Title: Cleanor: Image Compressor & Converter
Author: Cleanor Labs
Published: Juliol 8, 2026
Last modified: Juliol 11, 2026
---
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# Cleanor: Image Compressor & Converter
By [Cleanor Labs](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cleanor/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/cleanor-tools.0.6.0.zip)
* [Details](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/cleanor-tools/#description)
* [Reviews](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/cleanor-tools/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/cleanor-tools/#installation)
* [Development](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/cleanor-tools/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cleanor-tools/)
## Description
Most WordPress image optimizers make you create an account, paste an API key, or
buy per-image credits. **Cleanor Tools** doesn’t. It shrinks the images in your
Media Library and converts them to modern formats (WebP / AVIF) using the free [Cleanor Labs](https://cleanor.app/)
endpoint — no signup, no key, no credits. Lighter images mean faster page loads,
higher PageSpeed / Core Web Vitals scores, and less storage used.
Point-and-forget: turn it on and every new upload is optimized automatically, thumbnails
included. Already have thousands of images? Run the one-click bulk optimizer.
#### What makes it different
* **Non-destructive by default.** Cleanor keeps your original files and URLs exactly
as they are and stores a WebP/AVIF copy alongside them, served automatically
through a `` tag. Nothing breaks, and any image reverts in one click.
Prefer the classic approach? Switch to “Replace files” mode any time.
* **Optimizes on your own server.** With the default Auto engine, images are re-
encoded locally with Imagick or GD and never leave your site; the free Cleanor
API is only a fallback (for example AVIF on a host that cannot do it). Prefer
total isolation? Choose “On this server only”.
* **No account, no API key, no credits.** The default endpoint is free and key-
free — you’re optimizing within a minute of activating, with nothing to sign
up for.
* **AVIF, not just WebP.** Convert to AVIF (the smallest mainstream format) as
easily as WebP, straight from the Media Library.
* **Backed by open data.** Our savings figures come from published, reproducible
benchmarks (open dataset with a citable DOI), not marketing claims.
* **Full-library bulk mode.** Optimize every existing image with a progress bar
you can leave running, or use the native Media Library **Bulk Actions** dropdown
to optimize (or restore) a hand-picked selection.
* **Resize on the way in.** Set a maximum width and oversized uploads are downscaled
before they are stored, so a 6000px phone photo does not ship at full resolution.
Thumbnails are untouched.
* **Strip metadata.** Remove EXIF, GPS and camera data on every conversion for
smaller files and better privacy (on by default).
* **Keeps your originals.** A `.bak` of every source file is stored by default
so you can revert any image, or the whole library, with one click.
* **Transparent.** A “Cleanor” column in the Media Library shows exactly how much
each image shrank, plus a running total on the settings screen. Filter the library
by optimized, not-optimized or restorable in one click.
* **Faster LCP for free.** Optionally preloads your featured image (in its modern
format) so the hero starts loading sooner and your Largest Contentful Paint score
improves, with no extra requests.
* **CleanUp tools.** Reclaim disk space by deleting kept .bak originals and orphaned
WebP/AVIF copies whose source image is gone. Sibling copies are also removed
automatically when you delete an image.
* **Clear in-plugin help.** A “How it works” screen explains, in plain language,
how images are optimized and served, what happens to old images, and how to reclaim
space.
* **Lightweight.** No giant framework, no tracking, no ads in your dashboard.
#### What it does
1. On upload (or on demand), the full-size image and every generated thumbnail are
sent to the Cleanor endpoint.
2. Each is re-encoded to your chosen format and quality.
3. In the default **Keep originals, serve modern** mode, the optimized copies are
stored next to your originals and served to supporting browsers via a `` tag. Your files, URLs and MIME types never change. (In **Replace files** mode,
the optimized versions replace the originals and WordPress serves the smaller files
everywhere instead.)
4. Images that would not get smaller are left untouched.
#### Formats
* **WebP**: best browser support; a safe default for almost every site.
* **AVIF**: smallest files; supported by all current major browsers.
* **Recompress (keep format)**: re-encode JPEGs smaller without changing the format
or URL.
#### Privacy
By default the Engine setting is Auto, which re-encodes images on your own server(
using Imagick or GD) whenever it can. In that case your images never leave your
site. The free Cleanor API is used only as a fallback, for example to produce AVIF
on a host that cannot do it locally, or if the server has no image library. You
can also force “On this server only” to guarantee nothing is ever sent externally,
or “Cleanor API only”.
