Unattached Media Manager

Skildring

Why This Plugin Is Different

Most media cleaner plugins help you delete unused images. This plugin fixes a fundamental WordPress problem first.

WordPress has a built-in «Unattached» filter in the Media Library. The idea is simple: it shows you media files that aren’t connected to any post, so you can decide whether to keep or delete them.

The problem? WordPress only marks media as «attached» if it was uploaded directly through the post editor. Any image added through ACF fields, Gutenberg blocks, page builders, widgets, theme options, or shortcodes shows as «Unattached» — even though it’s actively being used on your site.

This makes WordPress’s native «Unattached» filter completely unreliable.

How Unattached Media Manager Fixes This

This plugin scans your entire site, finds every place where media files are actually being used, and properly attaches them to their parent posts. Once attached:

• WordPress’s «Unattached» filter actually works — It now shows only truly unused media
• You can use WordPress’s native tools — No need to depend on third-party plugins to manage media
• Import/export plugins work correctly — Tools like WP All Import, WP Migrate, Duplicator, and others can now properly identify and migrate media with their associated posts
• You can safely uninstall this plugin — The attachments remain as part of WordPress’s native structure

The Workflow

1. Scan — The plugin finds all media usage across your site (content, ACF, blocks, widgets, options, etc.)
2. Attach — One-click to properly attach all «used but unattached» media to their parent posts
3. Review — Now WordPress’s «Unattached» filter shows only genuinely unused files
4. Clean Up — Use WordPress’s native tools OR this plugin’s safe deletion features
5. Done — Uninstall if you want; the fixes stay with WordPress

Yes, It Also Deletes Unused Media

Like other media cleaners, this plugin also helps you safely delete unused media with:

• Trash support — Move to trash first, restore if needed
• Permanent delete — Remove forever when you’re sure
• Change history — Track all attachment changes with one-click revert

But the real value is fixing WordPress’s attachment system so you don’t need to depend on any plugin long-term.

Two Processing Modes

• Browser-Driven (Recommended) — Fast and reliable with real-time progress. Keep the browser tab open until complete.
• Background (WP-Cron) — Processing continues even after closing your browser. Ideal for server cron setups.

Key Features

• Comprehensive Scanning — Detects media usage in post content, featured images, Gutenberg blocks, ACF fields, Elementor, Meta Box, WooCommerce, SEO plugins, widgets, theme options, and more
• Fix Unattached Media — One-click to properly attach all «used but unattached» media
• Media Library Integration — See usage count directly in your Media Library list view
• Safe Deletion — WordPress trash support with restore capability
• Change History — Full audit trail with one-click revert for any attachment
• Pause & Resume — Stop any operation and continue later
• Resource Aware — Three modes (Low/Auto/High) for shared hosting to dedicated servers
• Export Reports — Download CSV reports of all media usage
• Developer Friendly — Hooks, filters, REST API, and WP-CLI commands

The Problem It Solves

WordPress marks media as «Unattached» if it wasn’t uploaded directly to a post. But many media files ARE being used — they’re just embedded via:

• The block editor (Gutenberg)
• Page builders like Elementor or Beaver Builder
• ACF image/gallery fields
• WooCommerce product galleries
• Theme customizer settings
• Widget areas
• Shortcodes
• Custom meta boxes

Unattached Media Manager finds ALL these references and properly attaches the media, so WordPress correctly reflects which files are actually in use.

Server-Friendly Design

This plugin is designed to work on ALL servers, including shared hosting with limited resources:

• Never blocks your site – All heavy operations are processed in batches
• Adaptive resource usage – Automatically detects server limits and adjusts accordingly
• Three resource modes:
  • Low Resources – 5 items/batch, 2-minute intervals (for shared hosting)
  • Auto (Recommended) – 15 items/batch, 1-minute intervals (adjusts automatically)
  • High Performance – 50 items/batch, 30-second intervals (for dedicated servers)
• Two processing strategies – Choose browser-driven (fast) or background WP-Cron mode

Supported Content Types

ALL features below are FREE – no Pro version required!

