PixelVault – Media Library Folders, Document Library & File Manager

📁 PixelVault is the free way to organize your WordPress media library with unlimited, drag-and-drop media folders, and now to present those folders as a downloadable Document Library on the front end. Sort images, videos, PDFs, audio, and documents into nested, colour-coded folders right inside the Media Library, then publish any folder as a browsable asset manager for your visitors.

Stop scrolling through hundreds of unsorted attachments. PixelVault lets you categorize media into folders and subfolders, filter instantly, and find any file in seconds — a proper file manager for your WordPress media.

Folders are virtual — physical files never move, no URLs change, nothing breaks, and standard WordPress export/import keeps working without any special steps.

🆕 Document Library block (new in 1.2.0)

Turn any media folder into a browsable, downloadable document library on the front end, no page builder required. The PixelVault Document Library Gutenberg block renders a folder as an accessible file browser with a sidebar folder tree, breadcrumb navigation, in-library search, pagination, and per-file downloads.

• 🗂️ Folder tree and breadcrumb: visitors browse nested folders without page reloads
• 🔍 Search and pagination: find files fast inside large folders
• ⬇️ Per-file download plus Download-all ZIP: grab one file or the whole folder in a click
• 🎨 Three design presets (Cards, Compact, Minimal), with an accent colour and a framed option
• ♿ Accessibility-first: full keyboard navigation (WAI-ARIA tree pattern), screen-reader friendly
• 📱 Fully responsive: grid and list layouts adapt to mobile
• 🔒 Respects folder visibility: restricted folders stay hidden from guests

Perfect for knowledge bases, press kits, resource centres, download portals, and product documentation.

🗂️ Content Folders for Posts & Pages (new in 1.3.0)

Folders aren’t just for media any more. Enable Content Folders and the same folder tree appears on your Posts and Pages list screens, so you can organise content the way you organise files — without touching public categories or tags.

• 📂 Nested folders on the Posts and Pages screens — a sidebar with create, rename, delete, and unlimited subfolders
• 🖱️ Drag-and-drop filing — drag selected rows onto a folder, or use “Add to folder”
• ⚡ Instant folder filtering — click a folder to filter the list, no page reload
• 🧩 One shared tree — a “Client campaign” folder can hold both its images and its landing pages
• 🔒 Private and admin-only — folders never appear on the front end and never affect your categories, tags, URLs, or SEO

Content Folders keep your editorial workflow tidy — group drafts, campaigns, seasonal pages, or client work — separately from the public taxonomy your visitors see.

✨ 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 Document Library block — publish a folder as an accessible, downloadable file library with a folder tree, search, pagination, and Download-all ZIP
• 🖼️ 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 (selection):

• rayetun_medianest_folder_created( $term_id, $folder_id, $args )
• rayetun_medianest_folder_renamed( $term_id, $new_name )
• rayetun_medianest_folder_moved( $term_id, $new_parent, $old_parent )
• rayetun_medianest_folder_deleted( $term_id, $folder_object )
• rayetun_medianest_folders_reordered( $ordered_term_ids )
• rayetun_medianest_attachment_assigned( $attachment_id, $term_ids, $context )

🔧 Filter hooks (selection):

• rayetun_medianest_get_folders( $folders, $post_type ) — modify the folder list
• rayetun_medianest_auto_assign_target( $term_id, $attachment_id ) — override the upload target folder
• rayetun_medianest_smart_folders( $defs ) — register custom dynamic folders

JavaScript hooks (via @wordpress/hooks) let you add items to the folder/image context menus and the bulk-action bar.

A full list of PHP and JavaScript hooks with examples ships in HOOKS.md inside the plugin.

Credits

PixelVault bundles the following open-source library:

• enshrined/svg-sanitize by Daryll Doyle — sanitizes SVG uploads to remove scripts and other unsafe content. Licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.