When the API is used, images are transmitted to the endpoint you configure (by default`
https://mcp.cleanor.app`) purely to be re-encoded, and only the optimized bytes
are returned. Cleanor does not require an account and does not retain your images.
You can also point the plugin at your own self-hosted endpoint. See our privacy
policy at https://cleanor.app/privacy.
## Screenshots
[⌊Optimize every image automatically: each new upload is shrunk on the fly.⌉⌊Optimize
every image automatically: each new upload is shrunk on the fly.⌉[
Optimize every image automatically: each new upload is shrunk on the fly.
[⌊Choose WebP or AVIF straight from the Media Library, with a quality slider.⌉⌊Choose
WebP or AVIF straight from the Media Library, with a quality slider.⌉[
Choose WebP or AVIF straight from the Media Library, with a quality slider.
[⌊Bulk-optimize your entire library in one click, with a live progress bar.⌉⌊Bulk-
optimize your entire library in one click, with a live progress bar.⌉[
Bulk-optimize your entire library in one click, with a live progress bar.
[⌊See exactly how much each image saved in the Cleanor column.⌉⌊See exactly how
much each image saved in the Cleanor column.⌉[
See exactly how much each image saved in the Cleanor column.
[⌊No account, no API key, no credits: connected and optimizing within a minute.⌉⌊
No account, no API key, no credits: connected and optimizing within a minute.⌉[
No account, no API key, no credits: connected and optimizing within a minute.
[⌊Backed by open, reproducible benchmarks with a citable dataset.⌉⌊Backed by open,
reproducible benchmarks with a citable dataset.⌉[
Backed by open, reproducible benchmarks with a citable dataset.
## Installation
1. In your dashboard go to **Plugins Add New Upload Plugin**, choose `cleanor-tools.
zip`, and click **Install Now**. (Or copy the `cleanor-tools` folder into `wp-content/
plugins/`.)
2. Click **Activate**.
3. Open the new **Cleanor** menu, go to **Settings**, click **Test connection**, pick
a compression preset and format, and **Save changes**.
4. New uploads are now optimized automatically. To process your existing library,
open **Cleanor Bulk Optimize** and click **Start optimizing**.
## FAQ
### Do I need an account or API key?
No. With the default Auto engine, images are optimized right on your server and
nothing is sent anywhere. If the API fallback is used it is free and key-free (rate-
limited per site). An API-key field is included for future plans and self-hosting.
### Does my image get sent to an external service?
Not with the default Auto engine when your server can handle the format (WebP is
supported almost everywhere via Imagick or GD). Images are then re-encoded locally
and never leave your site. The Cleanor API is only contacted as a fallback, most
often for AVIF on hosts without AVIF support. Choose “On this server only” in Settings
to guarantee no external requests at all. Settings shows exactly what your server
can do.
### Will this break my existing image URLs?
No, not in the default **Keep originals, serve modern** mode: your files, extensions
and URLs are never changed. Cleanor stores a WebP/AVIF copy beside each image and
serves it through a `` tag, so supporting browsers get the smaller file
while everything else falls back to your untouched original. If you switch to **
Replace files** mode, the file extension changes and WordPress is updated to serve
the new file everywhere it references the attachment (old direct hot-links to the
previous extension would need updating).
### What is the difference between “Keep originals” and “Replace files”?
**Keep originals, serve modern** (default) is non-destructive: originals stay on
disk untouched and modern copies are served via ``. Safest for existing
sites and fully reversible, at the cost of a little extra storage for the copies.**
Replace files** rewrites the actual file to WebP/AVIF (smallest storage, but URLs/
extensions change). You can switch modes at any time in **Cleanor Settings Delivery**;
already-processed images keep whatever mode they were done in until you re-optimize
or restore them.
### Can I keep my original files?
Yes, and it is on by default. **Keep a .bak copy of the original file** preserves
each replaced file as `filename.ext.bak`, which is what powers the Restore actions.
Turn it off if you would rather save the disk space.
### Can I downscale huge images automatically?
Yes. Set **Resize** to a maximum width (for example 2560) in settings and any image
wider than that is downscaled before it is stored. Set it to 0 to keep original
dimensions. Generated thumbnails are never resized by this setting.
