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Auto-Upload Trigger

Automatically convert every new image uploaded to WordPress to WebP and AVIF — no manual action required after initial setup.

Auto-Upload Trigger

When Auto-Upload is enabled, every image added to the WordPress media library is automatically converted to WebP (and AVIF, if enabled) in the background. No manual action is needed after the initial setup.

Table of Contents#

Enabling Auto-Upload#

  1. Go to GetWebP → Settings → General.
  2. Toggle Auto-convert new uploads to On.
  3. Click Save Settings.

From this point on, every image uploaded via the WordPress media uploader, the block editor, WooCommerce, or any plugin that uses the standard WordPress attachment API will be queued for conversion immediately after upload.

How It Works#

When an image is uploaded:

  1. WordPress generates the standard attachment and thumbnail sizes.
  2. GetWebP hooks into wp_generate_attachment_metadata (fired after thumbnails are ready).
  3. The attachment is added to the background queue for conversion.
  4. The queue processes conversions using WP-Cron (or a real cron job if configured).
  5. The Media Library status column updates to show WebP ✓ once complete.

The conversion happens asynchronously — uploads complete at normal speed even if the server is processing other images.

HEIC / HEIF Support#

GetWebP includes automatic HEIC/HEIF detection. When a user uploads a .heic or .heif file (common from iPhones):

  1. The plugin detects the HEIC MIME type via extension and MIME type check.
  2. The image is decoded and converted to PNG, then to WebP/AVIF via the WASM encoder.
  3. The PNG intermediate is stored as the "original" in the media library.

No configuration is needed — HEIC support is on by default.

Quota Considerations#

Each auto-converted upload consumes one unit of your quota. If your quota is exhausted:

  • The upload completes normally (the original image is saved).
  • The WebP/AVIF conversion is skipped and logged.
  • A notice appears in the admin bar (if enabled in settings).

To avoid interruption, monitor your quota usage in GetWebP → Dashboard or in your account at getwebp.com/dashboard.

Disabling Auto-Upload#

To turn off automatic conversion for new uploads:

  1. Go to GetWebP → Settings → General.
  2. Toggle Auto-convert new uploads to Off.
  3. Click Save Settings.

Existing WebP/AVIF files are not affected. You can still run batch conversion manually at any time.