Cloud Storage

Requires WPMediaVerse Pro - This feature is available exclusively in the Pro version.

Stop storing media on your web server - offload every photo and video to Amazon S3 or BunnyCDN for faster delivery, lower server load, and global CDN performance.

Pluggable Storage Architecture

WPMediaVerse separates where media records live (always in your WordPress database) from where files are stored (local, S3, or BunnyCDN). Every upload goes through a StorageDriverInterface - a clean abstraction that means:

• Switch drivers anytime - Change from local to S3 in one setting. Existing files continue to serve from their original location; new uploads go to the new driver.
• Build your own driver - Developers can register custom drivers (Google Cloud Storage, DigitalOcean Spaces, Wasabi) by implementing the StorageDriverInterface. See Custom Storage Drivers.
• Signed URLs for private media - Cloud drivers generate time-limited signed URLs so private and members-only media stays protected even when served from a public CDN.
• No lock-in - Media metadata stays in your WordPress database regardless of storage driver. Switch providers without losing any data.

Why Use Cloud Storage

• Your WordPress server no longer stores or serves media files - reducing disk usage and bandwidth costs
• Files are served from edge locations closest to each visitor, so images load faster worldwide
• S3 and BunnyCDN both scale to millions of files without any WordPress configuration changes
• Private media gets signed URLs so only authorized users can access the actual file - even with cloud storage

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How Media Serving Works in 1.4.0

Location-based serving

Each media item is served from where it is actually stored, based on its storage location and privacy setting at the time of the request. The active storage driver setting only controls where new uploads go - it does not affect files that were uploaded previously.

This means:

• Switching the active driver (for example, from local to S3) does not break any existing media. Files already on S3 keep serving from S3. Files on local disk keep serving through the plugin's /serve route.
• Enabling a cloud integration for the first time does not affect older uploads - they continue working as before.
• Public media stored on cloud serves directly from the CDN (no WordPress request involved). Local media serves through the plugin's /serve proxy route.

Private media stays local

Only public media is eligible for cloud storage. Media with any other privacy setting (members-only, friends-only, private, or group) is always stored on the local server disk. This applies to the original file, all thumbnails, and all generated image variants (WebP, AVIF).

There is effectively one storage location per media item at any time: either cloud (for public media) or local (for everything else).

Per-request access check for private media

Every request to the /serve route for non-public media re-verifies the requesting user's view permission (can_view). A signed URL does not act as a transferable bearer token for private media. If the viewer no longer has access, the request returns 403 - even with a valid, unexpired signed URL. Public media uses bearer-style URLs (cacheable and shareable) because they carry no access restriction.

Cloudflare R2 requires a public domain

If you use Cloudflare R2 and have not configured a public domain (r2.dev subdomain or custom domain) on your bucket, WPMediaVerse will not emit the raw *.r2.cloudflarestorage.com API URL. That endpoint is never publicly readable. Instead, the plugin falls back to serving the file from the local copy via /serve.

To enable true CDN serving from R2, configure a public domain for your bucket in the Cloudflare R2 dashboard (either the r2.dev subdomain or your own custom domain), then enter that hostname in the CDN Domain field in Storage settings.

"Serve public cloud media directly" setting retired

The Serve public cloud media directly checkbox (mvs_cloud_direct_public_urls) has been removed from the settings UI in 1.4.0. Direct CDN serving for public cloud media is now automatic. You do not need to enable any toggle. The underlying option is retained in the database for back-compatibility, but it has no effect on serving behavior.

If you had this checkbox enabled before upgrading, no action is needed - behavior is the same or better.

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Setting Up Amazon S3

1. Log into your AWS Console and create an S3 bucket
2. Create an IAM user with the required permissions (see IAM Policy below) and save the access key and secret key
3. In WordPress, go to Media > Settings > Storage
4. Set Storage Driver to Amazon S3
5. Enter your bucket name, region, access key ID, and secret access key
6. If you use CloudFront or a custom domain, enter the hostname in the CDN Domain field
7. Click Test Connection - WPMediaVerse Pro uploads a small test file and reads it back to confirm everything works
8. Click Save Settings - all new uploads now go directly to S3

Setting Up BunnyCDN

1. Log into your BunnyCDN dashboard and create a Storage Zone
2. Note your storage zone name, API key, region, and pull zone hostname
3. In WordPress, go to Media > Settings > Storage
4. Set Storage Driver to BunnyCDN
5. Enter your storage zone name, API key, region, and CDN hostname
6. Click Test Connection to verify
7. Click Save Settings - all new uploads now go to BunnyCDN

Choosing a Storage Driver

Go to Media > Settings > Storage and set the Storage Driver option. The value is stored in the mvs_storage_driver option.

