PixelVault — Media Library Folders
📁 PixelVault adds a drag-and-drop folder panel to your WordPress Media Library so you can sort images, videos, PDFs, and audio into unlimited nested folders.
Folders are virtual — physical files never move, no URLs change, and standard WordPress export/import works without any special steps.
✨ Core Features
- 📂 Unlimited nested folders and subfolders — no depth limit, no folder count limit
- 🔗 Assign files to multiple folders — one file can appear in as many folders as you like
- 🎨 Folder colour coding — colour-label folders for instant visual orientation
- 🖱️ Drag-and-drop sidebar — reorder folders, move files, and create subfolders by dragging
- ⚡ Auto-assign uploads — new files go straight into whichever folder is selected
- 🔍 Search and sort — find folders instantly; sort manually, by name, or by file count
- ⌨️ Keyboard shortcut — press “n” to create a new folder
- 🖲️ Right-click context menu — Rename, Delete, Lock, Create subfolders, Copy gallery shortcode, Import ZIP to folder, Download all files
- 🌐 RTL language support — full right-to-left layout
🛠️ Organisation and Productivity Tools
📦 ZIP File Import Right-click any folder and choose “Import ZIP to folder”. Upload a .zip archive and PixelVault extracts and assigns every image, video, audio file, and PDF directly into that folder.
🗺️ Media Usage Map Right-click any image and choose “Where is this used?” to see every post, page, or custom post type that references the file — useful before replacing or deleting files.
⬇️ Bulk Download as ZIP Right-click any folder to download all its files as a ZIP archive.
🔒 Folder Locking Lock any folder to prevent accidental renaming, deletion, moving, or file reassignment. Locked folders display a padlock badge.
📊 Storage Analytics Full storage overview with total size, average file size, file-type breakdown chart, top-10 largest files, and per-folder size distribution. Available under Settings → Analytics and as a WordPress Dashboard widget.
✏️ Bulk Alt Text Editor Batch-edit alt text on all images that are missing it — useful for accessibility and image SEO. Edit multiple files at once without opening each one individually.
🔄 Media Replace Swap any file in place, keeping the same URL and attachment ID. All existing references on posts and pages continue to work automatically.
🎯 Smart Filters Dynamic built-in views that update automatically: Missing Alt Text, Unused Files, Recent Uploads, and Large Files.
🗂️ Auto-Categorise Existing Media Bulk-organise your existing media library in one click via the import icon at the bottom of the folder panel. Choose a rule:
- 📅 By Year — creates a folder per year (e.g. 2023, 2024).
- 🗓️ By Month — creates a folder per month (e.g. January 2024, February 2024).
- 🏷️ By File Type — creates Images, Videos, Audio, PDFs, Documents, and Spreadsheets folders.
Choose Unassigned only to leave already-organised files untouched, or All files to reassign everything. PixelVault previews the result before making any changes.
🚚 Import from Other Plugins One-click migration from FileBird, Real Media Library, WP Media Folder, and Enhanced Media Library. Folder hierarchy and all file assignments are copied automatically. Go to Settings → Tools → Import from Another Plugin. The original plugin’s data is never modified.
💾 Export and Import Back up your entire folder structure as a JSON file and restore it on any WordPress site — no SQL required.
🔐 Role Permissions Granular folder access per WordPress user role: control who can create, edit, and delete folders independently.
🧩 Gutenberg, Elementor, and Divi
- 🖼️ PixelVault Gallery block — insert a folder’s contents as a responsive gallery with lightbox directly in the block editor
- 📝 [pixelvault_gallery] shortcode — classic editor, widgets, and theme template support
- 🎛️ Elementor — folder panel works inside the Elementor media modal
- 🏗️ Divi — folder panel works in the Divi backend builder and the Divi Front End Builder
- 🌍 Universal compatibility — PixelVault hooks into WordPress’s native media modal, so it works with any theme or page builder
🏛️ Architecture: Virtual Taxonomy
PixelVault stores folder assignments in WordPress’s native taxonomy tables (wp_term_relationships). Physical files stay exactly where they are. Deleting a folder never deletes files.
👩💻 For Developers
Full REST API and documented action/filter hooks.
🔌 REST API — Full CRUD at /wp-json/rayetun-medianest/v1/folders. Authenticate with X-WP-Nonce.
⚙️ Action hooks:
medianest_folder_created( $term_id, $folder_id, $args )medianest_folder_renamed( $term_id, $new_name )medianest_folder_deleted( $term_id, $folder_object )medianest_folders_reordered( $ordered_term_ids )medianest_attachment_assigned( $attachment_id, $term_ids )
🔧 Filter hooks:
medianest_get_folders( $folders, $post_type )— modify the folder list before it is returned