> Markdown version of https://jode.io/addons-tools/regenerate-thumbnails/ · Português: https://jode.io/pt/addons-tools/regenerar-thumbnails/index.md · Summary: https://jode.io/llms.txt

FREE APC Editorial tool · Images

# Regenerate thumbnails plugin for WordPress, without breaking anything

APC Editorial's **Regenerate Thumbnails** rebuilds the image sizes your theme uses, after a theme change or a new size. One image, several or the whole library, always from the original and without touching your posts' dates. Free, on your own server.

[Free download](https://jode.io/#community)[See the step by step](https://jode.io/docs/site-tools/#regenerate-thumbnails)

- Free forever

- Rebuilds from the original

- Keeps your posts' dates

In short

Regenerate Thumbnails rebuilds the **image sizes**, the thumbnails, that WordPress and your theme use. It rebuilds each size from the uploaded original, keeps the Image Converter's **WebP and AVIF** copies up to date and never changes your posts' dates.

Use it after changing themes, changing the sizes in Settings › Media or installing something that adds a new size. When your site's sizes change, it notices on its own and marks the whole library to be rebuilt.

**Rebuilds**

The WordPress and theme sizes

**One image**

From the Media Library column

**Several**

Bulk action, one at a time

**All of them**

In the background, up to 20 at a time

**Formats**

JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP and AVIF

**Post dates**

Never change

**Plan**

Free, forever

Image sizes

## One photo uploaded, many sizes.

Every image you upload to WordPress becomes several: one for each place your site shows photos.

When it receives a photo, WordPress makes smaller copies of it, called **image sizes** or thumbnails. That way, the post list shows a light thumbnail, not the whole photo. Since WordPress 5.3, very large photos also get a version scaled down to 2560 pixels on the longest side, and the uploaded file is kept.

Your theme and some plugins register sizes of their own, such as the crop of a blog card or a showcase. The detail that catches many people out: WordPress only creates those sizes at upload time. Older images don't get the sizes a new theme asks for on their own.

| Size | WordPress default | Where it usually shows |
| --- | --- | --- |

| thumbnail | 150 × 150, cropped | Lists, widgets and thumbnails |

| medium | Up to 300 × 300 | Images inside the text |

| medium_large | 768 wide | Medium screens, picked by the browser |

| large | Up to 1024 × 1024 | Large images in a post |

| 1536 · 2048 | Added in WordPress 5.3 | High-resolution screens |

| Theme sizes | Set by the theme | Blog cards, highlights, galleries |

The thumbnail, medium and large dimensions can be changed in Settings › Media. Changed them? Older images only get the new dimensions when you regenerate.

When to regenerate

## Changed themes? Time to regenerate.

If your theme asks for a size the image doesn't have, WordPress serves another one instead, often the large photo. The page gets heavier, and the crop may come out different from what the theme planned.

- **You changed themes**, or the theme changed its sizes in an update.

- **You changed the dimensions** in Settings › Media.

- **You installed a plugin** that adds a new size, such as a gallery or a shop.

- **A thumbnail went missing** or shows cropped in the wrong place.

What it does

## From 1 image to the whole library.

A column in the Media Library, a bulk action and a tab of its own to rebuild everything.

### One image, in the list

In the Media Library, the APC - Regen. Thumb. column shows how many sizes the image has and a Regenerate button.

### Several at once

Tick the images and pick the APC - Regenerate thumbnails bulk action. They are rebuilt one at a time, without straining the server.

### The whole library

Regenerate all thumbnails, on the tool's tab, rebuilds everything in the background, up to 20 images at a time, with pauses. You can close the tab.

### Only what's missing

Only create missing sizes makes a quick pass, only with the sizes that are missing or have the wrong dimensions. Off, it rebuilds them all.

### Optional cleanup

Delete old, unused sizes removes the files the image no longer uses. It comes off, because an old size may still be linked from a post.

### Notices a theme change

When your site's sizes change, the whole library shows as pending again, right when it is time to regenerate.

Breaking nothing

## Rebuilt from the original, safely.

Regenerating thumbnails looks simple, but it can undo the work of other tools. APC Editorial's was made to live alongside the Image Converter and images created with AI:

- **From the original, at full quality:** every size comes from the uploaded file, never from an already compressed copy.

- **Light copies kept up to date:** an image converted to WebP or AVIF gets light copies for its new sizes, in the same format and at the same quality level.

