Thumbnail Manager helps you take back disk space from oversized Media Libraries.
What it does
– Prune Files: Select the image sizes you want to KEEP. The plugin scans your /uploads/ folder and targets all non-selected registered sizes for removal. It shows a dry-run summary first, then lets you delete in batches with a live progress bar.
– Orphan discovery: Finds on-disk files that match -WxH patterns (including .jpg.webp, .bak.jpg, retina @2x, and duplicate -1 suffixes) even if those sizes are no longer registered. Aggressively deletes any -WxH files that don』t exactly match the sizes you chose to keep (use with care).
– Subfolder scope: Limit scans to a specific year/month inside uploads/ for faster, safer runs on large libraries.
– Thumbnail Sizes: Choose which sizes should be generated for future uploads. Disabled sizes won』t be created at upload time (and are hidden from size pickers).
What it doesn』t do
– It does not regenerate thumbnails. Use a regeneration plugin if you need to rebuild sizes after changing settings.
– It never deletes original full-size images.
Who is it for?
Site owners, editors, and developers who』ve accumulated many custom image sizes (themes, page builders, sliders) and want to reduce storage bloat safely.
Features
- Two-tab UI: Prune Files & Thumbnail Sizes
- Dry-run mode with sample matches before any deletion
- AJAX progress bar and batch deletes to avoid timeouts
- Orphan
-WxHdiscovery report and delete found dimensions - Limit to subfolder (All, year, or year/month)
- Disable sizes for future uploads (does not unregister core sizes; simply prevents generation)
- Hides disabled sizes from Media size dropdowns (optional filter)
- Works per-site on single and multisite (run on each site as needed)
Usage
Prune Files
- In the table, check the sizes you want to KEEP (e.g.,
thumbnail,medium,large, and optionallymedium_large). - (Optional) Choose a subfolder (e.g.,
2024/11) for a quicker, safer trial run. - Make Orphan discovery ON to see a report or do a deletion of found dimensions.
- Click Run with Dry-run selected to preview matches.
- Review results switch to Delete when you』re confident.
Tip: Enable Orphan discovery only when you want to remove any extra -WxH sizes not exactly matching your KEEP list (great for cleaning legacy sizes like -1200x860 or .bak.jpg files).
Thumbnail Sizes
- Uncheck any sizes you no longer want generated for future uploads.
- Click Save changes.
(This prevents those sizes from being created going forward; existing files are unaffected until you prune them in Prune Files Tab.)
Technical Notes
- Prevent generation via:
intermediate_image_sizes_advanced(removes disabled sizes at upload time). - Optionally hide in UI via:
image_size_names_chooseand reduce the base list viaintermediate_image_sizes. - Auto-scaled big image can be disabled with
big_image_size_thresholdif desired (not enabled by default). - Requires capability
manage_options.
Privacy
This plugin does not collect personal data or send data to external services. It only reads and modifies files within your /uploads/ directory based on your actions.





