetadataUpsertItemDto>? metadata, MultipartFile? sidecarData, String? timeZone, AssetVisibility? visibility, }) async {
     // ignore: prefer_const_declarations
     final apiPath = r'/assets';
 
@@ -1317,6 +1320,10 @@ class AssetsApi {
       mp.fields[r'sidecarData'] = sidecarData.field;
       mp.files.add(sidecarData);
     }
+    if (timeZone != null) {
+      hasFields = true;
+      mp.fields[r'timeZone'] = parameterToString(timeZone);
+    }
     if (visibility != null) {
       hasFields = true;
       mp.fields[r'visibility'] = parameterToString(visibility);
@@ -1376,9 +1383,12 @@ class AssetsApi {
   /// * [MultipartFile] sidecarData:
   ///   Sidecar file data
   ///
+  /// * [String] timeZone:
+  ///   IANA time zone of the upload client
+  ///
   /// * [AssetVisibility] visibility:
-  Future<AssetMediaResponseDto?> uploadAsset(MultipartFile assetData, DateTime fileCreatedAt, DateTime fileModifiedAt, { String? key, String? slug, String? xImmichChecksum, int? duration, String? filename, bool? isFavorite, String? livePhotoVideoId, List<AssetMetadataUpsertItemDto>? metadata, MultipartFile? sidecarData, AssetVisibility? visibility, }) async {
-    final response = await uploadAssetWithHttpInfo(assetData, fileCreatedAt, fileModifiedAt,  key: key, slug: slug, xImmichChecksum: xImmichChecksum, duration: duration, filename: filename, isFavorite: isFavorite, livePhotoVideoId: livePhotoVideoId, metadata: metadata, sidecarData: sidecarData, visibility: visibility, );
+  Future<AssetMediaResponseDto?> uploadAsset(MultipartFile assetData, DateTime fileCreatedAt, DateTime fileModifiedAt, { String? key, String? slug, String? xImmichChecksum, int? duration, String? filename, bool? isFavorite, String? livePhotoVideoId, List<AssetMetadataUpsertItemDto>? metadata, MultipartFile? sidecarData, String? timeZone, AssetVisibility? visibility, }) async {
+    final response = await uploadAssetWithHttpInfo(assetData, fileCreatedAt, fileModifiedAt,  key: key, slug: slug, xImmichChecksum: xImmichChecksum, duration: duration, filename: filename, isFavorite: isFavorite, livePhotoVideoId: livePhotoVideoId, metadata: metadata, sidecarData: sidecarData, timeZone: timeZone, visibility: visibility, );
     if (response.statusCode >= HttpStatus.badRequest) {
       throw ApiException(response.statusCode, await _decodeBodyBytes(response));
     }

open-api/immich-openapi-specs.json

@@ -16490,6 +16490,10 @@
             "format": "binary",
             "type": "string"
           },
+          "timeZone": {
+            "description": "IANA time zone of the upload client",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
           "visibility": {
             "$ref": "#/components/schemas/AssetVisibility"
           }

packages/sdk/src/fetch-client.ts

@@ -630,6 +630,8 @@ export type AssetMediaCreateDto = {
     metadata?: AssetMetadataUpsertItemDto[];
     /** Sidecar file data */
     sidecarData?: Blob;
+    /** IANA time zone of the upload client */
+    timeZone?: string;
     visibility?: AssetVisibility;
 };
 export type AssetMediaResponseDto = {

server/src/dtos/asset-media.dto.ts

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ export enum UploadFieldName {
 const AssetMediaBaseSchema = z.object({
   fileCreatedAt: isoDatetimeToDate.describe('File creation date'),
   fileModifiedAt: isoDatetimeToDate.describe('File modification date'),
+  timeZone: z.string().optional().describe('IANA time zone of the upload client'),
   duration: z.coerce.number().int().min(0).optional().describe('Duration in milliseconds (for videos)'),
   filename: z.string().optional().describe('Filename'),
   /** The properties below are added to correctly generate the API docs and client SDKs. Validation should be handled in the controller. */

server/src/services/asset-media.service.spec.ts

@@ -347,6 +347,32 @@ describe(AssetMediaService.name, () => {
       );
     });
 
