How to move WordPress media folders from FileBird or Real Media Library

Why folders are hard to move

Most media folder plugins keep their folders in their own database tables or their own taxonomy. When you switch plugins, the folders do not come along, and rebuilding hundreds of them by hand is the reason many sites never switch.

Which plugins can be imported

Shelfwright reads the folders of these plugins:

• FileBird
• Real Media Library
• Media Library Folders
• Folders
• HappyFiles
• WP Media Folder
• Wicked Folders
• Media Library Assistant

Enhanced Media Library needs no import at all: Shelfwright uses its media_category taxonomy directly. See the Enhanced Media Library guide.

Import in four steps

1. Make a backup of the site.
2. Install and activate Shelfwright. Leave the other folder plugin installed for now; its data must be there to be imported.
3. Open Media → Library. The folder tree shows an import card for every folder plugin it finds, with the number of folders and files. Click Import.
4. Check the folders and their file counts. When you are happy, deactivate the other plugin.

What happens during the import

• Folders are created first, in batches, with a progress count, then the files are put in them page by page. Large libraries import without running into time limits.
• The other plugin's tables are only read. Nothing in them is changed, so you can switch back.
• If an import stops with an error, clicking Import again continues where it stopped.
• Files that could not be added and folders that could not be matched are counted in the final message.

After the move

Shelfwright's folders are a standard WordPress taxonomy, so backups, exports and other plugins understand them, and no new database tables are added. Files never move on the server: folders are virtual, so URLs and image sizes stay exactly as they are.