ART4ART Thumbnail Doctor

FAQ

How do I replace an earlier prerelease?

Deactivate the earlier plugin before activating this package. Settings and saved jobs use the same internal records. Signed quarantine batches from the earlier storage directory remain available for restoration; keep that directory protected too. The admin page, REST namespace and WP-CLI command now use art4art-thumbnail-doctor.

Which plugin created this image size?

Overview searches literal add_image_size and set_post_thumbnail_size declarations in active theme and plugin PHP source. Dynamic names may remain unknown. Source reads are bounded and cached. Historical attribution requires a prior scan.

Can I regenerate thumbnails after changing my theme?

Open Regenerate and choose Only missing sizes. It also repairs files missing from disk even if metadata still lists them. Rebuild all or selected sizes deliberately replaces those metadata entries with new files; older files remain until a separate cleanup review. Start from a backup.

How do I delete unused image sizes safely?

Run Cleanup, review the mandatory dry-run and confirm that you have a backup. Quarantine is the default; permanent deletion is an explicit advanced action. Scanning and dry-run do not change media files.

Why do size rows add up to more storage than the summary?

Several logical sizes can share a physical file. Each size row includes that file, while the overall summary counts it once.

Does scanning require WP-Cron?

No. Browser requests or WP-CLI process bounded batches. The last completed report stays available while another scan runs.

What happens when a theme changes during a scan?

The scan pauses when the registration fingerprint changes. Cancel it and start a fresh scan for the new configuration.

Does it work with WordPress 7.1 client-side media processing?

Disabled sizes are excluded from the registry and server filters used by WordPress 7.1 client processing. Existing images are regenerated on the server using public WordPress image-editor APIs.

What happens to original, scaled and edited images?

Original/scaled files and backup metadata are retained. A missing recorded original is logged. Edited attachments are skipped unless explicitly included; their current edited version is then used.

Can rebuilding break hardcoded thumbnail URLs?

Rebuilding does not overwrite or remove old files, so existing hardcoded URLs remain available. Cleanup protects uploads URLs found in post content and postmeta, including HTML, srcset and escaped JSON. Repeated rebuilding increases disk usage until those files are reviewed.

Why can a request exceed its configured budget?

A running image-editor operation cannot be interrupted. Progress is saved per size; an interrupted size is logged on resume. Large images may be skipped by the memory check. PHP memory counters do not include all native Imagick memory.

Why can removing unused thumbnails break images in content?

Posts and page builders may store hardcoded thumbnail URLs after a size becomes unregistered. Cleanup marks local uploads URLs found in post_content and postmeta Used in content and retains those files. Templates, CSS, options, CDN/external storage, custom tables and direct SQL changes are outside this check. Review paths and make a backup, especially for optional disk discovery.

How do I restore or empty quarantine?

Open Quarantine and choose Restore for the date/UUID batch. Different live files and later metadata edits cause a conflict; they are not overwritten. Metadata is restored byte-for-byte. Empty permanently removes quarantined media; signed audit manifests remain. Uninstall retains batches. Reinstall on the same site with unchanged authentication salts for recovery. Access-denial files are supplied for Apache/IIS; other web servers need appropriate directory rules.

What happens when I deactivate or delete the plugin?

Deactivation leaves settings, saved progress and media intact. Deleting the plugin removes its database tables, options, source cache and scheduled scan event for each site. It keeps quarantine files and signed recovery journals. Restore or empty quarantine before uninstalling when possible. Keep a backup of wp-config.php authentication salts: changing them prevents verification of earlier journals. There is no automatic expiry or background deletion of quarantined files.

Does it support multisite and offloaded media?

Operations are scoped to the current site. Network sites initialize their own tables when first used, and uninstall handles each site’s records. Files must be locally available inside that site’s uploads directory. CDN references, cloud-only files and custom storage adapters are outside the cleanup coverage.

How do I use cleanup through WP-CLI?

Run wp art4art-thumbnail-doctor cleanup --dry-run --sizes=old-card. Apply that review with cleanup --resume --quarantine --yes after making a backup, or discard it with cleanup --cancel. Use quarantine list, quarantine restore <date/UUID> --yes and quarantine empty <date/UUID> --yes. Only one maintenance task or review can be reserved per site.