Inkline Duplicate or Replace Media

Adds Duplicate and Replace actions to the WordPress Media Library. Duplicate creates an independent copy; Replace swaps the underlying file and optionally updates all URLs site-wide.

Description

Inkline Duplicate or Replace Media adds two powerful actions to three locations in the WordPress admin:

1. Media Library list view — "Duplicate" and "Replace media" links appear in the row actions when hovering over any media item.
2. Edit Media page — "Duplicate Media" and "Replace Media" meta boxes in the sidebar.
3. Media modal — When browsing media from a post/page editor, both actions appear alongside "Edit Image" and "Delete Permanently".

Duplicate Features:

• Creates an independent copy of any media file
• Copies the full-resolution file and generates all thumbnail sizes
• Carries over alt text, caption, and description
• Appends "(Copy)" to the title for easy identification
• Success notification with a link to the new copy

Replace Features:

• Upload a new file to replace the current one in place
• Two modes: "Just replace the file" (keep URL) or "Replace and update all links" (new filename, all URLs updated site-wide)
• Side-by-side preview of current and new file with dimensions and file size
• Drag-and-drop file upload
• File size and type validation before upload
• Three date options: set to current date, keep original date, or set a custom date
• Remembers your last-used settings

Integrations:

• Elementor — handles slash-escaped URLs in Elementor's JSON storage and clears Elementor's file cache
• Cache flushing for W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, WP Engine, WP Fastest Cache, SiteGround, LiteSpeed, and Kinsta

Security:

• Nonce verification on all actions
• Capability checks (requires upload_files + edit_post per-attachment)
• Path traversal protection — only files within the uploads directory
• File type validation via wp_check_filetype_and_ext()
• SQL safety via $wpdb->prepare() and $wpdb->esc_like()
• No frontend impact — only loads in wp-admin

Installation

1. Upload the inkline-duplicate-media folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
3. That's it — no configuration needed. Duplicate and Replace options will appear in your Media Library.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does duplicating affect the original file?

No. A completely independent copy is created. The original file and all its existing usage remain untouched.

Where does the duplicated file go?

It's saved in the same uploads directory as the original, with "-copy" appended to the filename (e.g. photo.jpg becomes photo-copy.jpg).

What's the difference between the two replace modes?

"Just replace the file" keeps the same filename and URL — only the file content changes. "Replace file, use new file name, and update all links" uses the new filename and updates all references across the site (post content, postmeta, termmeta, commentmeta).

Does Replace work with Elementor?

Yes. The plugin handles Elementor's JSON-encoded URLs (which use escaped slashes) and clears Elementor's file cache after replacement.

Can non-admin users use this?

Any user with the upload_files capability (Author role and above by default) can duplicate and replace media, provided they also have edit_post permission for the specific attachment.

Screenshots

1. Duplicate link in Media Library list view row actions.
2. Duplicate Media meta box on the Edit Media page.
3. Duplicate link in the media modal alongside Edit Image and Delete Permanently.
4. Replace Media form with side-by-side file preview.

Changelog

4.0.4

• Added: Kinsta per-URL cache purge — after replacement, each image URL (main file, original, and all thumbnail sizes) is individually invalidated via Kinsta's /kinsta-clear-cache/ endpoint.
• Improved: Kinsta detection now checks KINSTAMU_VERSION, Kinsta\Cache, Developer_Kinsta\Cache, and KINSTA_CACHE_ZONE server variable.

4.0.3

• Fixed: Clear stale attachment metadata before regenerating thumbnails so all sizes are created fresh (prevents wp_create_image_subsizes from skipping sizes that existed in the old metadata).
• Fixed: Source URL for URL replacement reverted to wp_get_original_image_url() for broadest LIKE query match across all URL variants (matches Enable Media Replace's approach).
• Fixed: MODE_REPLACE now always uses thumbnails_only for URL replacement (the main filename doesn't change in replace mode).
• Fixed: URL replacement maps now include the metadata 'file' entry (scaled filename) as a separate search/replace target for full coverage.

4.0.2

• Fixed: Replace now correctly updates the main image URL in post content when the attachment URL changes (e.g. scaled images).
• Fixed: Source URL for replacement now uses the attachment URL (which may be the -scaled version) rather than the original image URL, ensuring URL search/replace matches what's actually in content.

4.0.1

• Fixed: Duplicate now copies the original full-resolution file instead of the scaled version, producing a fully independent copy.
• Fixed: Replace now force-deletes old thumbnail files individually to handle cases where WordPress skips shared thumbnails.
• Fixed: Replace cleans up stale backup sizes metadata before regenerating thumbnails.

