FAQ
Getting started
Section titled “Getting started”Which cloud storage providers are supported?
Section titled “Which cloud storage providers are supported?”Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, DigitalOcean Spaces, Backblaze B2 and Wasabi each have a dedicated setup. Anything else that speaks the S3 API (MinIO, Storj, OVHcloud, Linode Object Storage, Scaleway and others) works through Any S3-Compatible Storage, where you enter the endpoint and region yourself. See Storage providers.
Why do I need a custom domain or CDN URL?
Section titled “Why do I need a custom domain or CDN URL?”Most buckets don’t serve files publicly by default, and Cloudflare R2 has no public URL at all until you connect one. A custom domain or CDN hostname pointed at your bucket makes your media reachable, and lets it be cached at the edge.
Can I keep my access keys out of the database?
Section titled “Can I keep my access keys out of the database?”Yes. Define them as constants in wp-config.php. The settings screen then shows those fields as locked. See Credentials in wp-config.php.
Offloading
Section titled “Offloading”Will offloading break my existing image URLs?
Section titled “Will offloading break my existing image URLs?”No. URLs are rewritten as pages render, so posts, pages, featured images and responsive srcset attributes keep working. Nothing in your post content is edited, and no database search-replace is needed.
Do I have to delete my local files?
Section titled “Do I have to delete my local files?”No. The default policy, Retain Local Files, deletes nothing. The cloud becomes a second copy. See Retention policies.
I changed the retention policy. Why are old files still on my server?
Section titled “I changed the retention policy. Why are old files still on my server?”A new policy only affects new uploads at first. Apply it to media you offloaded earlier from OmniOffloader → Tools → Apply Retention Policy to Existing Media, or with wp omnioffloader retention.
How long does a bulk offload take? Can I close the browser tab?
Section titled “How long does a bulk offload take? Can I close the browser tab?”It depends on how quickly your server reaches your storage provider, how large your files are, and how many thumbnail sizes your theme creates. A higher Transfer Speed finishes sooner on a server that can handle it.
Jobs run in the background and keep going after you close the tab. On hosts that block WordPress’s internal loopback requests, the open admin screen drives the job instead. There, leave the Offload page open until it finishes, or use WP-CLI.
What about very large videos or files?
Section titled “What about very large videos or files?”Files above 64 MB are uploaded in parts, so a dropped connection costs one part instead of the whole transfer. Files larger than 5 GB are supported. If your host’s time limit still cuts a transfer short, that attachment is reported with an explanation and the job moves on.
Who can offload or bring back media?
Section titled “Who can offload or bring back media?”Only administrators (users with the manage_options capability). Other users keep their normal WordPress rights: they upload and delete their own media. With Mirror Delete on, deleting an attachment also removes its cloud copy.
Bring Back and removal
Section titled “Bring Back and removal”Can I move my media back to my server later?
Section titled “Can I move my media back to my server later?”Yes, that is what Bring Back is for. It downloads your media to its original paths, checks that every file arrived, and then serves everything locally again. The cloud copy is kept unless you choose to delete it.
What happens to my images if I deactivate the plugin?
Section titled “What happens to my images if I deactivate the plugin?”It depends on the retention policy you used:
- Retain Local Files: every file is still on your server. Nothing changes.
- Smart Local Cleanup or Full Cloud Migration: some or all local files were deleted after upload. Without the plugin, URLs point at files that are no longer on disk.
Staging and multiple sites
Section titled “Staging and multiple sites”I copied my live site to staging or a local dev site. Can it damage the live site’s media?
Section titled “I copied my live site to staging or a local dev site. Can it damage the live site’s media?”No. OmniOffloader recognises a copy and switches to Safe mode: nothing is uploaded to or deleted from your cloud storage. Media already in the cloud keeps loading. See Safe mode.
Can several separate sites share one bucket and one CDN address?
Section titled “Can several separate sites share one bucket and one CDN address?”Yes. Give each site its own folder with Settings → Custom Path Prefix. A site never uploads into or deletes from a folder another site already uses. See Sharing one bucket.
Does it work on multisite?
Section titled “Does it work on multisite?”Yes, per site. Each site in a network has its own settings, credentials and background queues. It has not had a dedicated multisite test pass yet, so treat large networks as unverified for now. See Compatibility.
Privacy
Section titled “Privacy”Does the plugin send any data to its author?
Section titled “Does the plugin send any data to its author?”No. OmniOffloader only connects to the storage provider you configure. There is no analytics or tracking. See How your media stays safe.