Title: FirePunch | Instant AVIF & WebP images for Advanced Custom Fields developers Author: Matteo Bruschetti Published: July 2, 2026 Last modified: July 2, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/firepunch-images-for-acf/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3594340) ![](https://ps.w.org/firepunch-images-for-acf/assets/icon.svg?rev=3594340) # FirePunch | Instant AVIF & WebP images for Advanced Custom Fields developers By [Matteo Bruschetti](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matteobruschetti/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/firepunch-images-for-acf.2.0.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/firepunch-images-for-acf/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/firepunch-images-for-acf/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/firepunch-images-for-acf/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/firepunch-images-for-acf/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/firepunch-images-for-acf/) ## Description **FirePunch** is a lightweight, high-performance plugin designed to optimize image management in WordPress by automatically converting them into next-generation ** AVIF** and **WebP** formats. This tool is built specifically for web developers working with custom themes and image ID fields (such as **ACF – Advanced Custom Fields**). The plugin intercepts uploads and generates variants asynchronously in the background, ensuring zero impact on server performance during your daily workflow. Thanks to its native integration with WordPress core functions, any image called via `wp_get_attachment_image()` will automatically be transformed into a modern, responsive HTML5 `` tag. ### Key Features: * **Asynchronous Background Processing:** Leverages Action Scheduler (or WP-Cron with a safety offset) to process images sequentially without locking up the server or triggering execution timeouts. * **Smart Hybrid Engine:** Tries ImageMagick first for premium encoding and seamlessly falls back to GD when necessary, dynamically boosting memory limits to prevent crashes on large files. * **Zero Disk I/O Abuse:** Caches the status of all available file variants directly inside the attachment metadata in the database. No endless file system lookups on every single page load. * **Modern HTML5 Rewriting:** Utilizes the native `WP_HTML_Tag_Processor` (introduced in WP 6.2) to safely rewrite `` tags into multi-source `` structures. * **Automatic Cleanup:** When an image is deleted from the media library, all associated AVIF and WebP variants are permanently removed, featuring path traversal protection. ### Developer Guide (Custom Themes & ACF) This plugin offers total flexibility for custom theme development. You can display optimized images using three different approaches: #### 1. Native Automatic Integration If your theme already uses standard WordPress functions, you do not need to change a single line of code. The plugin automatically filters the output and injects the AVIF/WebP sources: ``` ``` #### 2. Using the Helper Function wp_avif_img() If you need granular control—such as stripping away default WordPress layout classes or easily overriding loading behavior—use the plugin’s global helper function: ``` ``` * **$attachment_id** (int): The attachment ID of the image (Required). * **$size** (string|array): The requested image size (‘thumbnail’, ‘medium’, ‘large’,‘ full’). Default: ‘full’. * **$attr** (string|array): Simplifies attributes. You can pass ‘lazy’ or ‘eager’ directly as a string, or supply a custom HTML attribute array. Practical Examples: ``` // Standard output in 'large' size with native lazy loading echo wp_avif_img( $image_id, 'large', 'lazy' ); // Advanced output with custom CSS classes and specific Alt text echo wp_avif_img( $image_id, 'full', array( 'class' => 'hero-banner-image', 'alt' => 'Optimized hero cover background' ) ); ``` #### 3. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) Integration When creating an Image field in ACF, set the **Return Format** to **Image ID**. In your template file, simply write: ``` ``` ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory. 2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress. ## FAQ ### Is the plugin retroactive? Does it optimize existing media library images? Yes. To avoid crashing your server’s CPU upon activation, the plugin does not run a massive bulk-generation script. Instead, it optimizes older images dynamically“ on-the-fly” the first time a frontend user visits a page requesting them. Once generated, the variant metadata is cached in the DB, eliminating future file system checks. ### How do I verify if images are being served in AVIF or WebP? Visit your website’s frontend, right-click on an image, and select “Inspect” from your browser developer tools. If you see your original tag wrapped inside a modern block containing and tags, the plugin is working perfectly. ### What happens if my hosting server doesn’t support AVIF? No crashes or errors will occur. The plugin performs environment capability checks. If your server environment only supports WebP, it will generate WebP variants exclusively. If the server libraries support neither next-gen format, it will perform a clean fallback to the original JPEG/PNG files. ### Does it automatically process images added via the Gutenberg Block Editor? Currently, this plugin focuses entirely on custom theme architecture, theme templates, and custom meta fields (like ACF). It does not scan or overwrite the textual content inside “the_content” block data, ensuring absolute structural speed and lightweight database performance. ### Will I lose my converted image files if I deactivate the plugin? No. Deactivating the plugin simply removes the frontend filters, returning your site to rendering the original JPEG/PNG files. All generated .webp and .avif files remain completely secure within your “/uploads/” directory to avoid accidental data loss, ready to be utilized again whenever you re-activate the plugin. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “FirePunch | Instant AVIF & WebP images for Advanced Custom Fields developers” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Matteo Bruschetti ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matteobruschetti/) [Translate “FirePunch | Instant AVIF & WebP images for Advanced Custom Fields developers” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/firepunch-images-for-acf) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/firepunch-images-for-acf/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/firepunch-images-for-acf/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/firepunch-images-for-acf/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/firepunch-images-for-acf/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 2.1 * Added admin page to show current settings, plugin status and some debug information to diagnose issues. #### 1.2 * Replaced the old regex parser with the native WP_HTML_Tag_Processor API for robust and safe HTML rewriting. * Resolved a potential PHP Warning in the file cleanup method caused by manually deleted upload subdirectories. * Optimized readme markup syntax for 100% compliance with the WordPress.org validator. #### 1.1 * Introduced the hybrid conversion workflow (Imagick + GD) featuring dynamic memory allocation adjustments for heavy PNG files. #### 1.0 * Initial plugin release. ## Meta * Version **2.0** * Last updated **1 day ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.2 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0** * PHP version ** 8.1 or higher ** * Tags * [acf](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/acf/)[AVIF](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/avif/) [images](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/images/)[performance](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/performance/) [webp](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/webp/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/firepunch-images-for-acf/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/firepunch-images-for-acf/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/firepunch-images-for-acf/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Matteo Bruschetti ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matteobruschetti/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/firepunch-images-for-acf/)