media_sideload_image() WordPress Function
media_sideload_image() allows you to download an image from a URL and attach it to a post as a featured image. This is useful if you want to import content from another site and don't want to bother with uploading the images to your own server.
media_sideload_image( string $file, int $post_id, string $desc = null, string $return_type = 'html' ) #
Downloads an image from the specified URL, saves it as an attachment, and optionally attaches it to a post.
Parameters
- $file
(string)(Required)The URL of the image to download.
- $post_id
(int)(Optional) The post ID the media is to be associated with.
- $desc
(string)(Optional) Description of the image.
Default value: null
- $return_type
(string)(Optional) Accepts 'html' (image tag html) or 'src' (URL), or 'id' (attachment ID).
Default value: 'html'
Return
(string|int|WP_Error) Populated HTML img tag, attachment ID, or attachment source on success, WP_Error object otherwise.
More Information
If you want to use this function outside of the context of /wp-admin/ (typically if you are writing a more advanced custom importer script) you need to include media.php and depending includes:
require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/media.php'); require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/file.php'); require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/image.php');
Source
File: wp-admin/includes/media.php
function media_sideload_image( $file, $post_id = 0, $desc = null, $return_type = 'html' ) {
if ( ! empty( $file ) ) {
$allowed_extensions = array( 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'jpe', 'png', 'gif', 'webp' );
/**
* Filters the list of allowed file extensions when sideloading an image from a URL.
*
* The default allowed extensions are:
*
* - `jpg`
* - `jpeg`
* - `jpe`
* - `png`
* - `gif`
*
* @since 5.6.0
*
* @param string[] $allowed_extensions Array of allowed file extensions.
* @param string $file The URL of the image to download.
*/
$allowed_extensions = apply_filters( 'image_sideload_extensions', $allowed_extensions, $file );
$allowed_extensions = array_map( 'preg_quote', $allowed_extensions );
// Set variables for storage, fix file filename for query strings.
preg_match( '/[^\?]+\.(' . implode( '|', $allowed_extensions ) . ')\b/i', $file, $matches );
if ( ! $matches ) {
return new WP_Error( 'image_sideload_failed', __( 'Invalid image URL.' ) );
}
$file_array = array();
$file_array['name'] = wp_basename( $matches[0] );
// Download file to temp location.
$file_array['tmp_name'] = download_url( $file );
// If error storing temporarily, return the error.
if ( is_wp_error( $file_array['tmp_name'] ) ) {
return $file_array['tmp_name'];
}
// Do the validation and storage stuff.
$id = media_handle_sideload( $file_array, $post_id, $desc );
// If error storing permanently, unlink.
if ( is_wp_error( $id ) ) {
@unlink( $file_array['tmp_name'] );
return $id;
}
// Store the original attachment source in meta.
add_post_meta( $id, '_source_url', $file );
// If attachment ID was requested, return it.
if ( 'id' === $return_type ) {
return $id;
}
$src = wp_get_attachment_url( $id );
}
// Finally, check to make sure the file has been saved, then return the HTML.
if ( ! empty( $src ) ) {
if ( 'src' === $return_type ) {
return $src;
}
$alt = isset( $desc ) ? esc_attr( $desc ) : '';
$html = "<img src='$src' alt='$alt' />";
return $html;
} else {
return new WP_Error( 'image_sideload_failed' );
}
}
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Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 5.4.0 | The original URL of the attachment is stored in the _source_url post meta value. |
| 5.3.0 | The $post_id parameter was made optional. |
| 4.8.0 | Introduced the 'id' option for the $return_type parameter. |
| 4.2.0 | Introduced the $return_type parameter. |
| 2.6.0 | Introduced. |