📦 What is it?
Find Orphaned Images is a plugin for Obsidian that shows which images and attachments aren’t used in any note.
Such files sit as dead weight, take up memory, slow down backups and get in the way of focusing.
🤔 Why do you need it?
Have you ever looked into your files/ folder?
It’s like an attic: old screenshots, downloaded memes, experiments for notes…
It seems like everything’s under control — but the vault swells. This is where Find Orphaned Images comes to the rescue. It:
- scans your whole Obsidian base,
- shows all the files that aren’t used anywhere,
- lets you delete or move them in a couple of clicks.
⚙️ How does it work?
- You install the plugin via Community Plugins.
- You open the
Find Orphaned Imagescommand. - You look at the list of unused images.
- You choose: delete or move them (e.g. to an
archivefolder).
Done. A simple clean-up — but the effect is powerful.
🔥 Examples of use
-
A member from the chat wrote:
“I deleted 600+ MB of images that had been piling up for years. The vault became twice as light.”
-
Another noted:
“If you use Obsidian Publish — it’s a must-have. Only the necessary files end up on the site.”
📉 Savings
- The vault size drops → faster synchronisation
- The cloud backup weighs less → saving space
- Less visual noise → cleaner thinking
❗️What to watch out for?
- The plugin shows all the unused images — be careful: not everything that’s “not visible” can be deleted right away.
- It’s better to make a backup before cleaning.
🧰 An alternative?
| Plugin | What it does |
|---|---|
| Attachment Management Plugin | Lets you filter any attachments |
| Clear Unused Images | Deletes without the extra UI, but more harshly |
| Find Orphaned Files | Checks not only images, but also PDF, DOC, etc. |
💡 Conclusion
If your vault weighs as much as a design student’s folder — it’s time to clean up. The plugin is simple, free and does its job perfectly.
Keep going?