Clear Media Title On Upload

Clears the media title field on upload, instead of setting it to the slugified filename.

Description

When you upload media to WordPress, the title field is automatically set to a slugified version of the filename. This often results in messy, unoptimized titles like "IMG-20240115-photo-final-v2" appearing in gallery captions, alt tags, or title attributes.

This plugin clears the title field for newly uploaded media, ensuring that if a title is displayed anywhere, it's one you've intentionally set yourself.

Features

• Automatically clears the title field for new media uploads
• Bulk action to clear titles on existing media library items
• Lightweight with no settings page required
• Developer-friendly with filters

How It Works

The plugin hooks into WordPress's wp_insert_attachment_data filter and clears the post_title field for new uploads before they are saved to the database.

Installation

1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/runthings-empty-media-title directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress.
3. That's it! New media uploads will now have an empty title field.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this affect existing media in my library?

New uploads are cleared automatically. For existing media, you can use the bulk action in the Media Library to clear titles on selected items.

Can I restrict this to certain file types?

Yes! Use the runthings_emt_mime_types filter to limit which MIME types are affected. See the Filters section below.

Can I exclude certain uploads from having their title cleared?

Yes! Use the runthings_emt_skip filter to conditionally skip clearing the title. See the Filters section below.

Why would I want an empty title?

Many themes and plugins display the media title in various places - gallery captions, lightbox overlays, or HTML title attributes. An auto-generated slugified filename like "DSC-0042-final-edit" looks unprofessional. With an empty title, you're in control of what gets displayed.

Screenshots

Before and After

Filters

runthings_emt_skip

Skip clearing the title for specific attachments.

Parameters:

• $skip (bool) - Whether to skip clearing the title. Default false.
• $data (array) - Attachment post data (slashed, sanitized, processed).
• $postarr (array) - Sanitized post data (not processed).
• $unsanitized_postarr (array) - Unsanitized post data.
• $update (bool) - Whether this is an update (always false for new uploads).

Example - Skip for specific user:

add_filter('runthings_emt_skip', function($skip, $data, $postarr) {
    if (get_current_user_id() === 1) {
        return true; // Admin keeps auto-generated titles
    }
    return $skip;
}, 10, 3);

Example - Skip if filename contains keyword:

add_filter('runthings_emt_skip', function($skip, $data, $postarr) {
    $filename = $postarr['post_title'] ?? '';
    if (strpos($filename, 'keep-title') !== false) {
        return true;
    }
    return $skip;
}, 10, 3);

runthings_emt_mime_types

Filter which MIME types should have their title cleared. By default, all media types are affected.

Parameters:

• $allowed_mime_types (array) - Array of MIME type patterns. Default [] (all types).
• $attachment_mime_type (string) - The attachment's MIME type.
• $postarr (array) - Sanitized post data.

Example - Restrict to images only:

add_filter('runthings_emt_mime_types', function($allowed_mime_types) {
    return ['image'];
});

Example - Restrict to images and PDFs only:

add_filter('runthings_emt_mime_types', function($allowed_mime_types) {
    return ['image', 'application/pdf'];
});

Changelog

2.0.1 - 23rd January 2026

• Improved bulk action messages
• Add confirmation prompt to bulk edit list view
• Fixed nonce verification in bulk action processing

2.0.0 - 23rd January 2026

• Complete plugin refactor with namespaced class structure
• Added bulk action "Clear Media Title" to clear titles on existing media items
• Changed default from ['image'] to [] (all media types)
• Added runthings_emt_skip filter for developer customization
• Added runthings_emt_mime_types filter to extend beyond images

1.0.0 - 6th January 2022

• Initial release

License

This plugin is licensed under GPL v3 or later, and is free to use on personal and commercial projects.

Author

Built by Matthew Harris of runthings.dev, copyright 2022-2026.

Visit runthings.dev for more WordPress plugins and resources.

Contribute or report issues at the GitHub repository.

Insert space by Xinh Studio from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0) - https://thenounproject.com/icon/insert-space-239543/

Image by David Khai from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0) - https://thenounproject.com/icon/image-661355/