+    it('should use the upload time zone for the initial local date time', async () => {
+      const file = {
+        uuid: 'random-uuid',
+        originalPath: 'fake_path/asset_1.jpeg',
+        mimeType: 'image/jpeg',
+        checksum: Buffer.from('file hash', 'utf8'),
+        originalName: 'asset_1.jpeg',
+        size: 42,
+      };
+      const dto = { ...createDto, timeZone: 'Asia/Shanghai' };
+
+      mocks.asset.create.mockResolvedValue(assetEntity);
+
+      await expect(sut.uploadAsset(authStub.user1, dto, file)).resolves.toEqual({
+        id: 'id_1',
+        status: AssetMediaStatus.CREATED,
+      });
+
+      expect(mocks.asset.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          fileCreatedAt: createDto.fileCreatedAt,
+          localDateTime: new Date('2022-06-20T07:41:36.910Z'),
+        }),
+      );
+    });
+
     it('should handle a duplicate', async () => {
       const file = {
         uuid: 'random-uuid',

server/src/services/asset-media.service.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { BadRequestException, Injectable, InternalServerErrorException, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { DateTime } from 'luxon';
 import { extname } from 'node:path';
 import sanitize from 'sanitize-filename';
 import { StorageCore } from 'src/cores/storage.core';
@@ -42,6 +43,15 @@ export interface AssetMediaRedirectResponse {
   targetSize: AssetMediaSize | 'original';
 }
 
+const getLocalDateTime = (date: Date, timeZone?: string) => {
+  if (!timeZone) {
+    return date;
+  }
+
+  const localDateTime = DateTime.fromJSDate(date, { zone: 'UTC' }).setZone(timeZone);
+  return localDateTime.isValid ? localDateTime.setZone('UTC', { keepLocalTime: true }).toJSDate() : date;
+};
+
 @Injectable()
 export class AssetMediaService extends BaseService {
   async getUploadAssetIdByChecksum(auth: AuthDto, checksum?: string): Promise<AssetMediaResponseDto | undefined> {
@@ -328,7 +338,7 @@ export class AssetMediaService extends BaseService {
 
       fileCreatedAt: dto.fileCreatedAt,
       fileModifiedAt: dto.fileModifiedAt,
-      localDateTime: dto.fileCreatedAt,
+      localDateTime: getLocalDateTime(dto.fileCreatedAt, dto.timeZone),
 
       type: mimeTypes.assetType(file.originalPath),
       isFavorite: dto.isFavorite,

server/src/services/metadata.service.spec.ts

@@ -272,6 +272,42 @@ describe(MetadataService.name, () => {
       });
     });
 
+    it('should preserve the upload local time offset when missing exif', async () => {
+      const fileCreatedAt = new Date('2026-05-23T07:30:00.000Z');
+      const localDateTime = new Date('2026-05-23T15:30:00.000Z');
+      const asset = AssetFactory.from({
+        fileCreatedAt,
+        fileModifiedAt: fileCreatedAt,
+        localDateTime,
+      }).build();
+      mocks.assetJob.getForMetadataExtraction.mockResolvedValue(getForMetadataExtraction(asset));
+      mocks.storage.stat.mockResolvedValue({
+        size: 123_456,
+        mtime: fileCreatedAt,
+        mtimeMs: fileCreatedAt.valueOf(),
+        birthtimeMs: fileCreatedAt.valueOf(),
+      } as Stats);
+      mockReadTags();
+
+      await sut.handleMetadataExtraction({ id: asset.id });
+      expect(mocks.assetJob.getForMetadataExtraction).toHaveBeenCalledWith(asset.id);
+      expect(mocks.asset.upsertExif).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          exif: expect.objectContaining({ dateTimeOriginal: fileCreatedAt }),
+          lockedPropertiesBehavior: 'skip',
+        }),
+      );
+      expect(mocks.asset.update).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        id: asset.id,
+        duration: null,
+        fileCreatedAt,
+        fileModifiedAt: fileCreatedAt,
+        localDateTime,
+        width: null,
+        height: null,
+      });
+    });
+
     it('should determine dateTimeOriginal regardless of the server time zone', async () => {
       process.env.TZ = 'America/Los_Angeles';
       const asset = AssetFactory.create();

server/src/services/metadata.service.ts

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import { Tasks } from 'src/utils/tasks';
 
 const POSTGRES_INT_MAX = 2_147_483_647;
 const POSTGRES_INT_MIN = -2_147_483_648;
+const MINIMUM_TIME_ZONE_OFFSET_MILLISECONDS = 60_000;
 