### Does it remove EXIF / GPS metadata?
Yes, when **Remove EXIF, GPS & camera metadata** is enabled (default on). This makes
files a little smaller and keeps location and camera data out of your public uploads.
### Can I optimize just a few images from the Media Library?
Yes. In the Media Library list view, tick the images you want, then pick **Optimize
with Cleanor** (or **Restore original (Cleanor)**) from the **Bulk Actions** dropdown
and click Apply. You can also narrow the list first with the **Cleanor status**
dropdown (all / optimized / not optimized / restorable).
### Where are the optimized copies, I do not see them in the Media Library?
That is expected in the default “Keep originals, serve modern” mode. Cleanor does
not change your original file, so its size in the Media Library stays the same.
Instead it writes a smaller WebP or AVIF copy right next to the original on disk(
same name plus `.webp` or `.avif`, for example `photo.jpg.webp`) and serves that
copy to visitors through a `` tag. Because it is a sibling file and not
a separate attachment, it does not show up as its own item in the Media Library.
To see every processed image with its before and after size and a direct link to
the exact file being served, open **Cleanor Images**. If you would rather the file
on disk itself get smaller, switch to “Replace files” mode in Settings.
### Can I convert my whole library to WebP or AVIF at once?
Yes. Open **Cleanor Bulk Optimize Convert to a modern format**, pick WebP or AVIF,
and click Convert all images. It re-encodes every image in one pass, following your
current delivery mode.
### How do I reclaim disk space, or delete the originals?
Open **Cleanor CleanUp**. There you can delete the kept .bak originals (from Replace
mode) and remove orphaned WebP/AVIF copies whose source image no longer exists.
In the default keep mode your originals are deliberately kept as the fallback served
to older browsers, so they are not deleted there; if you want that space back, switch
Delivery to “Replace files” in Settings and re-run Bulk Optimize, then delete the
resulting backups. When you delete an image from the Media Library, Cleanor now
also removes its sibling copies automatically, so nothing is left behind.
### Is removing unused images safe?
It is designed to be reversible. Cleanor does not erase images: it moves the ones
that look unused to the WordPress Trash, where you can restore them for about 30
days, and the files stay on disk (so a wrongly flagged image keeps displaying) until
you empty the Trash. Emptying the Trash is what frees the space. An image is treated
as used if it is attached to a post, set as a featured image, or its file name or
ID appears in any post content, custom field or option, so anything else is reported
as “looks unused”. This is still a best guess and can miss images used only inside
some page builders, sliders or theme options, so review the results first and, ideally,
keep a site backup.
### What does “Preload the featured image” do?
On single posts and pages it adds a high-priority `` for the
post thumbnail, pointing at its WebP/AVIF version when one exists. The browser fetches
your hero image sooner, which usually improves the Largest Contentful Paint metric
in Core Web Vitals. It adds no extra requests and can be turned off in **Settings
Performance**. WordPress itself already handles lazy-loading, async decoding and
image width/height, so Cleanor does not duplicate those.
### Does it optimize thumbnails too?
Yes, when **Also convert generated thumbnail sizes** is enabled (default on).
### Which image types are supported?
JPEG, PNG, WebP and AVIF sources. GIF and SVG are skipped for safety.
### Can I use my own optimization server?
Yes. Set the **API endpoint** to any server that implements the Cleanor `/v1/optimize`
contract.
### Is it multisite compatible?
Settings and stats are per-site.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“Cleanor: Image Compressor & Converter” is open source software. The following people
have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ Cleanor Labs ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cleanor/)
[Translate “Cleanor: Image Compressor & Converter” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/cleanor-tools)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/cleanor-tools/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/cleanor-tools/), or subscribe
to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/cleanor-tools/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/cleanor-tools/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 0.6.0
* **Speed front and center.** The Dashboard now explains that Cleanor’s job is
faster pages, with a one-click “Test my site on PageSpeed Insights” button (your
address prefilled). Add a free PageSpeed Insights API key in Settings to see
your mobile Performance score and LCP right on the Dashboard.
* **Remove unused images (safely).** CleanUp can scan the Media Library for images
that appear to be used nowhere and move them to the Trash, where they stay recoverable
for about 30 days and keep displaying until you empty it. Detection is conservative(
attached, featured, or referenced in content/meta/options counts as used) and
the action requires an explicit confirmation.
