Title: PlugNest Media Folders Author: PlugNest Published: October 9, 2026 Last modified: October 9, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/plugnest-media-folders/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3736720) ![](https://ps.w.org/plugnest-media-folders/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3736720) # PlugNest Media Folders By [PlugNest](https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugnest/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/plugnest-media-folders.2.5.4.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugnest-media-folders/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugnest-media-folders/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugnest-media-folders/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugnest-media-folders/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugnest-media-folders/) ## Description PlugNest Media Folders adds real, nested folders to the WordPress media library — plus tags, batch editing, usage scanning and a one-page manager that feels like a file manager. It only writes classification data: your files are never moved, renamed or re-URLed, and deactivating the plugin leaves your site exactly as it was. **Highlights** * **Folders that behave like folders** — nest them, drag media in, pin favorites, give them colors. Browse the whole library or just one folder (with its subfolders). * **Everywhere you pick media** — the same folder filters work in the media modal used by Gutenberg, the Classic editor, Elementor and WooCommerce, and uploads can land straight into the folder you are viewing. * **Tags & batch tools** — add/remove tags, move, edit fields or permanently delete across hundreds of files, with a full activity log and one-click undo. * **Usage scanning** — see at a glance which media are in use by your posts and which are unreferenced, then clean up safely. * **Auto-assign rules** — file new uploads into folders automatically by filename, extension, type or year, with a dry-run preview. * **Safe by design** — the plugin never calls wp_upload_dir rewrites, never moves or renames files, and never changes a single URL. * **Multilingual** — English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese included. **PlugNest Media Folders Pro** (optional, paid) adds the unused-media cleanup wizard, a missing-alt batch workflow, folder import/export plus one-click import from other folder plugins (FileBird, Real Media Library, HappyFiles, Folders by Premio, Wicked Folders, Enhanced Media Library), folder access roles, and delete-folder-with-files. The free version is fully usable on its own. ## Screenshots [[ [[ [[ [[ ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`, or install through Plugins Add New. 2. Activate the plugin. 3. Open **PlugNest Media Folders** in the admin menu and start organizing — nothing else to configure. ## FAQ ### Will folders change my file URLs? No, never. Folders are a lightweight taxonomy on top of the existing library. Files stay exactly where WordPress put them and every URL keeps working. ### What happens if I deactivate or uninstall the plugin? Deactivating simply hides the folders; your media is untouched. Uninstalling removes the plugin’s own data (folders, tags, its log table) only — never your files. ### Can one file be in several folders? Yes. Unlike file-system tools, PlugNest Media Folders lets a file live in multiple folders at once. ### Does it work with Gutenberg, Elementor and WooCommerce? Yes. PlugNest Media Folders extends the standard WordPress media modal, which all of them use — the same folder filters and upload-to-folder are available everywhere. ### Do you support my language? English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese ship with the plugin. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “PlugNest Media Folders” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ PlugNest ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugnest/) * [ plugnest ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ht3dyo/) [Translate “PlugNest Media Folders” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/plugnest-media-folders) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/plugnest-media-folders/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/plugnest-media-folders/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/plugnest-media-folders/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/plugnest-media-folders/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 2.5.4 * Performance: the admin dashboard no longer recomputes its full statistics on every read within a request, and folder media counts are computed once per request instead of once per call. Numbers stay live — the cache lives only for the current request. * Performance: the activity log for auto-assign jobs now appends each batch instead of rewriting the whole snapshot, so a run over a large library is linear rather than quadratic. The 2000-item restore limit is now also enforced on this path. * Performance: building the site-reference index reads post meta and post content in chunks instead of loading the entire site into memory at once; usage scanning now extends the time limit while it builds. * Internal: renamed the internal size-sorting meta alias from the legacy `mn_size` to `pnmf_size`. #### 2.5.3 * Fixed: the “media attached to this post” panel in the block editor listed empty rows — an attachment ID was passed where a post object was expected. * Fixed: the file-size index builder could skip batches and report “finished” while entries were still missing, so size sorting could stay incomplete. * Fixed: permanently deleting several media at once wrote one activity-log entry per file instead of one entry per operation. * Fixed (permissions): folder access roles were only enforced in the folder tree and the media list query. Folder create/rename/delete/move/color/pin, single- item