- **Never a broken image:** if the light copies can't be rebuilt, the image shows the original instead, and the plugin tells you.

- **Your posts' dates stay the same:** only the resized copies are rebuilt.

- **Another image's files are never touched:** the optional cleanup only removes the image's own files.

Step by step

## Regenerate your thumbnails in 4 steps.

The tool comes off. Once on, it gets a tab of its own and the Media Library column.

### Turn the tool on

With APC Editorial installed and your jode.io account connected, turn on Regenerate Thumbnails in Global Settings › Add-ons/Tools.

### Pick the options

In the Options card, decide whether you want Only create missing sizes. Leave the old-size cleanup off if you are not sure.

### Test with 1 image

In the Media Library, in list view, click Regenerate in the APC - Regen. Thumb. column and check the result.

### Regenerate everything

On the tool's tab, click Regenerate all thumbnails and you can close the tab. Stop halts it whenever you like.

Want to see each screen? The [step by step in the docs](https://jode.io/docs/site-tools/#regenerate-thumbnails) shows the tab and the column.

Free and PRO

## Regenerate Thumbnails is Free. All of it.

Nothing in this tool is locked behind PRO. It runs on your server and never goes through jode.io.

FREE
### Forever, with no image limit

- One image, several or the whole library

- Only the missing sizes, or all of them

- Safe with the [Image Converter](https://jode.io/addons-tools/convert-images-avif-webp/)'s WebP and AVIF images

- In the background, with the tab closed

PRO
### What PRO adds

- The [featured image created with AI](https://jode.io/addons-tools/ai-featured-image-generator/), which is rebuilt safely too

- Planning and writing your articles with AI

- 30 days free to try everything

FAQ

## Questions about regenerating thumbnails.

### What are thumbnails in WordPress?

They are the smaller copies WordPress makes of every uploaded image: thumbnail, medium, large and the sizes your theme asks for. Your site uses the right copy for each place, instead of loading the whole photo.

### When do I need to regenerate thumbnails?

After changing themes, changing the dimensions in Settings › Media or installing a plugin that adds a new size. WordPress only creates sizes at upload, so older images lack the new ones until you regenerate.

### Does regenerating change my posts' dates?

No. The plugin only rebuilds the images' resized copies. No post or page changes its date.

### Does it work with WebP and AVIF images?

Yes. For an image converted by the [Image Converter](https://jode.io/addons-tools/convert-images-avif-webp/), it rebuilds the sizes from the original JPG or PNG and then makes the light copies again, in the same format. Images uploaded as GIF, WebP or AVIF are included too, if your hosting can write that format. SVG has no sizes to rebuild.

### Are the old sizes deleted?

Only if you turn on Delete old, unused sizes. It comes off, because an old size may still be linked from a post or the page builder, and deleting the file would break that link. Even when on, only the image's own files are removed.

### Can I close the tab while it regenerates?

Yes. Regenerate all thumbnails keeps going in the background, up to 20 images at a time, with pauses so the server is never overloaded. An image that fails 3 times is skipped, so it never holds up the others.

### Why isn't it inside the post editor?

On purpose. With a post open in the editor, saving the post would write the images' old addresses back, and they would vanish from the page. That is why it lives in the Media Library and on the tool's tab.

### Does it need an AI key or a subscription?

No. Regenerate Thumbnails is Free forever and uses your site's own server. You only need to sign in with your jode.io account, which is free.

More add-ons and tools

## Works together with these.

Each add-on and each tool turns on and off on its own, in Global Settings › Add-ons/Tools.

[FREE **Image Converter**Lighter images across the whole site, with the original kept. Convert images to AVIF and WebP](https://jode.io/addons-tools/convert-images-avif-webp/)[FREE **Thumbnail in post types**Each post's featured image, right in the list. Featured image in the posts list](https://jode.io/addons-tools/featured-image-column/)[FREE **Rename Media**A new name for the image, with your site's links updated. Rename images](https://jode.io/addons-tools/rename-images/)

[See every add-on and tool](https://jode.io/addons-tools/)

APC Editorial

## Download it free and use it today.

The Regenerate Thumbnails tool is part of APC Editorial, the [plugin to generate articles with AI](https://jode.io/) with editorial planning. Free add-ons and tools stay free forever; PRO ones are unlocked during the 30 free days.

[Free download](https://jode.io/#community)[See every feature](https://jode.io/#features)

[jode**.io**](https://jode.io/)
APC Editorial is a WordPress plugin made by jode.io.

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