Applies to core 0.1.2. All workflows on this page are free.
Read the Inventory
Media Sentry > Media Library presents active attachment records with previews, usage, reference counts, protection, size, dimensions, and upload date. Filter by usage, MIME type, protection, or search text. Open an item for its Used By evidence, attachment ID, classification explanation, scan batch, hashes, and advanced relative path.
Media Sentry also inventories local image files. A filesystem-only file is not the same as a registered attachment. System separates unregistered files, missing physical files, and generated derivatives so they are not mistaken for ordinary unused originals.
Understand Evidence
The current mapper checks featured-image metadata, WooCommerce galleries and variation/product references, supported image references in post content, selected post metadata, and selected options including theme modifications and widgets. Some page-builder content can be detected through these paths, but there is no universal page-builder compatibility guarantee.
The Used By table identifies the source, role, source key, and reference or product-protection label. Follow that context to the relevant content and inspect the live page. A detected reference is useful evidence to keep an image. Zero references means the scan did not find a supported reference; it cannot establish whether external pages, custom code, or remote services still use the image.
| Result | Meaning | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Used Media | Saved scan found usage | Inspect the source before changing anything |
| Protected by Product | Product-critical evidence exists | Keep and inspect Product Health if there is an issue |
| Unused Media | No detected site usage in the saved evidence | Review manually before quarantine |
| Exact Duplicate | Matching file hashes | Inspect every copy's usage and keeper role |
| Similar Images / Manual Review | Visual similarity evidence | Compare manually; no automatic cleanup |
| File Not in Media Library | Local file without a registered attachment match | Investigate ownership in System |
| Missing File | Expected file absent | Recover the file or investigate the record |
Protect, Ignore, and Reset
In Unused Media, filter the results, select items, choose an action, and apply it. Selection controls distinguish the current page from all matching results. Read the selection count before applying a bulk decision.
- Protect saves a manual protection decision and blocks normal quarantine eligibility. Use it for known assets that the mapper cannot recognize.
- Ignore saves an ignored review decision without moving files. It is not the same as manual protection or proof of usage. Use Protect when the intent is to retain the image.
- Reset Decision returns the item to Needs Review and clears the saved manual-protection flag. It does not erase detected references or product-critical evidence. Choosing Ignore also replaces the previous manual decision, so do not use it to preserve an existing Protect flag.
Decisions are stored against Media Sentry asset records. After a migration or inventory rebuild, verify that expected decisions still appear before cleanup. Do not assume decisions transfer to a different site or independently imported database.
Quarantine (Pro) is an execution action, not a free approval-only preview. See Duplicates and Previews before using it.