Image Regenerate & Select Crop
Plugin Review
AI-ResearchedWhat is Image Regenerate & Select Crop?
Image Regenerate & Select Crop is a mature utility plugin that gives you direct control over how WordPress handles your image files. Developed by Iulia Cazan, this tool has been actively maintained for 12 years. It provides a dedicated interface to regenerate missing thumbnails, crop images to specific sub-sizes, and clean up unused files. The plugin currently serves 8K+ active installations and holds a 4.7/5 rating from 58 user reviews, with 91% of those being five-star ratings. It is updated regularly, with the most recent version (8.2.1) released on Jun 14, 2026.
The core purpose is to solve a common WordPress headache: when you change your theme or update your image size settings, existing uploads do not automatically create new cropped versions. This plugin fixes that. It adds regeneration and cropping buttons directly to the Edit Media screen, the post editor, and even within image blocks. It works with custom post types, including WooCommerce products, making it a reliable tool for any site that relies on consistent image dimensions.
Key Features of Image Regenerate & Select Crop
- One-Click Regenerate All Sizes: Regenerate every registered image sub-size for a single attachment with one click, ensuring all thumbnails match your current settings.
- Selective Crop with Preview: For crop-type images, you can choose a specific portion of the original image and see an instant preview before applying the crop.
- Raw Cleanup Mode: Delete all generated image files and metadata for an attachment, keeping only the original file. This lets you start fresh and regenerate only the sub-sizes you actually need.
- Details Lightbox: A dedicated button opens a lightbox showing which sub-size files are missing or present, with manual generation options for each size.
- Image Placeholder Mode: Display placeholder images on the front end for missing or requested sizes. This is useful for debugging which image dimensions your theme uses, or for showing smaller images instead of full-size originals.
- Global or Post-Type Configuration: Apply the plugin’s features globally across your site, or restrict them to specific post types (including WooCommerce products and custom post types).
- WP-CLI Support: Manage regeneration and cropping from the command line, with detailed examples provided in the plugin’s documentation.
- Sub-Size Exclusion: Globally ignore specific image sub-sizes so they are never generated, saving server storage and processing time.
Who Should Use Image Regenerate & Select Crop?
This plugin is ideal for site owners who regularly change themes or update their image size configuration. If you have ever uploaded a batch of images, then later realized your thumbnails are the wrong dimensions, this tool solves that problem. It is suited for both beginners and experienced users. The interface is straightforward: buttons appear where you already work (the media library and post editor), so no extra navigation is required.
With 8K+ active installs and a 12-year development history, the plugin has proven stable for content-heavy sites, including e-commerce stores using WooCommerce. The raw cleanup feature is especially valuable for sites that have accumulated hundreds of unused image files over time. If you need to bulk regenerate images after a migration or theme switch, this plugin handles the task without requiring coding knowledge. Developers can also extend the plugin using the provided action hook: image_regenerate_select_crop_button.
Installation & Setup
Installation is standard: search for "Image Regenerate & Select Crop" in your WordPress admin, install, and activate. The plugin requires WordPress 5.3+ and PHP 7.3.5+. Once active, buttons appear automatically on the Edit Media page and in post editors. No configuration is required to start regenerating or cropping images, though you can adjust global settings or placeholder mode from the plugin’s settings page.
Support & Community
The developer provides active support through the WordPress.org forums. In the last two months, the plugin resolved 1 of 1 support threads, achieving a 100% resolution rate. This indicates that reported issues are addressed promptly. The rating distribution shows a clear majority of satisfied users: 91% of ratings are 1% are one-star. The 12-year development cycle and regular updates (last updated Jun 14, 2026) suggest a mature, stable codebase. For users who need to regenerate image sub-sizes WordPress or perform a cleanup unused image sizes WordPress, the plugin’s support record provides confidence that help is available when needed.
Pros & Cons
- With 8K+ active installs and a 4.7 rating from 58 ratings, it demonstrates strong user satisfaction and reliability.
- The plugin offers a one-click raw cleanup feature that deletes all image sub-sizes and metadata while preserving the original file, enabling a fresh start for regeneration.
- It provides a detailed lightbox view for each image sub-size, showing missing files and offering a one-click re-crop option with instant preview for crop-type images.
- The plugin integrates buttons directly into the Edit Media page, Edit Post/Page screens, and the image block, supporting custom post types including WooCommerce products without extra code.
- With a 100% support thread resolution rate from 1 total thread, the developer actively resolves issues for users.
- At only 8K+ active installs, the plugin has a relatively small user base, which may indicate limited community support or testing.
- The plugin lacks batch regeneration for all images at once, requiring users to regenerate each image individually via the Edit Media page.
- There is no built-in option to automatically regenerate images upon theme or plugin updates, meaning users must manually trigger regeneration for new sizes.
Technical Details
- Requires WordPress
- 5.3+
- Requires PHP
- 7.3.5+
- Tested up to WP
- 7.0.2
- First Released
- 2014 (12+ years)
- Support (last 2 months)
- 1 threads — 100% resolved
Feature Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Image Regenerate & Select Crop is completely free and available on WordPress.org. It was first released in 2014 and has 8K+ active installs.
The plugin has 8K+ active installs on WordPress sites. It also holds a strong 4.7/5 rating based on 58 ratings.
Image Regenerate & Select Crop requires WordPress 5.3 or higher. This ensures compatibility with modern WordPress features and security updates.
Yes, the plugin is actively maintained — it was last updated on Jun 14, 2026 and is currently at version 8.2.1. The author, Iulia Cazan, has supported it since its first release in 2014.
The plugin requires PHP 7.3.5 or higher. This ensures stable performance and compatibility with modern hosting environments.
Support is excellent — in the last 2 months, there was only 1 support thread, and it was resolved (100% resolution rate). Most users find the plugin intuitive and well-documented.
Yes, beginners can use it easily because it adds simple buttons to the Edit Media and Edit Post pages without requiring any code. For advanced users, it also offers WP-CLI commands and custom action hooks.
Key features include a Details button with a lightbox for missing sub-sizes, a Regenerate button for one-click regeneration, and a Raw cleanup button to delete all metadata except the original file. You can also override native crop options and register new image sub-sizes globally or per post type.