Where Does WordPress Store Uploaded Files?
WordPress files every uploaded image and document under wp-content/uploads, sorted into year and month folders.
Last updated
Every image added through the editor lands in wp-content/uploads, filed under year and month subfolders. Thumbnails and scaled copies sit beside the originals, which is why one upload produces a small crowd of files.
The folder is only half the story. WordPress records each upload as a database attachment with its metadata, so the library is files plus rows. Migrations need both: copy the uploads tree and import the database, or media arrives broken.
Where WordPress stores this, by platform
/var/www/html/wp-content/uploads
Year/month subfolders organize uploads automatically. Keep wp-config.php one level above backed up too, since it holds the database credentials.
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\wp-content\uploads
Same internal layout as Linux. The parent path follows wherever IIS or your stack keeps the site, commonly under C:\inetpub\wwwroot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I back up to save my media library?
Both halves. The files live in uploads, but titles, alt text, and attachment pages live as rows in the database. A file only restore shows images with no metadata until the matching database returns too.
Can I delete uploads directly on disk?
Deleting through Media > Library removes both the file and its database row. Deleting by FTP or file manager orphans the row, leaving ghost entries the library still lists but cannot display.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.