DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup

DevDome Media Cleaner is a WordPress media library cleaner for reviewing unused images before removal. Use this image cleaner to find unused images and inspect unused attachments flagged by checks of common WordPress content and settings. An image with no detected reference still needs review before cleanup. For media library cleanup, a disk scan also finds orphan images, including thumbnails left behind by deleted images. These orphaned images have no matching Media Library record. Review this orphaned media individually or in bulk, and inspect file sizes and cleanup reasons when assessing potentially unused files. The disk scan leaves other file types alone. Media cleanup starts with review: remove unused media by moving selected images to a protected Recycle Bin that acts as media trash. Every selected file is checked again immediately before it moves. Review Recycle Bin media and check your site, then restore files to their original locations or delete unused media permanently. Find unused images and orphan files Scan your Media Library for images with no detected reference on your website. The scanner checks common WordPress content and settings before marking an image as unused. A disk scan finds orphan images and files in the uploads folder that have no matching Media Library record. These can accumulate after migrations, deleted plugins, failed uploads, manual file transfers, or years of website changes. Review orphan media individually or in bulk. The disk scan covers images, including thumbnails left behind by deleted images; other file types are left alone. Remove unused images with review and restore Image cleanup starts with a review, followed by a move to the Recycle Bin. You choose when to delete unused images permanently. The plugin includes these safeguards: The media recycle bin lets you restore cleaned files to their original locations.

• Recycle Bin first: cleaned files are moved instead of immediately deleted.
• Last-second re-check: every selected file is checked again immediately before it moves.
• Protected by default: recent uploads and uncertain files are not automatically selected.
• Clear review status: files are marked Safe to remove, Needs manual review, or Protected, with the reason shown.
• ZIP backups: create, download, upload, and restore media backups before cleanup.

No scanner can detect every custom or hard-coded image reference. Review the results and check your website while the cleaned files can still be restored. Clean media library workflow Use the plugin for media-library maintenance when you need to clean up images and review storage use.

1. Scan: scan the WordPress Media Library and uploads folder in resumable background batches.
2. Review: search, filter, sort, and inspect unused images, orphan files, and missing media.
3. Clean: move selected media to the protected Recycle Bin.
4. Restore or delete: restore files to their original locations with one click, or permanently delete them after checking your website.

Nothing is removed until you review the results and choose what to clean. Scheduled scans do not automatically delete media. Review images and disk usage The plugin provides a media manager for cleanup review, with a visual grid or list of scan results. You can:

• Search by filename.
• Filter by cleanup status.
• Sort by file size, dimensions, or age.
• Select individual files or clean media in bulk.
• View thumbnails, dimensions, file size, upload date, and cleanup reason.
• Export scan results to CSV.

Sort unused images and orphan files by size to find those consuming the most disk space. The dashboard shows the storage represented by flagged files. To bulk delete images, review your selection, move it to the Recycle Bin, and confirm permanent deletion after checking your site. The same review-first process applies when you bulk delete media identified by the scanner. WordPress image references checked The scanner checks these common reference locations:

• Posts, pages, custom post types, and revisions.
• Reusable and synced blocks, Gutenberg blocks, featured images, and galleries.
• srcset, responsive images, and lazy-loading attributes.
• CSS backgrounds.
• Widgets and navigation menus.
• Site logo, site icon, and WordPress options.

Generated thumbnail sizes, scaled images, and edited copies are matched to their original Media Library attachment. Page builders, WooCommerce, and plugin support The scanner checks data used by these WordPress tools:

• Page builders: Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, WPBakery, Bricks, Oxygen, Kadence, GenerateBlocks, Spectra, SeedProd, and Thrive.
• WooCommerce: product images, product galleries, variations, and category images.
• Custom fields and SEO plugins: ACF, Meta Box, Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and AIOSEO.

Background jobs and large libraries Media libraries can contain thousands of images. Scans run in small, resumable background batches to reduce memory usage and timeout risk. Pause and resume a scan without starting over. Scans, cleanups, backups, and restores run on the server and continue after you close the tab. Reopen the plugin page to see progress. On WordPress multisite, each site keeps its own scans, Recycle Bin, backups, and settings. Free features and settings These features are free and unlimited:

• Unused image scanning, orphan file detection, and missing media detection.
• Media review and reports.
• Recycle Bin and one-click restore.
• ZIP media backups.
• Scheduled scans.
• CSV export.
• WP-CLI commands.