4.0.0

• Added: Replace Media functionality — upload a new file to replace an existing media item.
• Added: Two replace modes: "Just replace" (keep URL) and "Replace and update all links" (new filename, site-wide URL update).
• Added: Side-by-side file preview with drag-and-drop upload on the replace form.
• Added: File size and type validation before upload.
• Added: Three date options when replacing: current date, keep original, or custom date.
• Added: URL search/replace across post content, postmeta, termmeta, and commentmeta.
• Added: Serialized and JSON data handling for URL replacement.
• Added: Thumbnail size matching — maps old thumbnail sizes to nearest new sizes.
• Added: Elementor integration — handles escaped-slash URLs in JSON storage, clears Elementor file cache.
• Added: Cache flushing for W3TC, WP Super Cache, WP Engine, WP Fastest Cache, SiteGround, LiteSpeed, and Kinsta.
• Added: "Replace media" link in Media Library row actions, Edit Media sidebar meta box, and media modal.
• Added: Remembers user's last-used replace settings.
• Improved: Plugin restructured into multiple files (includes/, views/, assets/) for maintainability.
• Improved: WP 5.3+ scaled image handling via wp_get_original_image_path().
• Changed: Plugin renamed from "Inkline Duplicate Media" to "Inkline Duplicate or Replace Media".

3.2.1

• Added: Minimum WordPress (6.9) and PHP (8.2) version requirements in plugin header.

3.2.0

• Added: Automatic update checking from GitHub using plugin-update-checker. Updates now appear in the WordPress dashboard like any other plugin.

3.1.0

• Security: Added per-post edit_post capability check (defense in depth, mirrors Enable Media Replace).
• Security: Switched from wp_redirect to wp_safe_redirect to prevent open redirects.
• Security: New filenames are now run through sanitize_file_name().
• Security: Proper HTTP status codes on all wp_die() calls (403, 404, 500).
• Security: All user-facing strings use esc_html__() / esc_html_e().
• Improved: Filename uniqueness now uses WordPress core wp_unique_filename() instead of manual loop.
• Improved: Path traversal check now appends DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR to prevent prefix-matching sibling directories.
• Improved: Centralized permission checks into inkline_dm_can_duplicate() helper.
• Improved: Centralized URL building into inkline_dm_get_duplicate_url() helper.
• Improved: Added aria-label to list view link for accessibility.
• Improved: Meta box position set to low to sit below core boxes, matching EMR placement.
• Improved: Meta box button changed to button-secondary for consistency with EMR.

3.0.0

• Rewritten: Media modal duplicate now uses the attachment_fields_to_edit filter (same approach as Enable Media Replace) instead of JavaScript injection. Zero JS, fully reliable.
• Removed: All JavaScript and AJAX code for the media modal — no longer needed.
• The plugin is now 100% server-side PHP with no frontend scripts.

2.3.1

• Fixed: JS error "parameter 1 is not of type Node" caused by script running before document.body exists.

2.3.0

• Rewritten: Media modal duplicate link now uses MutationObserver instead of prototype overrides for reliable injection regardless of how the modal renders.
• Fixed: Duplicate link not appearing when clicking an image in the media modal.

2.2.1

• Fixed: Removed overly strict script registration check that prevented the media modal duplicate link from loading.

2.2.0

• Added: "Duplicate" link in the media modal (post/page editor media browser) next to Edit Image and Delete Permanently.
• Added: AJAX-based duplication for the media modal with inline success/error feedback.

2.1.0

• Added: "Duplicate Media" meta box on the Edit Media page sidebar.
• Includes description text and full-width primary button.

2.0.0

• Complete rewrite — removed JavaScript-based approach in favor of server-side hooks.
• Added: "Duplicate" row action link in Media Library list view using media_row_actions filter.
• Added: Admin notice with link to new copy after successful duplication.
• Uses admin-post.php handler with nonce and capability checks.

1.2.1

• Removed screen whitelist restriction to fix button not appearing.
• Kept capability check to prevent loading for unauthorized users.

1.2.0

• Performance: Added screen whitelist to only enqueue JS on relevant admin pages.
• Performance: Added capability check to skip loading for non-uploaders.

1.1.1

• Security: Added path traversal protection using realpath() validation.
• Security: Capped filename uniqueness loop at 100 iterations.

1.1.0

• Moved Duplicate button placement to below "Copy URL to clipboard" in attachment details pane.

1.0.0

• Initial release with Duplicate button in the media library attachment details pane.

Upgrade Notice

4.0.0

Major update: adds Replace Media functionality (replace file in place, update URLs site-wide, Elementor support, cache flushing). Plugin renamed to "Inkline Duplicate or Replace Media".

3.2.0

Automatic updates from GitHub — plugin updates now appear in the WordPress dashboard.

3.1.0

Security hardening: per-post capability checks, wp_safe_redirect, sanitize_file_name, proper HTTP status codes. Uses WordPress core wp_unique_filename. Full EMR parity on injection points.