Wayback Image Restorer

Wayback Image Restorer is a WordPress plugin that scans for missing images, looks them up in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, and restores recoverable files back into the WordPress media library.

This repository now uses a standard root-level WordPress plugin layout so GitHub-based update checks can read the plugin header directly from main.

Features

• Scan posts, pages, featured images, media library records, and srcset image candidates
• Detect broken local uploads and inaccessible external image URLs
• Query the Wayback Machine CDX API for archived image snapshots
• Restore archived images into the WordPress media library
• Update post content and featured image references after restore
• Support common image formats including JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, SVG, BMP, and TIFF
• Try legacy .png, .jpg, and .jpeg archive paths when a missing image is now referenced as .webp
• Offer dry-run mode, batching, logging, and GitHub-based updates

How It Works

1. The scanner crawls published content and attachment records for image URLs.
2. Each image is checked locally or over HTTP to decide whether it is missing.
3. Missing images are searched in the Wayback Machine.
4. If an archive exists, the file can be downloaded and imported into WordPress.
5. The plugin updates the original references to the restored media item.

Project Layout

.
|-- wayback-image-restorer.php
|-- README.md
|-- README.txt
|-- composer.json
|-- admin/
|-- includes/
|-- languages/
|-- public/
`-- vendor/

Key files and directories:

• wayback-image-restorer.php: main plugin bootstrap and plugin header
• includes/class-wayback-api.php: Wayback Machine lookup and download logic
• includes/class-image-scanner.php: broken image discovery
• includes/class-image-restorer.php: media import and reference replacement
• includes/class-plugin.php: plugin wiring and GitHub update checker setup
• admin/: WordPress admin UI, AJAX handlers, and assets
• public/: frontend-side hooks
• README.txt: WordPress-style plugin readme used for plugin metadata

Architecture Notes

Scanning

• Scans post content with image and srcset extraction
• Includes featured images and media library attachments
• Distinguishes local versus external images before checking them
• Uses batching and a resource manager to avoid exhausting low-resource hosts

Wayback Lookup

• Uses the CDX API at https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx
• Filters for successful image responses
• Builds raw-content archive URLs using the id_ snapshot format
• Falls back from .webp to legacy .png, .jpg, and .jpeg lookup candidates where relevant

Restoration

• Downloads the chosen source
• Validates MIME type before import
• Repairs existing attachment records when the missing image belongs to the media library
• Imports via WordPress media handling when a brand-new attachment is needed
• Updates content or featured-image references for affected posts when URLs change

Logging

• Logs are stored under wp-content/uploads/wayback-image-restorer/logs
• The plugin supports rotation, viewing, export, and cleanup

Development

Requirements:

• PHP 7.4+
• WordPress 6.0+
• Composer, only when updating dependencies

Notes:

• The vendor/ directory is committed, so a normal install does not require Composer
• If dependency changes are needed, run composer install --no-dev --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
• The plugin update checker is configured against this GitHub repository and the main branch

Release Notes

• Keep the main plugin file at repository root so the GitHub updater can read the plugin header correctly
• Bump versions consistently in wayback-image-restorer.php and README.txt
• Keep README.txt accurate because WordPress uses it for plugin details and upgrade notes

Current Status

Implemented:

• Broken image scanning
• Wayback archive lookup
• Archive download and restore flow
• Post content replacement
• Featured image handling
• Logging and admin tooling
• GitHub-based update checks

License

GPLv2 or later. See LICENSE.