• Post Content – Classic editor, Gutenberg blocks, shortcodes, inline styles, data attributes
• Featured Images – Thumbnail assignments
• ACF Fields – Image, gallery, file, repeater, flexible content, and group fields
• Gutenberg Blocks – Core image, gallery, cover, media & text blocks
• Elementor – All widgets, backgrounds, galleries, sliders, and responsive images
• Meta Box – All field types including groups and cloneable fields
• WooCommerce – Product galleries, variation images, downloadable files, category thumbnails
• SEO Plugins – Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress (OpenGraph & Twitter images)
• Widgets – Image widgets, text widgets with media, custom HTML
• Theme Options – Customizer settings, theme mods, custom logos
• Options Table – Plugin settings that store media IDs or URLs
• Video & Audio – HTML5 video/audio elements, poster images, source tags
• Responsive Images – srcset attributes and lazy-loading data attributes

For Developers

Unattached Media Manager is built with extensibility in mind:

• Hooks & Filters – Extend scanning with custom parsers
• REST API – Query media usage programmatically
• WP-CLI Commands – Run scans from the command line (wp aioms scan)
• Custom Post Types – Automatically scans all public post types

How to Use

Step 1: Run Your First Scan

1. Navigate to Media → Media Solution
2. Click Start Full Scan
3. Choose your processing mode (Browser-Driven recommended for most users)
4. Watch the real-time progress as your media library is scanned

Step 2: Review the Dashboard

After scanning, you’ll see:

• Total Media Files – All attachments in your library
• In Use – Media files with detected references
• Potentially Unused – Media files with no detected references
• Used but Unattached – Media that’s used but marked as «Unattached» in WordPress
• Total References – Total number of places media is referenced

Step 3: Fix Unattached Media

If you have «Used but Unattached» media:

1. Click the Attach All Media Files button
2. The operation runs in the background
3. Each attachment is tracked in Change History for easy reverting

Step 4: Clean Up Unused Media

Go to the Unused Media tab to:

1. Review – Check each file before taking action
2. Move to Trash – Safely move to WordPress trash (can be restored)
3. Restore – Bring items back from trash if needed
4. Delete Permanently – Remove forever (cannot be undone)
5. Empty Trash – Delete all trashed media at once

Important: All bulk operations run in the background. You’ll see a status bar showing progress.

Step 5: Review Change History

The Change History tab shows:

• All attachments made by this plugin
• When each change occurred
• What post each media was attached to
• Option to Revert any change (detaches the media)

Important Precautions

Before Deleting Any Media

1. Always run a full scan first – Make sure the index is up to date
2. Review files manually – The scanner detects database references, but images might be:
   • Hardcoded in theme PHP files
   • Used by external websites linking to your images
   • Referenced in custom code or third-party plugins not yet supported
   • Used in email templates stored outside WordPress
3. Use Trash first – Move to trash instead of deleting permanently
4. Wait before emptying trash – Keep trashed items for a few days to catch any issues

About «Potentially Unused» Media

Files marked as «Potentially Unused» means:

• No references were found in the scanned content
• This doesn’t guarantee the file is unused
• The file might be used in ways not detected:
  • Theme template files (hardcoded)
  • External sites linking to your images
  • Custom plugins with non-standard storage
  • CSS background images defined in stylesheets
  • JavaScript-loaded images

Recommended Workflow

1. Scan – Run a full scan with all content types enabled
2. Review – Look at the Unused Media tab
3. Research – For each file, consider where it might be used
4. Trash – Move questionable items to trash (not permanent delete)
5. Monitor – Check your site for a few days for missing images
6. Delete – Only permanently delete after confirming no issues

Server Resources

• Shared Hosting – Use «Low Resources» mode in settings
• If operations timeout – Switch to Low Resources mode
• Large media libraries – The scan may take longer but will complete
• WP Cron must work – Ensure WordPress cron is running (check with your host)

Privacy Policy

Unattached Media Manager does not:

• Collect any personal data
• Send any data to external servers
• Use any third-party services
• Track users or usage

All data is stored locally in your WordPress database in custom tables that are removed when you uninstall the plugin.

Uninstallation

When you uninstall (delete) the plugin:

• All custom database tables are removed
• All plugin options are deleted
• All plugin transients are cleared
• All scheduled cron events are removed
• Post meta created by the plugin is deleted

Note: Attachment relationships (post_parent) that were set by this plugin are NOT removed, as these are now part of WordPress’s native media library structure. If you need to revert these, use the Change History tab before uninstalling.

Credits

• Built with love for the WordPress community
• Icons from WordPress Dashicons
• Inspired by the need to keep media libraries clean and organized