CoffeeWP Media Cleanup – Scan and Remove Unused Media and Orphan Thumbnails
Step-by-step wizard to clean unused media, orphan thumbnails, and broken attachments. Safe by default, with one-click restore.
Solid choice
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 5 days ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed — last update 5 days ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where CoffeeWP Media Cleanup stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| attachments | >100 |
| cleanup | >100 |
| media | >100 |
| optimization | >100 |
| thumbnails | >100 |
About CoffeeWP Media Cleanup
From the official readme · v1.3.5Description
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup helps you reclaim disk space and tidy up your WordPress media library.
A guided three-step wizard walks you through the work:
- Pre-scan settings: review detected page-builder compatibility, pick which thumbnail sizes WordPress should generate, and choose a batch size that fits your server.
- Scan: walk your uploads tree and detect which files are unused, broken, or missing.
- Results: see what is unused, what is broken, what is missing, which thumbnails are stale, and run targeted clean actions on selected rows or across the whole result set.
Clean actions:
- Delete unused media (file moves to trash; attachment record soft-deleted).
- Delete missing files (clears DB rows whose backing file is gone).
- Delete broken-link records (clears attachment posts whose files never existed).
- Delete orphan thumbnails (removes derivative files with no attachment parent).
- Regenerate missing thumbnails (re-runs WordPress’s image-size pipeline).
- Add orphan files to the Media Library (creates attachment records for unattached files).
Trash + restore:
A dedicated Trash view lists every file the plugin has moved out. Restore any item with one click, permanently delete individual rows, or empty the trash. Optional auto-delete after N days. Trashed files live under wp-content/uploads/cwpm/trash/ and are protected from being overwritten by new uploads (filename collisions are detected and avoided).
Activity log:
Every clean action writes to a daily log file at wp-content/uploads/cwpm/logs/. The Logs view shows each file with size and download link. Optional auto-delete after 30 days.
Designed to be safe:
- Soft-delete by default. No file is ever permanently removed except via the explicit “Empty trash” or “Permanent delete” controls.
- Per-row checkboxes and a typed-confirmation disclaimer modal gate the destructive actions.
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup PRO
A paid version extends the scanner to places the free version does not reach:
- Scan any custom post type, beyond posts, pages, and WooCommerce products.
- Find duplicate files by content hash.
- Deeper WooCommerce scanning: product galleries, variation images, and
downloadable files. - Elementor deep parsing for images stored in builder data.
Details and pricing: https://coffeewp.dev/media-cleanup/
External Services
This plugin does not connect to any external services. No data leaves your WordPress install.
Third-Party Libraries
The plugin bundles these GPL-compatible libraries (LICENSE files shipped alongside each):
- Color Punch (MIT): internal CSS / JS UI framework. Shipped at
assets/vendor/color-punch/. - Font Awesome Free (CC BY 4.0 icons + SIL OFL 1.1 fonts + MIT code): icon font. Shipped at
assets/vendor/font-awesome/. Upstream: https://fontawesome.com/ - Rubik, Outfit, Fira Code fonts (SIL OFL 1.1): bundled with Color Punch under
assets/vendor/color-punch/fonts/. - Catppuccin color palette (MIT): applied via Color Punch theme variants. Upstream: https://github.com/catppuccin/catppuccin
Data + Storage
Custom database tables (created on activation, dropped only on uninstall when cwpm_delete_data_on_uninstall is enabled):
wp_cwpm_scan_results: per-file scan output (rel_path, attachment_id, usage flags, thumbnail status).wp_cwpm_trash: trashed-file ledger (rel_path, original_path, file_name, file_size, trashed_at).wp_cwpm_file_hashes: md5 hashes computed during scan; reserved for future identity-matching features.
On-disk storage (under wp-content/uploads/cwpm/):
wp-content/uploads/cwpm/trash/: files moved by the trash system. Recoverable until you Permanent-Delete or Empty-Trash.wp-content/uploads/cwpm/logs/: daily activity logs (one file per day, e.g.cwpm-2026-05-13.log).
