When you upload media to WordPress, the title field is automatically set to a slugified version of the filename. This often results in messy, unoptimized titles like “IMG-20240115-photo-final-v2” appearing in gallery captions, alt tags, or title attributes.

This plugin clears the title field for newly uploaded media, ensuring that if a title is displayed anywhere, it’s one you’ve intentionally set yourself.

Features

Automatically clears the title field for new media uploads
Bulk action to clear titles on existing media library items
Lightweight with no settings page required
Developer-friendly with filters

How It Works

The plugin hooks into WordPress’s wp_insert_attachment_data filter and clears the post_title field for new uploads before they are saved to the database.

Filters

runthings_emt_skip

Skip clearing the title for specific attachments.

Parameters:

$skip (bool) – Whether to skip clearing the title. Default false.
$data (array) – Attachment post data (slashed, sanitized, processed).
$postarr (array) – Sanitized post data (not processed).
$unsanitized_postarr (array) – Unsanitized post data.
$update (bool) – Whether this is an update (always false for new uploads).

Example:

// Skip clearing title for uploads by specific user
add_filter('runthings_emt_skip', function($skip, $data, $postarr) {
    if (get_current_user_id() === 1) {
        return true; // Admin keeps auto-generated titles
    }
    return $skip;
}, 10, 3);



// Skip clearing title if filename contains "keep-title"
add_filter('runthings_emt_skip', function($skip, $data, $postarr) {
    $filename = $postarr['post_title'] ?? '';
    if (strpos($filename, 'keep-title') !== false) {
        return true;
    }
    return $skip;
}, 10, 3);

runthings_emt_mime_types

Filter which MIME types should have their title cleared. By default, all media types are affected.

Parameters:

$allowed_mime_types (array) – Array of MIME type patterns. Default [] (all types).
$attachment_mime_type (string) – The attachment’s MIME type.
$postarr (array) – Sanitized post data.

Example:

// Restrict to images only
add_filter('runthings_emt_mime_types', function($allowed_mime_types) {
    return ['image'];
});



// Restrict to images and PDFs only
add_filter('runthings_emt_mime_types', function($allowed_mime_types) {
    return ['image', 'application/pdf'];
});

Additional Notes

Visit runthings.dev for more WordPress plugins and resources.

Contribute or report issues at the GitHub repository.

Insert space by Xinh Studio from Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/insert-space/ (CC BY 3.0) – https://thenounproject.com/icon/insert-space-239543/

Image by David Khai from Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/image/ (CC BY 3.0) – https://thenounproject.com/icon/image-661355/

Clear Media Title On Upload

About this plugin