Autoremove Attachments
View on WordPress.orgScores higher than 65% of indexed plugins
About
Remove child attachments when parent post, page or custom post type is deleted.
What It Does
Autoremove Attachments automatically deletes all media attachments that were uploaded to a post, page, or custom post type when that parent content is permanently removed. It runs silently in the background, scanning deleted posts for attached files and cleaning up the Media Library accordingly. This prevents orphaned images and documents from piling up in your hosting account.
Who It's For
This plugin is ideal for content-heavy WordPress sites that routinely delete posts and accumulate large numbers of attached images, such as news outlets, e-commerce stores, real estate agencies, and digital agencies managing client work. It is especially useful for sites using custom post types where manual cleanup would be impractical. Anyone concerned about wasted disk space from old article photos or product galleries will benefit.
Who Should Skip It
If you rarely delete posts or intentionally reuse the same images across multiple pieces of content, you should skip this plugin because it will destroy shared attachments and break those other posts. Sites with small Media Libraries or low publishing volume will not see meaningful benefit.
The Bottom Line
Autoremove Attachments does one narrow job and does it well, earning an overall quality score of 78.07 out of 100 with flawless ratings and a recent update. Its small install base is a fair caution flag for anyone worried about long-term abandonment risk. For sites that delete posts frequently and want to keep their Media Library lean, it is a sensible, lightweight choice that will not bloat the site.
Related Plugins
Pick Safe SVG instead if your main concern is allowing SVG uploads safely rather than cleaning up attachments on post deletion.
Choose Post Duplicator if you need to clone posts and their attachments, the opposite workflow of this plugin's deletion focus.
Pick Post Type Switcher when you need to convert posts between types, not remove attachments on deletion.
Choose Custom Post Type Permalinks for URL structure control over custom post types, a different problem entirely.
Pick FileBird if you need an organized folder structure for the Media Library rather than automatic attachment cleanup on post deletion.