Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026
Category Featured Images Extended
Active installs400+ rounded
Current authorCK MacLeod
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release8.5 years ago 07 Sep 2017
Support— no recent threads
Releases on record1
Rating4.4 /5 · 7
Added to directory23 Sep 2016
Requires WP3.5.0
Requires PHP5.6
Version lag2.3 behind
Tested up toWP 4.8.30 WordPress is now on 7.1
PluginPedia reports published data and observable changes. It does not rate plugin quality or safety, infer intent, or make recommendations. These are observations rather than a verdict. How this works
Ownership
Held by CK MacLeod throughout, with no change of ownership observed since daily tracking began on 02 Aug 2026.
Adoption
How widely the plugin is installed, and what the people running it think of it. WordPress.org rounds install figures to one significant digit, so they describe an order of magnitude rather than a headcount.
Small but established: 400+ active installs. Enough sites to show it works in the wild, too few for adoption to say much on its own.
5 downloads a day over the last 7 days, steady against the 7 days before. Downloads are counted exactly and without a ceiling, so they show movement the rounded install figure cannot.
08 Aug 2026peak 11/day04 Sep 2026
Daily record
Every field we record, one column per observation. Fields that never moved are named once rather than repeated across every column. A row of identical numbers would be padding.
| Field | 22 Aug | 23 Aug | 24 Aug | 25 Aug | 26 Aug | 27 Aug | 28 Aug | 29 Aug | 30 Aug | 31 Aug | 01 Sep | 02 Sep | 03 Sep | 04 Sep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads that day | — | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Unchanged throughout: ratings total (7) · active installs (400+) · version (1.52) · support threads (0) · threads resolved (0)
34 days of observation, most recent 14 shown.
Maintenance
When it was last released, and how far its declared compatibility has drifted from current WordPress.
Added to directory9.5 years ago 23 Sep 2016
Requires WP3.5.0
Requires PHP5.6
Version lag2.3 behind
Is anyone still maintaining this?
- No release in 3,284 days (9.0 years). The last was 07 Sep 2017.
- Declares compatibility only up to WordPress 4.8.30, while 7.1 is current. The author has not confirmed it runs on the last 23 releases.
- The same account maintains 4 other plugins, and none has been updated in over a year, the most recent on 13 Mar 2017.
A plugin that does one thing correctly may need no changes for years; a long gap is not, by itself, evidence of neglect.
History
Everything dated that this registry holds about the plugin, most recent first. Releases carry the author’s own release date; everything else is dated to when it was observed.
- 02 Aug 20261 month agoFirst observed by PluginPediaDaily snapshots of this plugin’s directory record begin here. Everything above this line is observed; anything before it comes from fields the API itself reports.
- 01 Mar 20197.5 years agoDormancy threshold crossed540 days since the last release (2017-09-07). Dormancy is a maintenance observation, not a judgement about the owner.
- 07 Sep 20178.5 years agoVersion 1.52 released
- 23 Sep 20169.5 years agoAdded to the WordPress.org directoryReported by the plugin API as the date this plugin was added.
What we know, and what we don’t
Everything on this page in one place, including the gaps, so that nothing here is mistaken for a clean bill of health.
What we know
- It has been held by CK MacLeod for all 34 days we have observed it.
- It was last released 8.5 years ago (07 Sep 2017).
- Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 4.8.30; WordPress is now on 7.1.
- WordPress.org reports 400+ active installs.
- It carries 7 ratings, averaging 4.4 out of 5.
What we don’t know yet
- No forum threads were open in the two months we measure, so how responsive its support is cannot be said. One new thread starts answering that.
What can’t be known
- Whether the quiet is neglect or a finished plugin. That is the author’s intent, which no dataset records, and a stable plugin can need no changes for years.
Every record on this site, this one included, works under the same limits. We read what WordPress.org publishes about a plugin, never the plugin’s own code, so nothing here says whether a plugin is well built or safe. Install counts reach us already rounded; a change smaller than a band step doesn’t show. We don’t track security advisories yet. For anything older than our first observation we rely on the plugin’s public release log, where one exists. What this registry can and cannot see
Similar plugins
This plugin has not been updated in a long time. These carry the same tags and describe themselves in the same terms, so they are a starting point for a replacement, not a recommendation. Check them yourself.
Generate Images (AI) – Magic Post Thumbnail
Generate featured images from Bing, GPT Image, Unsplash and more. Automatic, bulk or Gutenberg — based on your post title.
5,000+ installs4.3★ (25)updated 24 Aug 2026
13× the installs
Compare side by side Freundschaft Default Featured Images
Set a global default featured image and category-specific fallbacks with priority ordering.
100+ installsupdated 21 Jan 2026
Compare side by side Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages
Easily control whether the featured image appears in the single post or page view (doesn't hide it in archive/list view).
30,000+ installs4.8★ (38)updated 03 May 2026
75× the installs
Compare side by side XO Featured Image Tools
Automatically generate the featured image from the image of the post.
30,000+ installs4.7★ (21)updated 24 Nov 2025
75× the installs
Compare side by side Manual Image Crop
Plugin allows you to manually crop all the image sizes registered in your WordPress theme (in particular featured image).
8,000+ installs4.1★ (56)updated 13 Aug 2026
20× the installs
Compare side by side Setup Default Featured Image
Automatically set a default featured image for all WordPress posts, pages, and custom post types — no more missing thumbnails, ever.
400+ installsupdated 19 Jul 2026
Compare side by side Grouped from the tags each author chose for their own plugin, so the grouping is only as good as those tags.
Reach out about this record
Corrections, missing context, or anything else about Category Featured Images Extended: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.