Media Library Categories
View on WordPress.orgScores higher than 74% of indexed plugins
About
Adds the ability to use categories in the media library.
Security History
What It Does
Media Library Categories adds a taxonomy layer to the standard WordPress media library, letting you assign categories to images, videos, PDFs, and other attachments just like you would with posts. It introduces a dedicated admin column, filter dropdowns, and bulk-edit options so you can sort and retrieve media by category rather than relying on date or filename alone. The plugin works with the default media library UI without requiring a separate media-management interface.
Who It's For
This plugin is a good fit for sites that manage large or growing libraries of attachments and need a lightweight way to group them by topic, project, or purpose, such as photography portfolios, stock photo agencies, news outlets, and small ecommerce stores. It suits users who are happy with the default WordPress media library and only need categorisation, not full folder-based file management. Developers and content teams that need to query attachments by term on the front end will also find the public taxonomy useful.
Who Should Skip It
If you organise media using folders, want a visual tree view, or need to move files between directories, this plugin will not help and a folder-based tool like FileBird is a better fit. Sites with only a handful of images and no need to filter or group attachments have nothing to gain from adding another taxonomy.
The Bottom Line
Media Library Categories does one focused thing well and is kept current, earning a Quality Score of 79.36 out of 100. It is the right choice when you want simple taxonomy-based organisation without leaving the default media library UI, but users expecting folder views or fast dedicated support should look at FileBird or Media Library Assistant instead.
Related Plugins
Pick Safe SVG instead if your main media-library pain point is allowing SVG uploads safely rather than categorising files.
Pick FileBird if you prefer a visual folder-and-subfolder structure over a category taxonomy, and you need 200,000-install-scale maturity.
Pick Media Library Assistant if you want richer metadata, custom taxonomy support, and gallery shortcodes beyond simple categorisation.
Pick List category posts if your real goal is displaying post lists on the front end, not organising the media library itself.
Pick Media Cleaner if your problem is unused or broken media files piling up, not organising the files you actually want to keep.