Thumbnail Remover and Size Manager

Vanlege spm.

Does the plugin permanently delete thumbnails?

No. Version 2 moves matching thumbnail files into plugin Trash first so they can be restored later.

What does Preview do?

Preview performs a dry run and shows how many files match your current selection, which sizes are involved, how much space can be recovered, and how many orphan thumbnails were found.

What are orphan thumbnails?

Orphan thumbnails are files such as image-300x300.jpg that still exist on disk but are no longer tracked in WordPress attachment metadata.

How does unused media detection work?

The plugin scans image attachments and checks for usage in featured images, parent attachments, post content, and stored builder/meta content. The results are best treated as “probably unused” so you can review them manually.

Can I disable image sizes for future uploads without deleting old files?

Yes. The size-disable settings prevent selected image sizes from being generated for future uploads only. Existing thumbnails are not removed unless you explicitly preview and move them to Trash.

Can I regenerate missing sizes after enabling a size again?

Yes. Use the Regenerate Missing Sizes section to rebuild missing image sizes in batches.

Is the plugin suitable for larger media libraries?

Yes. Analysis, cleanup, and regeneration are processed in batches with visible progress to reduce timeout problems on larger WordPress sites.

Can I back up my files before cleanup?

Yes. You can create a zip backup for all uploads or for a selected year/month folder.

Can I restore only one cleanup batch instead of everything?

Yes. Each cleanup run creates its own Trash batch, so you can restore a specific batch independently.

Does scheduled cleanup delete files permanently?

No. Scheduled cleanup uses the same plugin Trash flow as manual cleanup, so matching thumbnails can still be restored later.

What is included in Reporting and Logs?

The reporting section shows recent analysis, preview, cleanup, restore, regeneration, backup, and scheduled cleanup activity along with summary totals for recovered storage and other media operations.

Does the plugin detect thumbnails that exist on disk but not in metadata?

Yes. That is exactly what orphan thumbnail detection is for. These files are included in analysis and preview results so you can decide whether to move them to Trash.

Should I trust unused media results as a final delete list?

No. The plugin marks items as probably unused based on several WordPress relationships and content checks, but you should still review those results manually before broader media cleanup decisions.