Title: Archivarix External Images Importer Author: Archivarix Support Published: November 27, 2019 Last modified: May 25, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/archivarix-external-images-importer/assets/banner-772x250.png? rev=2202293) ![](https://ps.w.org/archivarix-external-images-importer/assets/icon.svg?rev=2202874) # Archivarix External Images Importer By [Archivarix Support](https://profiles.wordpress.org/archivarixsupport/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer.2.1.0.zip) * [Details](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/#description) * [Reviews](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/#reviews) * [Installation](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/#installation) * [Development](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/) ## Description Archivarix External Images Importer scans your posts and pages for external URLs in src/srcset attributes of all img tags. Based on configured settings, the plugin can: * Download images from their original external sources * Download images from Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) * Try to download from original source first, then from Internet Archive if failed * Try to download from Internet Archive first, then from original source if failed * Restore missing local images (404) from Web Archive You can choose what to do with images that could not be downloaded: * Keep image unchanged * Remove image from post completely * Replace with 1×1 pixel placeholder #### Key Features * Full compatibility with WordPress 7.0 * AI-ready: WordPress Abilities API / MCP integration (WordPress 7.0+) so AI agents can scan and import images * Modern AJAX interface with real-time progress * Background processing – you can close the browser while processing continues * Detailed import statistics and logs with CSV export * Custom filename patterns support * Automatic restoration of missing local images * srcset attribute support * Custom post types support * Invalid URL detection and handling * Improved error handling and logging * Responsive design for all devices Available in English, Russian (Русский), Spanish (Español), French (Français), Portuguese( Português), and German (Deutsch). For more information, visit the [plugin documentation](https://archivarix.com/en/wordpress/). ## Screenshots [⌊Settings page with full control over plugin behavior⌉⌊Settings page with full control over plugin behavior⌉[ Settings page with full control over plugin behavior [⌊Process interface with real-time progress bar⌉⌊Process interface with real-time progress bar⌉[ Process interface with real-time progress bar [⌊Statistics panel with import statistics and logs filterable by outcome⌉⌊Statistics panel with import statistics and logs filterable by outcome⌉[ Statistics panel with import statistics and logs filterable by outcome ## Installation #### Automatic Installation 1. Log in to your WordPress admin panel 2. Go to Plugins Add New 3. Search for “Archivarix External Images Importer” 4. Click Install and then Activate #### Manual Installation 1. Upload the `archivarix-external-images-importer` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/` 2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress 3. Go to Settings Archivarix Images Importer to configure ## FAQ ### What WordPress versions are supported? The plugin requires WordPress 6.0 or higher. Tested up to version 7.0. ### Can I control the plugin with an AI assistant (MCP)? Yes. On WordPress 7.0+ the plugin registers its capabilities through the core Abilities API (scan for images, start/stop import, check status and statistics, reset). When the WordPress MCP Adapter is active, these become MCP tools that AI agents such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and VS Code can discover and call. All abilities require the `manage_options` capability, exactly like the admin interface. On older WordPress versions this feature is inactive and the plugin works as before. ### What PHP version is required? PHP 7.4 or higher is required. ### Can I restore images from Internet Archive? Yes! The plugin can automatically search and download images from Wayback Machine if original sources are unavailable. ### What happens with invalid image URLs? Invalid URLs (like `p://...` instead of `http://...`) are detected during scan and handled according to your “If Download Fails” setting – they can be kept, removed, or replaced with a placeholder. ### Is it safe to use in production? Yes! Version 2.0 includes improved error handling, permission checks, and safe file processing. ### Can I close the browser during processing? Yes! Processing runs in the background on the server. You can close the browser and check results later in the Statistics tab. ## Reviews ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eb22531127efb818596430d194f70b5ad0dd71c9f89d01afc125f63c89f106b2? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Works with Gutenberg](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/works-with-gutenberg-4/)󠁿 [Kyle Charlton](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ktc_88/) April 26, 2022 Works great! I imported several posts into a site running WordPress 5.9.3 with Gutenberg and the Archivarix External Images Importer plugin imported the external images without any issues. I've tested a few other image importer plugins but none of them had the ability to scan a site and import from existing content like this one does. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6e957db167817286acec8825a6ea409f28e1ac2175911de349e224323b7be256? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Request function](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-function/)󠁿 [邱榮彥](https://profiles.wordpress.org/0901iain/) August 13, 2021 This is the best WP image capture plugin I have ever used! But I hope to add a feature to automatically check whether there is an external image every time an article is updated, and if there is one, it will automatically grab and replace it! Thank you! ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4ce6c603fe2ff135b52dafe60807c3235cb4d243148071d357d4906d05bb5251? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Worked well for me](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/worked-well-for-me-26/)󠁿 [ben.miller@gmail.com](https://profiles.wordpress.org/benmillergmailcom/) June 12, 2021 I created a site and bulk scraped articles with images from other sites. But my scraper could only scrape the page html, not import the image itself into wordpress. So I used this plugin. The scraping software scraped the post and image in HTML format from the other sites and created new posts on my site. Then this plugin downloaded the image so it is hosted on my actual site and CDN, and renamed it according to my parameters. Perfect! ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f5067451e4647c64a70259580c1f96775099f326575812e91b7b54ecf023c5ba? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Worked perfect, thank you!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/worked-perfect-thank-you/)󠁿 [kkzm](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kaorukozuma/) May 12, 2021 Worked perfect, thank you! ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/da98c8b233f295caea1c90fab23662c44f3d40178f27d6a618f31bf12e6d1764? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[don’t use this plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/dont-use-this-plugin-26/)󠁿 [dean34](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dean34/) January 19, 2021 this plugin is crap, 100% scam i don't recommend this for anybody ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eebfad93b67c117a72b74aad9c77a466c0329c3700553d548ae62aa5f0c62d4b? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Worked better than expected](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/worked-better-than-expected-4/)󠁿 [kalamun](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kalamun/) September 2, 2020 I configured the plugin in just 30 seconds and run the batch processing of all my posts: it did the job as expected with no hassle and a clear interface, no ads… lovely [ Read all 9 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/) ## Contributors & Developers “Archivarix External Images Importer” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Archivarix Support ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/archivarixsupport/) * [ Archivarix ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/archivarix/) “Archivarix External Images Importer” has been translated into 1 locale. Thank you to [the translators](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/contributors) for their contributions. [Translate “Archivarix External Images Importer” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/archivarix-external-images-importer/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/archivarix-external-images-importer/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/archivarix-external-images-importer/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/archivarix-external-images-importer/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 2.1.0 (2026-05-24) * Added WordPress 7.0 support (Tested up to 7.0) * New: filter import logs by outcome (Downloaded, Cached/Existing, Failed, Removed, Placeholder) * New: WordPress Abilities API integration. The plugin registers its capabilities( scan, start/stop import, status, statistics, reset) as abilities * New: MCP-ready. With the WordPress MCP Adapter installed, these abilities are exposed as MCP tools, so AI agents (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code) can scan and import images. No extra dependencies bundled; gracefully no-ops on WordPress < 7.0 * Refactored AJAX handlers to share a single logic layer with the new abilities #### 2.0.3 (2026-03-09) * Fixed local 404 detection when site uses mixed http/https URLs * Fixed SVG placeholder filtering for lazy-load images #### 2.0.2 (2026-03-09) * Added French, Portuguese, and German translations * Fixed image extraction: stricter src/srcset regex, added lazy-load attributes support * Minor security and stability improvements #### 2.0.1 (2026-02-05) * Fixed various issues for WordPress.org Plugin Check compliance * Code refactoring and minor bug fixes #### 2.0.0 (2025-01-21) * Complete rewrite with WP Background Processing for reliable server-side processing * File-based logging system (wp-content/uploads/archivarix-logs/) instead of database storage * Database-level URL locking to prevent duplicate downloads * Log rotation: max 10000 entries and 100 days retention * Enhanced security: proper escaping, nonce verification, capability checks * Time-based processing (25s limit) to avoid server timeouts * Added uninstall.php for complete cleanup on plugin deletion * Full i18n support with Russian and Spanish translations * Keep original filename option now enabled by default * All public post types now selected by default * Full srcset attribute support for both scanning and image replacement * Download logs button for exporting logs as CSV * Improved responsive design for statistics display #### 1.0.3 * WordPress 6.0 support #### 1.0.2 * WordPress 6.0 support #### 1.0.1 * Restore local missing images enabled by default * Image date path matches post creation path * Fixed alt attribute addition #### 1.0.0 * Initial release ## Meta * Version **2.1.0** * Last updated **5 months ago** * Active installations **1,000+** * WordPress version ** 6.0 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0.7** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Languages * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/) and [Russian](https://ru.wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/). * [Translate into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer) * Tags * [archive](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/archive/)[images](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/images/) [import](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/import/)[media](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/media/) [wayback](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/wayback/) * [Advanced View](https://li.wordpress.org/plugins/archivarix-external-images-importer/advanced/) ## Ratings 5 out of 5 stars. * [ 9 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/?filter=5) * [ 0 4-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/?filter=4) * [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/?filter=3) * [ 0 2-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/?filter=2) * [ 0 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/?filter=1) [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Archivarix Support ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/archivarixsupport/) * [ Archivarix ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/archivarix/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/archivarix-external-images-importer/)