PluginSift
PluginsThemesCompare
Directory
  • Plugins
  • Themes
  • Compare Plugins
Plugin Comparisons
  • SEO
  • Security
  • Ecommerce
  • Page Builders
  • Caching
  • Backup
  • Forms
  • Analytics
Resources
  • About
  • Contact
  • llms.txt

© 2026 PluginSift. Data sourced from WordPress.org. · [email protected]

  1. Home
  2. Plugins
  3. Photo
  4. Import external attachments
Import external attachments icon

Import external attachments

Makes local copies of all the linked images and pdfs in a post, adding them as gallery attachments.

By ryanpcmcquen·Photo·Free
4.3(26 reviews)
·2.0K+ active installs·Updated 9 years ago
DownloadVisit HomepageCompare

As of April 2026, Import external attachments is a WordPress photo plugin with 2.0K+ active installations and a 4.3/5 rating from 26 reviews. It has been downloaded 24K+ times in total. Requires WordPress 3.2+ and PHP false+. Available on WordPress.org since 2016. Last updated 9 years ago — may have compatibility concerns. Downloads are up 30% this week. Top alternative: Firelight Lightbox.

4.3/526 reviews
2.0K+active installs
24K+total downloads
10 yearssince 2016

Overview

Makes local copies of all the linked images and pdfs in a post, adding them as gallery attachments.

Source & support:

https://github.com/ryanpcmcquen/import-external-attachments

Credits

This plugin is based on the work done in the “Import External Images” plugin by MartyThornley.

https://github.com/MartyThornley

HTTPS support added by IvanDoomer:
https://github.com/IvanDoomer

PDF support added by bengreeley:
https://github.com/bengreeley

Most of the JavaScript was rewritten from the original plugin, to reduce the
number of global variables.

Read full description on WordPress.org

Ratings & Reviews

4.326 reviews
5 ★
20
4 ★
1
3 ★
2
2 ★
0
1 ★
3

Recent Reviews

Работает но не совсем
by mikulya·1 year ago

Плагин выполняет свои функции с классическом редактором, но замораживается процесс, когда попадается статья, с неработающей внешней картинкой. Предварительно лучше избавиться от нерабочих картинок

It worked for me in 2023!
by pichichi·3 years ago

This worked for me in 2023. All I had to do was install Classic editor and make sure the post pages wern’t using any third party page builders. To import the missing attachments, I then opened the edit page for each post one by one and followed the instructions in the right sidebar. Once done, simply uninstalled classic editor and this plugin. Awesome. Thank you.

Really great, lightweight, awesome job
by sae281062·6 years ago

Works with 5.3.2

A very good module, useful and easy to use.
by mikewaveit·6 years ago

I import the images from the posts of a blog migrated from Blogger into WordPress. Works great.

Awesome
by mikeallteams·7 years ago

Brilliant plugin. Works great for PDFs.

Download Trends

Today: 7Yesterday: 9This week: 56Period total: 2K

Compatibility

WordPress3.2+ requiredTested up to 4.4.34
PHPfalse+ required

Version Adoption

v1.5
100.0%

Top Alternatives to Import external attachments

Firelight Lightbox icon
Firelight Lightbox
4.8200K+ installsUpdated 3 weeks ago
ViewCompare
ACF Photo Gallery Field icon
ACF Photo Gallery Field
460K+ installsUpdated 3 months ago
ViewCompare
LightPress Lightbox icon
LightPress Lightbox
4.640K+ installsUpdated 1 week ago
ViewCompare
Easy Watermark icon
Easy Watermark
3.740K+ installsUpdated 7 months ago
ViewCompare
WP Photo Album Plus icon
WP Photo Album Plus
4.710K+ installsUpdated 3 weeks ago
ViewCompare
View all photo plugins →

Frequently Asked Questions

Changelog

1.5.12

  • Adds support for pages.
  • Adds support for .doc and .docx files.
  • Fixes security issue by not directly echoing $_GET['post'] but casting it to int.
  • Adds support for filenames with spaces in them (by removing the space from the exclusion in the regex).
  • Makes the regexes slightly easier to read by making them case insensitive.
View full changelog on WordPress.org

Contributors

ryanpcmcquenryanpcmcquen
Plugin Info
Version
1.5.12
Last Updated
Feb 24, 2017
WP Requires
3.2+
Tested Up To
4.4.34
PHP Requires
false+
Active Installs
2.0K+
Downloads
24K+
Added
Mar 1, 2016
Business
Free

Tags

photoimagesgalleryattachmentsphotobloggers

Developer

R
ryanpcmcquen
1 plugins0.0M+ total installs
View all plugins →

Quick Compare

Import external attachments vs Firelight Lightbox→Import external attachments vs ACF Photo Gallery Field→Import external attachments vs LightPress Lightbox→

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Analysis and metrics by PluginSift.