WordPress plugin · FREE · NO ACCOUNT
Free WordPress Media Reference Auditor and Quarantine Plugin
Inspect your media library with evidence before hiding anything. The plugin searches bounded post content, metadata, widget and theme options for known image references, compares duplicate files within each batch and reports missing or large originals. Quarantine hides selected entries from the library while retaining files, generated sizes and URLs.
Your site. Your plugin.
Requires WordPress 6.8+ and PHP 7.4+. Install from a ZIP in your WordPress dashboard. Test on staging before using it on a live site.
Download plugin ZIP ↓The ZIP includes source code, installation notes and a license. This release has not been submitted to the WordPress.org directory.
How to use media reference auditor
- Run a media batch and review each attachment’s known references and local file status.
- Treat no known references as a candidate, then inspect custom themes and external uses.
- Acknowledge that review and quarantine selected entries only when the reference scan is complete.
- Restore the latest quarantine from the dashboard before deactivating the plugin.
Questions and limits
Does it delete unused images?
No. It changes attachment status and keeps originals and thumbnails on disk. This first release supplies reversible quarantine, not disk-space reclamation.
Can it prove an image is unused?
No. Dynamic templates, offloaded storage and external websites may reference media without discoverable database references. Incomplete or truncated scans disable quarantine.
What does duplicate detection cover?
SHA-256 comparison of eligible local originals within the attachment batch. Very large files and files beyond the hashing budget are not compared. Duplicate bytes do not mean an attachment can be removed safely.
What happens during uninstall?
The uninstall routine restores journaled attachment statuses when those entries remain quarantined. Restore before deactivation so the dashboard recovery controls remain available.