 /** look for a date from these tags (in order) */
 const EXIF_DATE_TAGS: Array<keyof ImmichTags> = [
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ type ImmichTagsWithFaces = ImmichTags & { RegionInfo: NonNullable<ImmichTags['Re
 type Dates = {
   dateTimeOriginal: Date;
   localDateTime: Date;
+  timeZone: string | null;
 };
 
 @Injectable()
@@ -963,7 +965,7 @@ export class MetadataService extends BaseService {
   }
 
   private getDates(
-    asset: { id: string; originalPath: string; fileCreatedAt: Date },
+    asset: { id: string; originalPath: string; fileCreatedAt: Date; localDateTime: Date },
     exifTags: ImmichTags,
     stats: Stats,
   ) {
@@ -1016,10 +1018,16 @@ export class MetadataService extends BaseService {
           stats.birthtimeMs ? Math.min(stats.mtimeMs, stats.birthtimeMs) : stats.mtime.getTime(),
         ),
       );
+      const localOffset = asset.localDateTime.getTime() - asset.fileCreatedAt.getTime();
       this.logger.debug(
         `No exif date time found, falling back on ${earliestDate.toISO()}, earliest of file creation and modification for asset ${asset.id}: ${asset.originalPath}`,
       );
-      dateTimeOriginal = localDateTime = earliestDate;
+      dateTimeOriginal = earliestDate;
+      // Upload clients can seed localDateTime from their local time zone when the file timestamp has no timezone
+      // information (for example, pasted screenshots). Preserve that offset during metadata extraction, while
+      // ignoring millisecond-level differences from tests or clock precision.
+      const meaningfulLocalOffset = Math.abs(localOffset) >= MINIMUM_TIME_ZONE_OFFSET_MILLISECONDS ? localOffset : 0;
+      localDateTime = DateTime.fromMillis(earliestDate.toMillis() + meaningfulLocalOffset);
     }
 
     this.logger.verbose(`Found local date time ${localDateTime.toISO()} for asset ${asset.id}: ${asset.originalPath}`);

web/src/lib/utils/file-uploader.spec.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,23 @@ import * as utils from '$lib/utils';
 import { preferencesFactory } from '@test-data/factories/preferences-factory';
 import { fileUploadHandler } from './file-uploader';
 
+vi.hoisted(() => {
+  Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'localStorage', {
+    configurable: true,
+    value: {
+      getItem: () => null,
+      setItem: () => {},
+      removeItem: () => {},
+    },
+  });
+});
+
+vi.mock('@immich/ui', () => ({
+  toastManager: {
+    warning: vi.fn(),
+  },
+}));
+
 describe('fileUploader error handling', () => {
   const mockFile = new File(['content'], 'test.jpg', { type: 'image/jpeg' });
   const mockUserObject = { id: 'user-123', email: 'test@example.com' } as UserAdminResponseDto;
@@ -69,4 +86,14 @@ describe('fileUploader error handling', () => {
     expect(items.length).toBe(1);
     expect(items[0].state).toBe(UploadState.STARTED);
   });
+
+  it('should include the browser time zone in the upload request', async () => {
+    const uploadRequest = vi.spyOn(utils, 'uploadRequest').mockResolvedValue({ status: 200, data: mockUploadResponse });
+
+    await fileUploadHandler({ files: [mockFile] });
+
+    expect(uploadRequest).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    const formData = uploadRequest.mock.calls[0]![0].data as FormData;
+    expect(formData.get('timeZone')).toBe(Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone);
+  });
 });

web/src/lib/utils/file-uploader.ts

@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ async function fileUploader({
   isLockedAssets = false,
 }: FileUploaderParams): Promise<string | undefined> {
   const fileCreatedAt = new Date(assetFile.lastModified).toISOString();
+  const timeZone = Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone;
   const $t = get(t);
   const wasInitiallyLoggedIn = !!authManager.authenticated;
 
@@ -183,6 +184,9 @@ async function fileUploader({
     })) {
       formData.append(key, value);
     }
+    if (timeZone) {
+      formData.append('timeZone', timeZone);
+    }
 
     if (isLockedAssets) {
       formData.append('visibility', AssetVisibility.Locked);