Both folders contain .htaccess + index.php stubs to prevent direct web access.
Options + transients: all keys start with cwpm_. Stored in wp_options. Per-user preferences (theme, table density) stored in wp_usermeta with the same prefix.
Custom post type: cwpm-trash: used as a soft-delete state for attachment posts. The attachment record stays in wp_posts but is hidden from the Media Library until restored.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to
/wp-content/plugins/coffeewp-media-cleanup/, or install from the WordPress Plugins screen. - Activate CoffeeWP Media Cleanup from the Plugins screen.
- Open Media Cleanup in the WordPress admin sidebar.
- Step through Pre-scan settings → Scan → Results. The first scan may take several minutes on large libraries; the wizard reports progress and resumes if your browser times out.
Frequently asked questions
Does this plugin modify original media files?
No. Originals are never altered. Files marked unused are moved to wp-content/uploads/cwpm/trash/ and can be restored. Cleanup actions only remove derivative thumbnails or trash unused files.
What happens when I delete an “unused” file?
The file moves to wp-content/uploads/cwpm/trash/// and the attachment’s post_type changes to cwpm-trash (it disappears from the Media Library but still exists in the database). Restore from the Trash view to undo. Permanent delete only happens via “Empty trash”, “Permanent delete” on a single row, or the auto-delete-after-N-days setting if you enable it.
How is “unused” detected?
The scanner inspects post content (including Gutenberg blocks, the classic editor, post excerpts), post meta (serialized + JSON arrays), Advanced Custom Fields image, file, gallery, and WYSIWYG fields (including values nested in repeater, flexible content, group, and clone fields), widget content, theme support (custom logo, site icon, background image), and wp-image-N CSS classes. WPML / Polylang translations resolve back to the original attachment. Posts and pages are scanned by default, plus WooCommerce products when WooCommerce is active; images used only on other post types are not…
Will it slow down my site?
The scanner runs only when you trigger it from the admin wizard. No work happens on the public site or in cron. Each scan request is batched (default 50 files per request) to stay within typical PHP execution limits; the batch size is configurable.
Will deleting the plugin remove all my data?
By default, no. Uninstalling the plugin from the Plugins screen preserves the custom tables, options, and the wp-content/uploads/cwpm/ folder so an accidental delete is recoverable. A settings toggle for full teardown on uninstall is planned; until then the cwpm_delete_data_on_uninstall option can be set to true programmatically.
Changelog
1.3.5
- Fixed a fatal error that could take down the admin when another CoffeeWP plugin was active alongside this one.
- The promo band and its assets now load only on the plugin’s own screen.
1.3.4
- WooCommerce products are now scanned for media usage when WooCommerce is active.
- The compatibility notice now explains what each plugin’s scan covers.
1.3.3
- Update plugin assets.
1.3.2
- First public release.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 10, 2026
Is CoffeeWP Media Cleanup free?
Yes. CoffeeWP Media Cleanup is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is CoffeeWP Media Cleanup safe to use in 2026?
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 5 days ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
How many websites use CoffeeWP Media Cleanup?
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 442 times since it launched in June 2026. It was downloaded 191 times in the last 30 days.
Does CoffeeWP Media Cleanup work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested CoffeeWP Media Cleanup up to WordPress 7.1.3, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.8 or newer.
What PHP version does CoffeeWP Media Cleanup need?
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was CoffeeWP Media Cleanup last updated?
The latest version, 1.3.5, was released on October 4, 2026 (5 days ago).
Who makes CoffeeWP Media Cleanup?
CoffeeWP Media Cleanup is developed and maintained by Eli Hanna.
What are the best alternatives to CoffeeWP Media Cleanup?
The most popular alternatives to CoffeeWP Media Cleanup are Export media with selected… (40K+ installs), File Upload Types by WPForms (40K+ installs) and Lightbox with PhotoSwipe (20K+ installs).
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