This plugin hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress. It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when used with more recent versions of WordPress.

Add From Server

Description

This plugin offers limited support. Please do not expect new features or too many bugfixes. Features may be removed at any time.

Add From Server is designed to help ease the pain of bad web hosts, allowing you to upload files via FTP or SSH and later import them into WordPress.

This plugin is NOT designed to..
* Be used as a replacement for the file uploader
* Be used for migration of websites
* Re-import your files after moving webhosting
* Batch import media

This plugins IS designed to..
* Import files which are larger than your hosting allows to be uploaded.
* Import files which are too large for your internet connections upload speed.

WordPress does a better job of file uploads than this plugin, so please consider your needs before you use it.

You may also want to look at using WP-CLI for media import purposes:
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/media/import/

FAQ

How can I import files from other folders?

In 3.4, the plugin changed to limit the directories you can import files from.
If you wish to import files from other folders, you need to add the ADD_FROM_SERVER constant to your wp-config.php file.
For example:
define( ‘ADD_FROM_SERVER’, ‘/www/’ );

Why does the file I want to import have a red background?

WordPress only allows the importing/uploading of certain file types to improve your security.
If you wish to add extra file types, you can use a plugin such as: https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/pjw-mime-config/ You can also enable “Unfiltered uploads” globally for WordPress if you’d like to override this security function. Please see the WordPress support forum for details.

Where are the files saved?

If you import a file which is outside your standard upload directory (usually wp-content/uploads/) then it will be copied to your current upload directory setting as normal.
If you however import a file which is already within the uploads directory (for example, wp-content/uploads/2011/02/superplugin.zip) then the file will not be copied, and will be used as-is.

I have a a bug report

You can report bugs on GitHub and get support in the WordPress.org Support Forums.

Reviews

Colte 23, 2024
What's the use of importing files from the server if you can't import the folder structure they are in for organization? I expected the plugin to import files and auto-create a virtual folder in the library which is named after the original folder from the server. As it is, the files are imported into the media library and mixed with other files which makes it hard to locate and manage. You will need to re-organize them manually using a folder plugin like FileBird, which takes a lot of time. Not worth it. The first requirement for a plugin is automating tasks to eliminate manual work, otherwise its pointless....
Bowte 7, 2023
This plugin is not only helpful when you need a workaround for files which are too big for your upload limit, but also if you need to restore a website after something went wrong. The only feature I miss is a filter that allows to show only the original images (and not all the different sizes WordPress generates from each image you upload).
Siilo 14, 2023
I wanted Wordpress to recognize audio files I uploaded via FTP. This plugin did exactly that with no issues whatsoever.
Korse 5, 2022
This is awesome. Even with dedicated server and correct PHP upload size limits set, post limit size set, etc., WordPress media uploader could not handle a 380MB zip archive of music recording download. FTP no problem, but WooCommerce and media uploader just failed with unknown error. This worked first time, and did exactly what it said it would do. Wow. Talk about solving a problem! One of those stupid issues with WP and WooCommerce with large media files that is not a simple fix via wp-config. THANK YOU! 🙂
Read all 237 reviews

Contributors & Developers

“Add From Server” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

“Add From Server” has been translated into 23 locales. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.

Translate “Add From Server” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

3.4.5

  • Fix a fatal error when WordPress or PHP requirements are not met.

3.4.4

  • Simplify the date handling

3.4.3

  • Better handling for / as the root path
  • Better compatibility with certain WordPress docker images
  • Better handling for some empty folders

3.4.2

  • Restore case insensitive alphabetical sorting

3.4.1

  • Plugin now requires WordPress 5.4+

3.4

  • The plugin now requires WordPress 5.1+ and PHP 7.0+. No reason other than why not.
  • Bumps the version to stop the invalid vulnerability warnings.
  • Cleans up code.
  • Removes the User Access Control. Any user with File Upload ability can now use the plugin.
  • Removes the Root Directory Control. The root directory is now assumed. You can use the ADD_FROM_SERVER constant to change it.
  • Removes the Quick Jump functionality.
  • Removes the ability to be able to select the date for imported media. It’s always today. Or, the 1st of the month if it’s stored in a dated folder.
  • Removed Media Manager integration, as it’s no longer shown with the WordPress Block Editor. Classic Editor is not supported by this plugin.