Automatically Synchronize Your IMatch Database with Cloud Storage

Photographers—both professional and amateur—rely on IMatch as a powerful Digital Asset Management (DAM) system to organize, search, and protect their image archives. Because IMatch uses a high‑performance object‑relational database, it performs thousands of read and write operations every second. This ensures excellent performance but also means the database behaves differently compared to ordinary files like images or documents.

This article explains why you should never store your working IMatch database inside a cloud‑synchronized folder—and how to safely automate backups to OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive without risking data corruption.

Why Cloud Sync Services Struggle with IMatch Databases

Cloud‑sync tools such as OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive are designed for documents or images that change occasionally. An IMatch database behaves very differently, using:

• Constant high‑frequency reads and writes
• Temporary journal files
• Rapid creation and deletion of files
• Atomic commit operations for data integrity

Cloud sync apps cannot reliably track these operations. If you place your active IMatch database inside a sync folder, you may encounter:

• Sluggish or continuous syncing attempts
• File conflict warnings
• Missing or partially uploaded files
• Worst case: database corruption

To protect your data, never store your active (in‑use) IMatch database inside any folder monitored by cloud synchronization software.

Where to Store Your Working IMatch Database

For maximum safety and performance:

• Store your database on your fastest internal SSD
• Use a dedicated local folder that is not synced to cloud storage
• Keep the working database local at all times

Note: IMatch users typically manage between 200,000 and 500,000 or more images in IMatch. Data-driven categories, searching, face matching and other advanced IMatch features greatly benefit from a fast SSD for database storage..

The Safe Solution: Sync Only When IMatch Is Closed

The safest and most efficient workflow is:

1. Work normally with IMatch using your local database.
2. When you close IMatch, a script automatically copies your database folder to a cloud‑sync folder.
3. Your cloud storage app uploads the static (closed) copy safely.

This gives you:

• Automated backups
• Offsite protection
• Version history (OneDrive/Dropbox/Google Drive)
• No interference with IMatch performance
• Zero risk of data corruption

Automatic Backup Script (Windows Batch File)

Create a file named run-imatch.bat and place it on your desktop.

Use this as your new “Start IMatch” shortcut.

Example Script

@echo off
REM -- Start IMatch and wait until it closes
"C:\Program Files\photools.com\imatch6\IMatch2025x64.exe"

REM -- Copy the database folder to cloud storage
xcopy "C:\Users\USER-NAME\Documents\IMatchDatabase\*.*" "%APPDATA%\OneDrive" /D /E /C /I /Q /Y

Notes

• Update the IMatch executable name (IMatch2025x64.exe) when upgrading to a new major version.
• Adjust the source and destination paths to match your environment.
• Consider also copying your IMatch settings database if needed.

Using Dropbox Instead of OneDrive

Dropbox stores sync data at:

C:\Users\YOUR-NAME\Dropbox

Create a folder inside Dropbox named IMatchBackup.

Dropbox Script Example

xcopy "C:\Users\USER-NAME\Documents\IMatchDatabase\*.*" "C:\Users\USER-NAME\Dropbox\IMatchBackup" /D /E /C /I /Q /Y

Dropbox will automatically upload the updated backup once the copy is complete.

Using Google Drive (Google Drive for Desktop)

Google Drive for Desktop uses one of the following paths:

G:\My Drive\

or

C:\Users\USER-NAME\My Drive\

Choose the one that exists on your machine.

Google Drive Script Example

xcopy "C:\Users\USER-NAME\Documents\IMatchDatabase\*.*" "G:\My Drive\IMatchBackup" /D /E /C /I /Q /Y

Google Drive will upload the database copy safely after IMatch is closed.

Why This Workflow Is Ideal for Photographers

This method offers:

• Maximum database safety — cloud sync never touches your live IMatch database
• Automated backups — run every time you close IMatch
• Version history — cloud services keep older copies
• Performance stability — IMatch stays fast on an SSD
• Protection from hardware loss — cloud backup ensures disaster recovery

By keeping your working database local and syncing only after IMatch closes, you maintain a reliable, safe, and fast workflow.

More on Backup

Creating and maintaining daily backups should be a integral part of your daily workflow.
See this article in the IMatch Help System for more information about backing up IMatch databases and other vital files.