Settings include scheduled scans, retention, protection rules, and optional DevDome Monitoring. No DevDome account is required to scan, review, report on, back up, remove, restore, or delete unused media. Optional DevDome Monitoring Connect a free DevDome account and enable Monitoring if you want to track media-library growth across connected WordPress sites. After each scan, aggregate media statistics can be sent to DevDome. Monitoring tracks changes and sends alerts when unused media exceeds a threshold you choose. No media files, filenames, image URLs, or visitor data are sent. AI and Agent Support On WordPress 6.9 and newer, DevDome Safe Media Cleaner registers WordPress Abilities covering the whole plugin:

• Media health summary, scan results with every filter, and filter options.
• Job progress and control, and scans of the Media Library, disk, and preview.
• One-click cleanup and moving chosen files to the Recycle Bin.
• Batches and their files, restore, permanent delete, protect, and ignore.
• Backups: list, create, restore, and delete.
• Every setting and the error log.

Compatible AI agents and MCP clients, for example through the official WordPress MCP Adapter, run the same code as the plugin screens under the same capability checks. Irreversible actions need an explicit confirmation.

1.1.4

• Duplicates: identical copies among the unused images are marked again and listed under a Duplicates pill on the Review screen and a Duplicate images tile on the Overview. The oldest copy is the suggested original; a used image is never marked.
• Shared DevDome library 1.7.10: the DevDome dashboard icons are printed through the WordPress escaping functions (WordPress.org review rule).
• Short description rewritten.

1.1.3

• Shared DevDome library 1.7.8: the one-time Report a bug hint is recorded through a nonce-checked request instead of on a page view.
• Shared DevDome library 1.7.9: the DevDome dashboard lists only real problems (a feature that is off, paused or not connected is no longer an issue) and no longer says Not monitored.
• Shorter Connect card text.

1.1.2

• Listing text updated: title, short description, tags and introduction.
• Shared DevDome library 1.7.7: the first time you open any DevDome plugin screen, a small one-time hint points at the Report a bug button. It is shown once per user across all DevDome plugins.

1.1.1

• Bundled DevDome library 1.7.6: if you connect a DevDome account from the DevDome Tools dashboard, the Connect card now says exactly what is shared, including the list of active DevDome plugins and their versions. Sites that were already connected, and sites that never connect, send nothing new. See External services.
• Listing text rewritten: new title, short description, tags and a restructured description. No change to how the plugin works.

1.1.0

• WordPress Abilities API: 22 abilities covering every feature (summary, scan results and filters, scans, cleanup, Recycle Bin batches, restore, permanent delete, protect, backups, settings, error log) for AI agents and MCP clients on WordPress 6.9 and newer.
• Updates now work when the plugin folder belongs to another system user (shared DevDome core 1.7.4): folders installed from a root shell or by an AI agent no longer fail to update through the hub, the Plugins screen, bulk updates, uploads or automatic updates.

1.0.10

• Connect fix (shared DevDome core 1.6.6): the connect claim now waits up to 30 seconds and keeps the handshake for 20 minutes so a refresh retries it, the DevDome hub shows why a connect failed with a Try again link, and the verify file is served through a query form for hosts that answer /.well-known/ before WordPress.

1.0.9

• First tab is now called Overview, in line with the other DevDome plugins. Old links to the Dashboard tab still open it.
• Settings: every option now shows a one line hint under the control, with the info icon holding the full explanation, the same layout as DevDome Malware Scanner.
• DevDome Dashboard: installing another DevDome plugin from the dashboard no longer activates it, you activate it yourself from its card. Output escaping tightened.

1.0.8

• DevDome Dashboard: plugin list, descriptions, logos and versions now come from devdome.com, one-click install of DevDome plugins from WordPress.org, Docs link and Fix buttons, Activate stays on the dashboard.

1.0.7

• Bundled DevDome core updated to 1.6.2: the DevDome Dashboard shows the new Affiliate Manager logo.