Permissions, export and privacy
Permissions
Media Organizer brings seven actions of its own, which you assign per user group as usual under Options → Permissions.
| Action | Allows |
|---|---|
| Scan | Start a scan. Purely reading, harmless. |
| Move to quarantine | Move files into quarantine. Reversible. |
| Restore | Bring files back from quarantine. |
| Delete for good | Remove files irrevocably. |
| Optimise | Have images shrunk (with a backup). |
| Edit | Use the image editor. |
| Maintain the safelist | Exempt files from cleanup permanently. |
On top of that Joomla's admin login permission (core.manage) applies — without
it nobody gets into the component at all.
A sensible split
The actions are deliberately separate so that you can stagger responsibility:
- Editors: scanning. They see what is piling up without being able to touch anything.
- Webmasters: additionally quarantine, restoring, optimising, editing. That is the everyday work — and all of it is reversible.
- Super users: deleting for good.
By default require a super user for deleting is active (Options → security & retention). So even someone holding the action delete for good does not get through unless they are a super user. Two independent hurdles for the only irreversible step.
The safelist
Some files should never be up for debate — logos, images for a newsletter, a folder with material for external purposes. That is what the safelist is for: whatever matches it is no longer reported as "without a reference".
What you enter are patterns, not individual files — checked against the site-relative path:
| Pattern type | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Glob pattern | images/keep/* |
Protects everything below images/keep/. |
| Regular expression | — | For cases a glob cannot capture. |
A pattern instead of a file list has a practical advantage: put a new file into
images/keep/ and it is protected automatically — you do not have to remember to add
it.
The safelist is the honest route for "I know this better than the software" — considerably better than softening the deletion gate. It acts specifically on what you name, instead of lowering all safety checks across the board.
Export
From the review view you export the inventory via Export CSV or Export JSON. The filters currently set are respected — so you can pull out "all unreferenced images over 1 MB" specifically.
The same works from the command line:
php cli/joomla.php jimgo:report --format=csv --state=orphan_candidate > orphaned.csvTypical uses: agreeing things with the client before anything happens. A second opinion. Or simply documenting what you did.
Privacy and data held
Media Organizer works strictly locally. It contacts no external services. No data leaves your website.
In detail:
- No telemetry, no usage statistics, no phoning home.
- Images are not uploaded. Optimisation and the image editor run on your server — the optional external encoders are locally installed programs too.
- The only outgoing connection is the update check. Joomla itself performs that when you trigger it.
What is stored
| Inventory | Path, size, dimensions, checksum, timestamps per file. |
|---|---|
| References | Occurrences: table, record, column, the reference found. |
| Scan history | When, how long, with what result. |
| Audit log | Who moved, restored or deleted what and when — including the reason for an override. |
| 404 hits | Accesses to files in quarantine (only with the plugin active). |
This is technical data about files, not personal data about website visitors. The audit log records which administrator triggered an action — that is the point of an audit log.
With Options → performance → keep scan detail data (default: 5) you control for how many of the last scans the occurrence details are kept. Older ones are removed automatically so that the tables do not grow indefinitely. The scan overview itself is kept.
What happens when uninstalling
Removing the extension clears its tables. Files in quarantine stay where they are — they are not deleted. So bring back what you want to keep before you uninstall; otherwise you have to go through the quarantine folder by hand afterwards.
Where to go from here
Applies to version 1.0.5.