Carl Alberto

<p><strong>Uploads Relay</strong> makes local WordPress development easier and lightweight by automatically proxying missing upload files from a remote server. No need to download gigabytes of media just to work on a site locally.</p>
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Proxy Missing Files</strong> — Automatically serve missing upload files from a remote server.</li>
<li><strong>Always Remote Mode</strong> — Rewrite all upload URLs to point to the remote server for the fastest setup.</li>
<li><strong>Optional Local Caching</strong> — Cache proxied files locally so subsequent requests are served from disk.</li>
<li><strong>Security First</strong> — Path traversal protection, host allowlisting, and file extension validation.</li>
<li><strong>Environment Guard</strong> — Only active when WordPress environment type is set to “local”.</li>
<li><strong>Zero Configuration on Remote</strong> — No changes needed on the remote/production server.</li>
</ul>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li>A visitor or developer requests an upload file (e.g., an image in a post).</li>
<li>If the file does not exist locally, WordPress returns a 404.</li>
<li>The plugin intercepts the 404, fetches the file from the configured remote server, and serves it.</li>
<li>Optionally, the file is cached locally for faster subsequent loads.</li>
</ol>
<h4>Use Cases</h4>
<ul>
<li>Local development of large WordPress sites without syncing media.</li>
<li>Staging environments with partial media libraries.</li>
<li>Quick site clones for debugging or testing.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 6.0 or higher</li>
<li>PHP 7.4 or higher</li>
<li><code>WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE</code> must be set to <code>local</code> (the plugin will not function in production environments)</li>
</ul>
<h4>External Service</h4>
<p>This plugin sends HTTP requests to a <strong>remote server that you configure yourself</strong> in order to fetch upload files missing from your local environment. <strong>No requests are made until you explicitly enter a remote URL and enable the proxy in Settings <span aria-hidden="true" class="wp-exclude-emoji">→</span> Uploads Relay.</strong> By enabling the plugin and providing a remote URL, you consent to these requests being made.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>What is sent:</strong> HTTP GET requests for specific media file paths (e.g., <code>/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/photo.jpg</code>).</li>
<li><strong>When it is sent:</strong> Only when a requested upload file does not exist locally, the proxy is enabled, and the environment type is <code>local</code>.</li>
<li><strong>Where it is sent:</strong> Only to the remote server URL you have configured. This is typically your own production or staging server.</li>
<li><strong>No data is collected, stored, or transmitted</strong> to any third-party service, analytics provider, or external server other than the one you configure.</li>
<li><strong>No telemetry, tracking, or usage data</strong> is collected by this plugin.</li>
</ul>
<p>Since the remote server is your own, its terms of service and privacy policy are governed by your own hosting provider.</p>


Uploads Relay for Local Development by Carl Alberto

Proxy missing upload files from a remote server during local development. No need to download the entire uploads folder.

bobbywalters

<p>Provides an efficient streaming WordPress HTTP API transport with support for tunneled proxy connections.</p>
<h4>Drop-in Replacement</h4>
<p>Leverage all the benefits of Beam without having to modify any existing <code>wp_remote_*</code> WordPress HTTP API calls.</p>
<p>Honors all standard WordPress HTTP API request arguments, filters, and actions. For more details around the WordPress HTTP API please see https://codex.wordpress.org/HTTP_API the codex site.</p>
<h4>Must Use Plugin Compatible</h4>
<p>May be installed as a “Must Use” plugin so the functionality is always in use. A handy option for site maintainers.</p>
<h4>Efficiency</h4>
<p>Beam was designed with efficiency and accuracy of content sent to and read from connections in mind.</p>
<ul>
<li>String concatenation is kept to a minimal.</li>
<li>PHP streams buffered read and writes minimize network traffic.</li>
<li>HTTP response is read without regular expression parsing.</li>
<li>Folded and multiple value HTTP response headers are supported.</li>
<li>Tolerant handling of LF only end of line markers while still supporting specification standard CRLF.</li>
</ul>
<p>Built-in PHP stream filters remove the need for user space implementations resulting in better memory management and performance.</p>
<ul>
<li><code>'dechunk'</code> Decodes HTTP 1.1 <code>Transfer-Encoding: chunked</code> responses (requires PHP 5.3+).</li>
<li><code>'zlib.inflate'</code> Inflates <code>Content-Encoding: gzip</code> responses (requires zlib extension).</li>
</ul>
<p>Beam uses these filters by default to cut down on network traffic and alter the response on the fly without needing to read in the entire response before hand. It is highly likely that these capabilities are already available; it makes sense to use them.</p>
<h4>Security</h4>
<p>Uses TLS, by default, to establish HTTPS connections for improved security versus SSL.</p>
<p>Beam provides filter <code>'stream_crypto_method'</code> to change the crypto method in use based on the requested URL.</p>
<h4>Proxy Support</h4>
<p>Tunneled proxy connections may be established to connect to HTTPS sites over an HTTP proxy and avoid “503 Service Unavailable” HTTP errors. Now it’s possible to update, install, and search WordPress and plugins which all use HTTPS URLs while a proxy is in use without having to install the PHP cURL extension.</p>
<p>Beam provides filter <code>'proxy_tunnel'</code> to change which requests require a tunneled proxy connection.</p>


Beam

An efficient streaming HTTP API transport.

Uploads Relay for Local Development by Carl Alberto vs Beam