save, bulk assign, permanent delete, activity-log undo, the native media library and the media modal now enforce them as well — a role-restricted user can no longer bypass them by calling the endpoints directly. * Fixed: two admin messages added in 2.5.2 were stored with broken placeholders and never translated; their Chinese translations (and the folder-permission message) are now correct. * Fixed: clicking “Dry run” in Auto-assign silently saved the rules. Previewing no longer writes anything. * Fixed: the folder/tag counters could show “2” if the term query failed. #### 2.5.2 * Fixed a serious bug where the legacy migration routine could delete your auto- assign rules and other settings. If you had configured auto-assign rules, please open the Auto-assign tab and re-save them. * Fixed: the “missing alt” filter now also applies to “select all matching”, so bulk actions act on the same set you see on screen. * Fixed: folder permission filtering could return a stale result if the current user changed during the same request. * Fixed: the activity log now shows readable labels for permanent-delete entries instead of raw slugs. * Performance: the auto-assign job no longer re-queries the entire candidate list on every batch (was quadratic on large libraries). * Performance: the media list reads file sizes from the existing index instead of touching the filesystem for every item on each page load. * Fixed: several admin messages were not translatable; Chinese translations added. * Internal: shared asset-versioning helper; removed leftover legacy prefixes. #### 2.5.1 * Security hardening: bulk-edit field templates (title, caption, alt text) are now sanitized before being saved, matching the single-item edit path. * Fixed: the Pro upgrade dialog now opens when clicking a locked Pro button. The“ pro” flag was passed to JavaScript as a string, so on sites without the Pro add- on the upsell dialog never appeared. * Internal identifiers (function, class, option and taxonomy names) renamed to a unique prefix; existing sites are migrated automatically — folders, tags, colors, roles and logs are preserved with no action needed. #### 2.5.0 * Renamed to PlugNest Media Folders. * Includes all 2.4.2 fixes and improvements (drag-and-drop reliability, folder colors, auto-assign “Videos only”, generic default rules, translation fixes). #### 2.4.2 * New: auto-assign scope “Videos only”. * Changed: auto-assign default rules are now generic (Videos / Audio / Pictures/ Documents by media type) — better starting point for any site. * New (Pro): missing-alt batch workflow gains one-click “Auto-fill from filename” and “Restore original”. * Fixed: the folder color picker popup could not be closed with its ✕ button. * Fixed: a template regression that stretched a gap between the upload bar and the three-column layout. * Fixed: five confirmation dialogs with line breaks were never translated; translations now load correctly. * Fixed: dragging a media card now always drags — a short “long-press to box-select” timer could hijack the gesture, the full-page “drop to upload” overlay lit up for internal drags, and dragging a card by its thumbnail image (which browsers expose as a virtual file) was treated as an upload instead of a move. Box selection is now started only from empty grid space, the upload overlay appears only for real external files, and internal drags — by card or by thumbnail — always move. #### 2.4.1 * Compliance refactor: all Pro-only code moved into the separate PlugNest Media Folders Pro add-on. The free plugin now contains zero gated features — every line of code in it runs fully for everyone. #### 2.4.0 * PlugNest Media Folders: same great plugin, new name (the MediaNest name is retired). * Pro update gate: licensed sites receive Pro updates automatically; unlicensed copies no longer receive Pro updates. #### 2.3.1 * Fixed: folder star could not be un-pinned from the pinned section. * Fixed: folder color rejected valid values; the color picker now offers a full palette plus custom color, with a close button. * Free version now shows Pro buttons in a locked state with an upgrade guide. * Folder access roles: the dialog now pre-fills current roles, and restricted folders show a lock badge. #### 2.3.0 * New: folder tiles in the center panel (breadcrumbs, drop targets, desktop drag- in). * New: file-size index and file-size sorting. * New: Multilingual — English base with Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese translations. * New: PlugNest Media Folders Pro — cleanup wizard, missing-alt workflow, folder import/export, access roles. * Fixed: button icon alignment in the header actions. #### 2.1.2 * Fixed: usage scanning could miss media referenced with escaped/URL-encoded paths( Elementor data). * Strengthened: bulk cleanup now always re-scans before deleting. ## Meta * Version **2.5.4** * Last updated **12 hours ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.0 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.1.3** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [folders](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/folders/)[media folders](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/media-folders/) [media library](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/media-library/)[media management](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/media-management/) [media tags](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/media-tags/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugnest-media-folders/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugnest-media-folders/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugnest-media-folders/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ PlugNest ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugnest/) * [ plugnest ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ht3dyo/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugnest-media-folders/)