The growing library of 300+ ready-to-use templates that work with all WordPress themes including Astra, Hello,...
Free
1M+ installs 4.9★ (4,745)
Attachment Taxonomies
This plugin adds categories and tags to the WordPress media library - lightweight and developer-friendly.
The facts
- Rating
- 4.6★ from 10
- Active installs
- 1k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 15 Aug 2026
- Added
- Jul 2016
- Requires WP
- 6.1
- Tested up to
- WP 7.1
- Requires PHP
- 7.4
- Downloads
- 73,460
Our analysis
AI-assistedAttachment Taxonomies is a WordPress plugin that enhances the media library by adding two taxonomies for categorising and tagging attachments. This allows you to organise media files independently from the standard post categories and tags. The plugin is designed to be lightweight and follows WordPress Core principles, making it suitable for users with some coding knowledge who may want to customise it further.
The plugin features filter dropdowns in the media toolbar, options for selecting taxonomy terms when editing attachments, and an enhanced gallery shortcode for including images based on specific attachment taxonomies. It is aimed at developers and site owners looking to improve media organisation without the complexity of more bloated solutions.
Best for: This plugin suits developers and site owners looking to enhance media organisation in WordPress.
What it does well
- ✓Adds categories and tags to the Media Library
- ✓Independent from regular post categories and tags
- ✓Lightweight and follows WordPress Core principles
- ✓Flexible API for developers
- ✓Easy-to-use settings for default attachment categories
Where it falls short
- •Requires some coding knowledge for customisation
- •Limited information on user experience and support
Verdict
Attachment Taxonomies provides a straightforward solution for categorising media files, making it a useful tool for those who need better organisation in their media library.
From the developer
Felix Arntz's own description of Attachment Taxonomies, lightly tidied.
The plugin adds two taxonomies to the WordPress media library which are then available to categorize and tag your attachments. By default, these taxonomies, although sharing the same names and behavior, are separate from the default post taxonomies, but this can easily be changed if desired.
The plugin follows WordPress Core principles and offers a lightweight alternative to similar approaches which often tend to be incredibly flexible, but at the same time complicated and bloated. And if you have a little knowledge of code, you should be able to adjust the plugin exactly to your needs if the default configuration doesn’t satisfy you.
Features
- Adds categories and tags to the Media Library (independent from the regular post categories and tags)
- Inserts filter dropdowns for attachment taxonomies into the media toolbar and media modal
- Allows to pick taxonomy terms for attachments from within the Attachment Selection & Edit modals
- Adds a setting for the default attachment category
- Enhances the
[gallery]shortcode so that images of a specific attachment taxonomy can be included automatically
Quality attributes
- Lightweight plugin following WordPress Core principles
- “Decisions, not Options”
- Can easily be used as a must-use plugin
- Provides a flexible API to add other attachment taxonomies or disable the existing ones for developers
- Provides an easy-to-use
has_defaultargument that can be used when registering an attachment taxonomy in order to automatically add a setting for the default taxonomy term
Tagged as
Alternatives
Other plugins for libraries and archives.
SVG Support
92Securely upload SVG files to your media library, with built-in sanitization and advanced features for styling...
Free
1M+ installs 4.8★ (355)
Easily replace any attached image/file by simply uploading a new file in the Media Library edit view - a real...
Free
600k+ installs 4.4★ (302)
HappyAddons packs Header Footer Builder, Megamenu, Single Post, Archive Page, & 500+ Ready Templates into...
Free
400k+ installs 4.8★ (487)
CMB2
91CMB2 is a metabox, custom fields, and forms library for WordPress that will blow your mind.
Free
300k+ installs 5★ (91)
Extendify
90The best WordPress templates, pattern, and layout library with 1,000+ designs built for the Gutenberg block ed...
Free
500k+ installs 4.7★ (10)