Description
Post Media Cleanup removes orphaned media files from your server when you permanently delete a post.
When you permanently delete a post, this plugin automatically finds and removes:
- Featured image
- Images and files embedded in post content
- PDFs and any linked files in content
- All attachments uploaded directly to the post
Key Features
- Only fires on permanent deletion — moving to trash is always safe
- Skip Shared Media — never deletes a file used by another post
- Works per post type — configure exactly which types trigger cleanup
- Compatible with S3 and cloud storage
- Multisite ready
- Developer friendly — filter hooks to extend behaviour
For Developers
Add extra attachments to the deletion list:
add_filter( 'postmediaweb_attachment_ids_to_delete', function( $ids, $post_id ) {
$extra = get_post_meta( $post_id, 'my_custom_pdf', true );
if ( $extra ) $ids[] = (int) $extra;
return $ids;
}, 10, 2 );
Prevent a specific attachment from being deleted:
add_filter( 'postmediaweb_should_delete_attachment', function( $should, $att_id, $post_id ) {
if ( $att_id === 999 ) return false;
return $should;
}, 10, 3 );
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/
- Activate through the Plugins screen
- Go to Settings Post Media Cleanup to configure
FAQ-e
-
Does it delete media when I move a post to trash?
-
No. Only permanent deletion triggers cleanup. Trash is always safe.
-
What if the same image is used in two posts?
-
With Skip Shared Media enabled (default), the plugin checks before deleting. If the file is used elsewhere it is preserved.
-
Does it work with WooCommerce products?
-
Yes. Enable Products in the Post Types setting.
-
Does it work with S3 or cloud storage?
-
Yes. It uses wp_delete_attachment() which cloud storage plugins hook into automatically.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Post Media Cleanup” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Post Media Cleanup” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.1.0
- Fixed: deleting a post with a populated ACF gallery field could crash with a fatal error on PHP 8+ (missing return value in the gallery field handler).
- Fixed: the Settings tab could not save changes due to a settings-group name mismatch.
- Fixed: the Bulk Orphan Cleanup tab’s Scan/Delete buttons had no JavaScript attached and did nothing, because jQuery was never enqueued on that page.
- Fixed: reactivating the plugin silently reset your saved settings back to defaults.
- Fixed: the orphan scanner could exhaust available memory on large sites by loading all post content and all attachment records into memory at once.
- Fixed: the orphan scanner’s content-matching was far slower than intended at scale; it now uses a single indexed pass instead of a full-text scan per attachment.
- Fixed: attachments whose parent post no longer exists were permanently hidden from orphan scans instead of being correctly flagged.
- Fixed: a PHP notice could be triggered by certain Elementor widget settings during media detection.
- Improved: fewer database queries when scanning ACF fields on each deleted post.
2.0.0
- Added ACF Free and Pro support
- Added Bulk Orphan Cleanup tool with progress indicator
- Added tabbed settings interface
1.0.0
- Initial release