Virtual Media Folders Rules Engine

Rule-based automatic folder assignment for media uploads. Add-on plugin for Virtual Media Folders.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8655014d-b963-493d-a93e-ca1fc63e8b1b

Requirements | Installation | Usage | Organizing a Photo Library

Description

Turn “Default folder for uploads” into a powerful rule system. Automatically assign media to folders based on:

Filename patterns — Match filenames using regular expressions (e.g., ^IMG_, ^DSC, screenshot.*)
MIME type — Sort by file type (images, videos, PDFs, etc.)
Image dimensions — Organize by resolution (HD, 4K, thumbnails)
File size — Separate large files from small ones
EXIF camera model — Group photos by device (iPhone, Canon, etc.)
EXIF date taken — Organize by capture date
EXIF aperture, focal length, ISO, shutter speed, orientation — Fine-grained camera settings
IPTC keywords, credit, caption, copyright, title — Match any embedded metadata field
Upload author — Assign based on who uploaded the file

Features

Multiple rules with priority — Create as many rules as needed, drag to reorder
Stop after first match — Control whether to continue evaluating rules
AND logic — All conditions in a rule must match
Automatic on upload — New uploads are processed instantly
Scan existing media — Apply rules to your existing library with preview
WP-CLI compatible — Rules apply to imports via wp media import
Modern React UI — Consistent with WordPress admin design

Requirements

WordPress 6.8+
PHP 8.3+
Virtual Media Folders plugin (parent plugin)

Installation

Download vmfa-rules-engine.zip
Upload via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
Activate via WordPress Admin → Plugins

Plugin updates are handled automatically via GitHub. No need to manually download and install updates.

Usage

Go to Media → Rules Engine in the WordPress admin
Click Add Rule to create your first rule
Configure conditions and select a target folder
Enable the rule and save
New uploads will automatically be assigned to folders based on your rules

Scanning Existing Media

Click Scan Existing Media to preview what changes would be made
Review the preview and select items to process
Click Apply Changes to assign folders

Organizing a Photo Library

The condition type selector groups conditions into General, EXIF, and IPTC / XMP, making it straightforward to build rules around embedded photo metadata.

EXIF conditions

Condition	Field	Example use
Camera model	`exif_camera`	Separate iPhone shots from DSLR shots
Date taken	`exif_date`	Archive by year or shoot date
Aperture (f-number)	`exif_aperture`	Isolate wide-open portraits (f/1.4 – f/2.8)
Focal length	`exif_focal_length`	Group wide-angle vs telephoto shots
ISO sensitivity	`exif_iso`	Flag high-ISO / low-light images for review
Shutter speed	`exif_shutter_speed`	Find motion-frozen or long-exposure shots
Orientation	`exif_orientation`	Separate portrait vs landscape images

Aperture, focal length, ISO, and shutter speed all support comparison operators (>, >=, <, <=, =, Between), so you can create ranges like “ISO between 1600 and 12800”. Shutter speed accepts standard photographic fraction notation (1/1000, 1/60) as well as decimal seconds (0.5).

IPTC / XMP conditions

Condition	Field	Example use
Keywords	`iptc_keywords`	Route images tagged `product` to a product folder
Credit	`iptc_credit`	Separate agency photos (Reuters, AFP, Getty)
Caption	`iptc_caption`	Match photos with specific caption text
Copyright	`iptc_copyright`	Group images by rights holder or year
Title	`iptc_title`	Route by object name or headline

All IPTC conditions use case-insensitive partial matching, so "Reuters" matches "Reuters Photography".

Example: organize a news photo workflow

Rule: Agency Photos
  Conditions:
    IPTC Credit  contains  "Reuters"
  → Folder: Agency / Reuters

Rule: High-ISO Night Shots
  Conditions:
    EXIF ISO  >=  3200
  → Folder: Review / High-ISO

Rule: Product Images
  Conditions:
    IPTC Keywords  contains  "product"
    MIME type      is        image/jpeg
  → Folder: Products

Development

See docs/DEVELOPMENT.md.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later. See LICENSE.

📦 Source: soderlind/vmfa-rules-engine · Edit on GitHub