Per Søderlind

<p>Virtual Media Folders brings virtual folder organization to your WordPress Media Library. Organize your media files into hierarchical folders without moving files on disk—folders are virtual, so your URLs never change.</p>
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Virtual Folders</strong> – Create hierarchical folder structures to organize media</li>
<li><strong>Drag & Drop</strong> – Easily move media between folders with drag and drop</li>
<li><strong>Sticky Sidebar</strong> – Folder navigation stays visible while scrolling through media</li>
<li><strong>Gutenberg Integration</strong> – Filter media by folder directly in the block editor</li>
<li><strong>Bulk Actions</strong> – Move multiple media items at once</li>
<li><strong>Keyboard Accessible</strong> – Full keyboard navigation support</li>
<li><strong>Internationalized</strong> – Ready for translation (Norwegian Bokmål included)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Free add-ons</h4>
<p><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>Add-On Manager</strong></a> lets you easily install and manage add-ons that extend Virtual Media Folders with powerful new features:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-ai-ability" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>AI Ability</strong></a> – Registers MCP tools for AI agents via the WordPress Abilities API.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-ai-organizer" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>AI Organizer</strong></a> – Uses vision-capable AI models to analyze actual image content and automatically organize your media library into virtual folders. This is add-on functionality requiring an API key from a supported AI service provider, or a local LLM.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-editorial-workflow" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>Editorial Workflow</strong></a> – Role-based folder access, move restrictions, and Inbox workflow.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-folder-exporter" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>Folder Exporter</strong></a> – Export folders (or subtrees) as ZIP archives with optional CSV manifests.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-media-cleanup" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>Media Cleanup</strong></a> – Tools to identify and clean up unused or duplicate media files.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-migrate" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>Migrate</strong></a> – Migrate folder structures from other media folder plugins to Virtual Media Folders.</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-rules-engine" rel="nofollow ugc"><strong>Rules Engine</strong></a> – Rule-based automatic folder assignment for media uploads, based on metadata, file type, EXIF or IPTC data. </li>
</ul>
<p><span class="embed-youtube" style="text-align:center; display: block;"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bA4lf7ynz24?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></span></p>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<p>Virtual Media Folders uses a custom taxonomy to assign media to folders. This means:</p>
<ul>
<li>Your media files stay exactly where they are on the server</li>
<li>URLs never change when you reorganize</li>
<li>Folders can be nested to create hierarchies</li>
</ul>
<h4>Usage</h4>
<p><strong>Organizing Media</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Go to <strong>Media > Library</strong></li>
<li>Click the folder icon to show the sidebar</li>
<li>Use <strong>+</strong> to create folders</li>
<li>Drag media onto folders to organize / Bulk select media and use the “Move to Folder” action</li>
<li>Click a folder to filter the view</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Settings</strong></p>
<p>Go to <strong>Media > Folder Settings</strong> to configure:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Show “All Media”</strong> – Display “All Media” option in sidebar</li>
<li><strong>Show “Uncategorized”</strong> – Display folder for unassigned media</li>
<li><strong>Jump to folder after move</strong> – Navigate to target folder after moving</li>
<li><strong>Default folder for uploads</strong> – Auto-assign new uploads to a folder</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Block Editor</strong></p>
<p>When inserting media from a block (Image, Gallery, etc.):</p>
<ol>
<li>Open the Media Library modal</li>
<li>Use the folder sidebar to filter</li>
<li>Select your media as usual</li>
</ol>
<h4>Documentation</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/virtual-media-folders/blob/main/docs/a11y.md" rel="nofollow ugc">Accessibility</a> – Keyboard navigation and screen reader support</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/virtual-media-folders/blob/main/docs/development.md" rel="nofollow ugc">Development</a> – Setup, API reference, hooks, and contributing</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-ai-ability/blob/main/docs/mcp.md" rel="nofollow ugc">MCP Integration</a> – MCP client configuration, upload flow, and AI agent usage using the <a href="https://github.com/soderlind/vmfa-ai-ability" rel="nofollow ugc">AI Ability</a> add-on</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/soderlind/virtual-media-folders/blob/main/docs/addon-development.md" rel="nofollow ugc">Add-on Development</a> – Guide to building add-on plugins</li>
</ul>
<h3>Privacy Policy</h3>
<p>Virtual Media Folders does not:</p>
<ul>
<li>Track users</li>
<li>Send data to external servers</li>
<li>Use cookies</li>
<li>Collect any personal information</li>
</ul>
<p>All data is stored locally in your WordPress database.</p>


Virtual Media Folders

Virtual folder organization and intelligent management for the WordPress Media Library, without altering file locations on disk.

JTruax

<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Folder Organization</strong>: Create, edit, and delete media folders/categories</li>
<li><strong>AJAX Filtering</strong>: Filters media items using AJAX</li>
<li><strong>Bulk Operations</strong>: Assign multiple media items to folders using WordPress bulk selection (Grid + List view)</li>
<li><strong>Made for Gutenberg</strong>: Full integration with the Gutenberg editor (when inserting media into posts/pages)</li>
<li><strong>Hierarchical Structure</strong>: Support for nested folders (parent/child relationships)</li>
<li><strong>Lightweight</strong>: Plugin was developed with performance in mind</li>
<li><strong>Non-intrusive UI</strong>: Clean and simple user interface and controls that are mobile-friendly</li>
<li><strong>100% free</strong>: This plugin is free to use, no paywalls or annoying notices</li>
</ul>
<h4>Creating Folders</h4>
<ol>
<li>Go to Media > Library in your WordPress admin</li>
<li>Click the “Add Folder” button in the left sidebar</li>
<li>Enter a folder name and optional description</li>
<li>Optionally select a parent folder for hierarchical organization</li>
<li>Click “Save” to create the folder</li>
</ol>
<h4>Organizing Media</h4>
<p><strong>Individual Assignment:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Click on any media item to edit it</li>
<li>Select a folder from the “Folder” dropdown</li>
<li>Save the changes</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bulk Assignment (Works in both List and Grid views):</strong></p>
<p><em>List View:</em></p>
<ol>
<li>Select multiple media items using checkboxes</li>
<li>Choose a folder from the dropdown in the sidebar’s “Bulk Actions” section</li>
<li>Click “Assign Selected” to move all selected items to the chosen folder</li>
</ol>
<p><em>Grid View:</em></p>
<ol>
<li>Click on media items to select them (they’ll show a blue border when selected)</li>
<li>Choose a folder from the dropdown in the sidebar’s “Bulk Actions” section</li>
<li>Click “Assign Selected” to move all selected items to the chosen folder</li>
</ol>
<h4>Managing Folders</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Edit</strong>: Click the pencil icon (✏️) next to any folder name</li>
<li><strong>Delete</strong>: Click the trash icon (🗑️) next to any folder name</li>
<li><strong>Smart Filter</strong>: Click on any folder name to filter the media library by that folder</li>
<li><strong>All Files</strong>: Click on “All Files” to show all media regardless of folder assignment</li>
</ul>
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 5.0 or higher</li>
<li>PHP 7.4 or higher</li>
<li>MySQL 5.6 or higher</li>
</ul>
<h4>Security</h4>
<p>The plugin follows WordPress security best practices:</p>
<ul>
<li>Nonce verification for all AJAX requests</li>
<li>Data sanitization and validation</li>
<li>Capability checks for user permissions</li>
<li>SQL injection prevention using $wpdb->prepare()</li>
</ul>


JT Media Folders

A lightweight solution to add categorized folders to your WordPress Media Library. Works with bulk selection. Optimized for the Gutenberg editor.

Virtual Media Folders vs JT Media Folders