Cetus Image Converter & AI Alt Text

Description

Cetus Image Converter & AI Alt Text turns your WordPress media library into a lean, modern, and accessible asset store.

What it does

  • AVIF / WebP conversion — Creates optimised copies alongside your originals (JPG/PNG/GIF are never deleted). Uses Imagick when available, falls back to GD.
  • Smart format selectionAutomatic mode picks AVIF when the server supports it, WebP otherwise. You can also force one format.
  • Auto-convert on upload — Optionally convert every new image the moment it lands in your library.
  • AI-powered Alt Text — Send images to Google Gemini or OpenAI (your own API key, BYOK) and save the generated description natively as _wp_attachment_image_alt. Automatic fallback between providers on quota errors (429).
  • Orphan file scanner — Finds images on disk that are not registered in the WordPress database and lets you optimise or ignore them.
  • Bulk processor — Asynchronous AJAX batches with real-time progress bar, Pause and Stop controls. Safe for shared hosting.

Privacy & Security

  • All AJAX requests are protected by WordPress nonces and current_user_can() checks.
  • Original images are never deleted — conversion only adds new files.
  • Telemetry is opt-in only and disabled by default. No data is ever sent unless the administrator explicitly enables it under Preferences Telemetry.
  • API keys are stored in the WordPress options table and are never exposed in the front-end source.

Server requirements

Feature
Requirement

WebP output
Imagick with WebP or GD with WebP

AVIF output
Imagick with libavif/libheif

AI Alt Text
A valid Google Gemini or OpenAI API key

The built-in Step 1 – Server Diagnosis panel shows green/red indicators for every capability on your specific server.

BYOK — Bring Your Own Key

Cetus Image Converter & AI Alt Text does not proxy AI requests through any third-party server. Calls go directly from your WordPress installation to the Google Generative Language API or the OpenAI API using your own credentials. You are responsible for monitoring your quota usage.

External Services

This plugin connects to the following third-party services:

Google Gemini (Google Generative Language API)
Used to automatically generate Alt Text for images. Only called when the administrator has entered a valid Google Gemini API key and triggers a conversion (manual bulk process or automatic on upload, if enabled). The image is sent as a Base64-encoded inline payload. No image data is stored on any LivQ server.

  • What is sent: image data (Base64), custom prompt (if set), language preference
  • When: only on explicit user action (bulk process or single upload with auto-convert enabled)
  • Google Terms of Service: https://policies.google.com/terms
  • Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
  • Google Generative AI Terms: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms

OpenAI API
Used to automatically generate Alt Text for images. Only called when the administrator has entered a valid OpenAI API key and triggers a conversion. The image is sent as a Base64-encoded inline payload. No image data is stored on any LivQ server.

  • What is sent: image data (Base64), custom prompt (if set), language preference
  • When: only on explicit user action (bulk process or single upload with auto-convert enabled)
  • OpenAI Terms of Service: https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/
  • OpenAI Privacy Policy: https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/

Sentry
Used to collect anonymous crash reports (PHP fatal errors and exceptions). This feature is disabled by default and requires explicit opt-in by the site administrator under Cetus Media Preferences Telemetry.

  • What is sent: PHP error type and stack trace (limited to plugin files only), WordPress version, PHP version, plugin version. No IP addresses, usernames, email addresses or any personal data are ever transmitted.
  • When: only when the administrator explicitly enables telemetry opt-in
  • Sentry Terms of Service: https://sentry.io/terms/
  • Sentry Privacy Policy: https://sentry.io/privacy/

Screenshots

Installation

  1. Upload the cetus-media-optimizer folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
  2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins screen in WordPress.
  3. Go to Cetus Media in the WordPress admin menu.
  4. Follow the three-step wizard:
    • Step 1 — Review the server diagnostics (green = supported, red = unavailable).
    • Step 2 — Choose your output format and optionally add AI API keys.
    • Step 3 — Click Start Optimisation to process your library.

FAQ

Will Cetus Image Converter & AI Alt Text delete my original images?

No. Originals are never touched. The plugin creates a second file with the new extension (e.g. photo.jpg photo.webp) alongside the original.

My server does not support AVIF. What happens?

If you choose Automatic format, the plugin detects server capabilities at runtime and falls back to WebP. If WebP is also unavailable, the image is skipped and a notice is shown in the diagnostics panel.

Is there a limit to the number of images I can process?

No hard limit. The bulk processor works in small batches (5 images per AJAX tick) to respect server timeouts and can be paused and resumed at any time.

How does the AI Alt Text feature work?

After conversion, the plugin sends the image (as a Base64-encoded inline payload) to the selected AI provider. The response is sanitised and saved as the standard WordPress _wp_attachment_image_alt post meta. No image data is stored on any LivQ server.

What happens if my AI quota is exceeded?

If the primary provider returns HTTP 429, the plugin automatically retries with the other provider (if both keys are configured and fallback is enabled). A warning is displayed in the admin panel reminding you to monitor your API quota.

Is the telemetry feature active?

No, by default. The opt-in checkbox is disabled by default. If you enable it, anonymous PHP crash reports (error type, stack trace limited to plugin files, WordPress/PHP/plugin version) are sent to Sentry. No IP address, user data, API keys or personal information is ever transmitted. You can disable it at any time from Preferences Telemetry.

Reviews

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Contributors & Developers

“Cetus Image Converter & AI Alt Text” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.0.0

  • Initial release.