soderlind/vmfa-rules-engine

Rule-based automatic folder assignment for media uploads

1.7.2 2026-05-04 11:16 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.3
• composer/installers: ^1.0 || ^2.0
• yahnis-elsts/plugin-update-checker: ^5.6

Requires (Dev)

• brain/monkey: ^2.6
• dealerdirect/phpcodesniffer-composer-installer: ^1.0
• mockery/mockery: ^1.6
• phpcompatibility/php-compatibility: ^9.0
• phpunit/phpunit: ^11.0
• wp-coding-standards/wpcs: ^3.0

GPL-2.0-or-later

• Per Soderlind

README

Rule-based automatic folder assignment for media uploads. Add-on plugin for Virtual Media Folders.

vmfa-rules-engine.mp4

Requirements | Installation | Usage | Organizing a Photo Library

Description

Turn "Default folder for uploads" into a powerful rule system. Automatically assign media to folders based on:

• Filename patterns — Match filenames using regular expressions (e.g., ^IMG_, ^DSC, screenshot.*)
• MIME type — Sort by file type (images, videos, PDFs, etc.)
• Image dimensions — Organize by resolution (HD, 4K, thumbnails)
• File size — Separate large files from small ones
• EXIF camera model — Group photos by device (iPhone, Canon, etc.)
• EXIF date taken — Organize by capture date
• EXIF aperture, focal length, ISO, shutter speed, orientation — Fine-grained camera settings
• IPTC keywords, credit, caption, copyright, title — Match any embedded metadata field
• Upload author — Assign based on who uploaded the file

Features

• Multiple rules with priority — Create as many rules as needed, drag to reorder
• Stop after first match — Control whether to continue evaluating rules
• AND logic — All conditions in a rule must match
• Automatic on upload — New uploads are processed instantly
• Scan existing media — Apply rules to your existing library with preview
• WP-CLI compatible — Rules apply to imports via wp media import
• Modern React UI — Consistent with WordPress admin design

Requirements

• WordPress 6.8+
• PHP 8.3+
• Virtual Media Folders plugin (parent plugin)

Installation

1. Download vmfa-rules-engine.zip
2. Upload via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Activate via WordPress Admin → Plugins

Plugin updates are handled automatically via GitHub. No need to manually download and install updates.

Usage

1. Go to Media → Rules Engine in the WordPress admin
2. Click Add Rule to create your first rule
3. Configure conditions and select a target folder
4. Enable the rule and save
5. New uploads will automatically be assigned to folders based on your rules

Scanning Existing Media

1. Click Scan Existing Media to preview what changes would be made
2. Review the preview and select items to process
3. Click Apply Changes to assign folders

Organizing a Photo Library

The condition type selector groups conditions into General, EXIF, and IPTC / XMP, making it straightforward to build rules around embedded photo metadata.

EXIF conditions

Condition	Field	Example use
Camera model	exif_camera	Separate iPhone shots from DSLR shots
Date taken	exif_date	Archive by year or shoot date
Aperture (f-number)	exif_aperture	Isolate wide-open portraits (f/1.4 – f/2.8)
Focal length	exif_focal_length	Group wide-angle vs telephoto shots
ISO sensitivity	exif_iso	Flag high-ISO / low-light images for review
Shutter speed	exif_shutter_speed	Find motion-frozen or long-exposure shots
Orientation	exif_orientation	Separate portrait vs landscape images

Aperture, focal length, ISO, and shutter speed all support comparison operators (>, >=, <, <=, =, Between), so you can create ranges like "ISO between 1600 and 12800". Shutter speed accepts standard photographic fraction notation (1/1000, 1/60) as well as decimal seconds (0.5).

IPTC / XMP conditions

Condition	Field	Example use
Keywords	iptc_keywords	Route images tagged product to a product folder
Credit	iptc_credit	Separate agency photos (Reuters, AFP, Getty)
Caption	iptc_caption	Match photos with specific caption text
Copyright	iptc_copyright	Group images by rights holder or year
Title	iptc_title	Route by object name or headline

All IPTC conditions use case-insensitive partial matching, so "Reuters" matches "Reuters Photography".

Example: organize a news photo workflow

Rule: Agency Photos
  Conditions:
    IPTC Credit  contains  "Reuters"
  → Folder: Agency / Reuters

Rule: High-ISO Night Shots
  Conditions:
    EXIF ISO  >=  3200
  → Folder: Review / High-ISO

Rule: Product Images
  Conditions:
    IPTC Keywords  contains  "product"
    MIME type      is        image/jpeg
  → Folder: Products

Development

See docs/DEVELOPMENT.md.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later. See LICENSE.

Copyright 2026 Per Soderlind