* **On-server optimization (no API needed).** New Engine setting: Auto (re-encode
locally with Imagick or GD, fall back to the Cleanor API only when needed), On
this server only, or Cleanor API only. Auto is the default, so most sites optimize
privately with no external requests. Settings shows the detected server capabilities(
Imagick/GD, WebP, AVIF).
* **CleanUp screen.** Delete kept .bak originals and orphaned WebP/AVIF copies
to reclaim disk space. Sibling copies (.webp/.avif and .bak) are now removed
automatically when an attachment is deleted, so nothing is orphaned. Re-encoding
to a different format and switching to Replace mode also clean up the previous
copies.
* **How it works help screen.** Plain-language explanation of optimization, delivery
modes, where files live, old images, and reclaiming space.
* **Optimized images table.** A new “Images” screen lists every processed image
with its before and after size, percentage saved, format, and a direct link to
the exact file that is served (the WebP/AVIF copy in keep mode), so it is clear
where the optimized bytes live.
* **Bulk convert to a format.** “Convert to a modern format” on the Bulk screen
re-encodes your whole library to WebP or AVIF in one pass, following your delivery
mode.
* **Featured-image preload for better LCP.** Optionally adds a high-priority `<
link rel="preload">` for the post thumbnail on single views, pointing at its
WebP/AVIF derivative. No extra requests. Toggle in Settings Performance.
* **Media Library status filter.** A new “Cleanor status” dropdown above the list
lets you show all / optimized / not optimized / restorable images.
* Both features are fully client/WordPress-side and need no calls to the optimization
API. WordPress core still owns lazy-loading, async decoding and width/height,
so they are not duplicated.
#### 0.5.0
* **Non-destructive delivery (new default).** “Keep originals, serve modern” stores
a WebP/AVIF copy beside each image and serves it via a `` tag, without
changing your original files, URLs or MIME types. Nothing breaks and any image
reverts instantly.
* New **Delivery** setting to switch between “Keep originals, serve modern” and
the classic “Replace files” behavior.
* Front-end `` wrapping for content images and template/featured images,
with automatic browser fallback to the original.
* Restore now understands both modes: keep-mode reverts by simply deleting the
generated copies.
#### 0.4.0
* Resize on upload: set a maximum width and oversized images are downscaled before
they are stored (thumbnails unaffected). Attachment width/height metadata is
updated so srcset stays correct.
* Strip metadata: remove EXIF, GPS and camera data on every conversion for smaller,
more private files (on by default).
* Native Media Library **Bulk Actions**: “Optimize with Cleanor” and “Restore original(
Cleanor)” now appear in the standard dropdown, so you can process a selected
subset without leaving the list view.
* “Keep a .bak copy of the original file” is now enabled by default, so Restore
works out of the box.
#### 0.3.0
* New branded “Cleanor” admin cabinet with its own top-level menu.
* Dashboard: total saved, average reduction, images optimized, pending and backed-
up counts at a glance.
* Compression presets (Balanced, Aggressive, Near-lossless, Custom).
* Restore originals: one-click bulk restore, plus a per-image “Restore original”
action (requires the .bak backup option).
* Redesigned, card-based Settings and Bulk Optimize screens.
#### 0.2.0
* Admin scripts are now properly enqueued (wp_enqueue_script / wp_localize_script)
instead of inline.
* Removed load_plugin_textdomain() (not needed on WordPress 6.0+).
#### 0.1.0
* Initial release: automatic optimization on upload, bulk optimizer, per-image
action, WebP/AVIF/recompress, Media Library savings column, running savings total,
optional original backups.
## Meta
* Version **0.6.0**
* Last updated **21 hores ago**
* Active installations **Fewer than 10**
* WordPress version ** 6.0 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.0.1**
* PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cleanor-tools/)
* Tags
* [AVIF](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/avif/)[compress images](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/compress-images/)
[image optimization](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/image-optimization/)
[performance](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/performance/)[webp](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/webp/)
* [Advanced View](https://bal.wordpress.org/plugins/cleanor-tools/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cleanor-tools/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cleanor-tools/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ Cleanor Labs ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cleanor/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cleanor-tools/)