by threadi 5 (4 reviews)

External files in Media Library

Name: External files in Media Library
Rating: 5.0 (4 reviews)
Author: threadi

Add external files to your media library to use them in your website. They are integrated as if they were available locally.

External files in Media Library ranks #9,015 among WordPress.org plugins with 500+ active installations, is #997 of 6,651 in the Media category, a 5/5 rating from 4 reviews, and was last updated Oct 25, 2026. Data from WordPress.org, refreshed twice daily — see methodology.

Compatible with WP 7.2

v5.6.1 Current Version v5.6.1

Updated 1 week ago Last Update on 25 Oct, 2026

Refreshed 1 week ago Last Refreshed on

#997 of 6,651 in Media Top 25% by installs Downloads -51.2% this week Actively maintained

View on WordPress.org

Rank

#9,015

— No change

Active Installs

500+

-4.6%

KW Avg Position

35.8

0.5 worse

Downloads

16.7K

+35 today

Support Resolved

86%

— No change

Rating

100%

Review 5 out of 5

5 (4 reviews)

Next Milestone 600

Total Progress 40%

500+ 600+

518

Ranks to Climb

Growth Needed

8,000,000

Active Installs

Pro

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Rank Changes

Current #9,015

Change

Best #

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Active Installs Growth

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Active Installs 0,000,000+

Growth +0.0%

Peak 0,000,000

Downloads Growth

Downloads

Growth

Peak

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Reviews & Ratings

5.0

4 reviews

Overall 100%

4 (100%)

0 (0%)

Support Threads Overview

Resolved

Unresolved

Total Threads

Resolved

Unresolved

86%

Resolution Rate

Security History

Source: WPVulnerability

No known vulnerabilities on record for External files in Media Library. Checked 3 months ago.

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Plugin Details

Version: 5.6.1
Last Updated: Oct 25, 2026
Requires WP: 6.2+
Tested Up To: 7.2
PHP Version: 8.2 or higher
Author: threadi

Support & Rating

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5
Reviews: 4
Support Threads: 7
Resolved: 86%

Keywords

embed external files media media library

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TL;DR

AI summary of the plugin's readme

This plugin is for WordPress site owners and developers who store media on external services like AWS S3, Google Drive, FTP servers, or other websites. It solves the problem of importing and syncing external files into the WordPress media library so they can be used like locally stored files across editors and other plugins.

Add external files via URL
Sync external directories automatically
Import files as real files
Check file availability
Restrict usage to allowed users
Extract ZIP files from sources
WooCommerce CSV import support
REST API management

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about External files in Media Library

Two reasons for this: a) Some of the external sources use libraries whose licenses are not permitted in the WordPress repository. For example, the aws/aws-sdk-php library for AWS uses the Apache License. This is not compatible with GPL. b) With all these libraries, the plugin would be too large to publish in the WordPress repository.

Yes, you can select under Settings > "External files in Media Library" > Permissions, which roles gets the ability to add or delete external URLs in your media library.

Yes, but these files are integrated locally and not from the external URL so that your visitors can access them without any problems.

Yes, you can add them manually or with the FTP-tool in Media > "Add external files".

Yes, you can. Just enter the directory to import or use the tools under Media > "Add external files". All files in the directory will be imported.

No, there is no fixed size limit for external files. Limits are determined by the storage space available to you, depending on where the file is stored.

Yes, you can. Simply use the Local tool under Media > "Add external files" or enter the absolute path with file-protocol, e.g., file:///var/www/path/to/file.png - see also our documentation.

Yes, simply enable the setting under Settings > "External files in Media Library" > WooCommerce. Add your external URLs for images in the CSV you want to import as it is already possible with WooCommerce. They will be handled as external files by this plugin. This also allows you to use all protocols supported by the plugin as external source of your files.

Yes, we provide many options on WP CLI, see our documentation.

According to Google guidelines, an app that is used to connect to the Google Drive API is only checked and confirmed once it has 100 active users. As long as less than 100 active users use this function via this plugin, you will always see this message. You can confirm it via "unsecure" and still complete the connection of your Google Drive with your WordPress website.