Value	Driver
local	Default WordPress uploads directory (no Pro required)
s3	Amazon S3
bunnycdn	BunnyCDN
r2	Cloudflare R2
dospaces	DigitalOcean Spaces

Only one driver is active at a time. Switching drivers does not migrate existing files - previously uploaded files remain at their original URLs and continue to serve from their original location.

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Amazon S3

Settings

Option	Option Key	Description
S3 Bucket	mvs_pro_s3_bucket	The name of your S3 bucket
S3 Region	mvs_pro_s3_region	AWS region code, e.g. us-east-1
Access Key ID	mvs_pro_s3_access_key	Your AWS IAM access key ID
Secret Access Key	mvs_pro_s3_secret_key	Your AWS IAM secret access key
CDN Domain	mvs_pro_s3_cdn_domain	Optional CloudFront or custom domain for file URLs

Storing Credentials in wp-config.php

Instead of saving credentials to the database, define them as constants in wp-config.php:

define( 'MVS_PRO_AWS_ACCESS_KEY', 'AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE' );
define( 'MVS_PRO_AWS_SECRET_KEY', 'wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY' );

When these constants are defined, WPMediaVerse Pro uses them instead of the database values. The admin fields show a placeholder indicating constants are in use.

Required IAM Policy

Your IAM user needs at minimum:

{
  "Effect": "Allow",
  "Action": [
    "s3:PutObject",
    "s3:GetObject",
    "s3:DeleteObject",
    "s3:ListBucket"
  ],
  "Resource": [
    "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name",
    "arn:aws:s3:::your-bucket-name/*"
  ]
}

CDN Domain

If you serve your bucket through CloudFront or a custom domain, enter the hostname (without trailing slash) in the CDN Domain field. WPMediaVerse Pro replaces the default S3 URL with this domain for all generated file URLs.

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BunnyCDN

Settings

Option	Option Key	Description
Storage Zone	mvs_pro_bunny_zone	Your BunnyCDN storage zone name
API Key	mvs_pro_bunny_api_key	Your BunnyCDN API key
Region	mvs_pro_bunny_region	Storage region: de, ny, la, sg, syd
CDN Hostname	mvs_pro_bunny_cdn_hostname	Your pull zone hostname, e.g. media.yoursite.b-cdn.net

Regions

Value	Location
de	Falkenstein, Germany (default)
ny	New York, USA
la	Los Angeles, USA
sg	Singapore
syd	Sydney, Australia

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Testing the Connection

After saving settings, click Test Connection in the Storage settings panel. WPMediaVerse Pro uploads a small test file, reads it back, then deletes it. The result (success or error message) appears inline without a page reload.

If the test fails, verify your credentials, bucket name, and that the IAM or API key has sufficient permissions.

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File Path Structure

Files are stored under the same path structure used for local uploads:

wpmediaverse/YYYY/MM/filename.ext

For S3 this becomes s3://your-bucket/wpmediaverse/YYYY/MM/filename.ext. For BunnyCDN it becomes a path within your storage zone.

Signed URLs with Cloud Storage

When media privacy is not public, WPMediaVerse Pro generates signed URLs through the /serve proxy route. The proxy re-verifies view permission on every request - signed URLs for non-public media do not grant transferable access. S3 presigned URLs and BunnyCDN token authentication are used for migration and admin operations, not for end-user delivery of private media.

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Developer: Filtering Public Cloud URLs

The public-cloud serving behavior can be adjusted using three filters. Full parameter details are in the Developer Guide: Hooks and Filters.

Filter	What it controls
mvs_serve_public_cloud_direct	Return false to force all media back through the /serve proxy instead of emitting direct CDN URLs
mvs_public_cloud_thumbnail_url	Rewrite or replace the direct CDN URL for a public cloud-hosted thumbnail
mvs_public_cloud_file_url	Rewrite or replace the direct CDN URL for a public cloud-hosted original file