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)
Media Search Enhanced
Search through all fields in Media Library.
The facts
- Rating
- 4.4★ from 28
- Active installs
- 4k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 23 Apr 2026
- Added
- Mar 2014
- Requires WP
- 3.5
- Tested up to
- WP 6.9.7
- Downloads
- 47,736
Our analysis
AI-assistedMedia Search Enhanced is a WordPress plugin designed to improve the search functionality within the Media Library. It allows you to search through various fields such as ID, title, caption, alternative text, and description, as well as taxonomies related to media. This plugin is particularly useful for users who need to locate media files quickly and efficiently across multiple criteria.
You can perform multi-term searches using commas to find attachments that match any of the specified terms, making it easier to manage large media libraries. Additionally, the plugin provides a shortcode to insert a media search form into posts and templates, enhancing the search experience on the frontend.
Best for: This plugin suits WordPress users with extensive media libraries who require advanced search capabilities.
What it does well
- ✓Searches across multiple fields in the Media Library
- ✓Supports multi-term searches with up to 10 terms
- ✓Includes shortcode for easy integration into posts and templates
- ✓Allows searching taxonomies related to media
Where it falls short
- •Frontend searches treat commas as literal characters
- •No information on specific compatibility with themes or other plugins
Verdict
Media Search Enhanced offers a robust solution for improving media search in WordPress. It is a practical option for users looking to enhance their media management experience.
From the developer
Yoren Chang's own description of Media Search Enhanced, lightly tidied.
Try it live in your browser — launch the WordPress Playground demo. Boots a WordPress instance with this plugin active and a Media Library seeded with 8 attachments, so you can see the cross-field search in action immediately. Searching mountain returns 6 hits (matches in filename and alt text included) — core WordPress search would only find 3.
This plugin is made for:
- Search through all fields in Media Library, including: ID, title, caption, alternative text and description.
- Search Taxonomies for Media, include the name, slug and description fields.
- Search media file name.
- Multi-term search — Anywhere in the WordPress admin (the Media Library list view at
upload.php, the “Add Media” modal, and other admin screens), use commas to search for multiple items at once (e.g.image-a.jpg, photo-2.jpg). Matches attachments containing any of the terms. Limited to 10 terms per search. Frontend searches still treat commas as literal characters, as a query-amplification guard for public pages. - Use shortcode
[mse-search-form]to insert a media search form in posts and template files. It will search for media by all fields mentioned above.
Tagged as
industry
Library & Archive
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)