Version: v2.9.0
License: MIT licensed
Platforms: macOS · Linux · Win
Cost: $0 / month

// local-first wordpress tooling

Your machine does the work.
WordPress just syncs.

Optimize images, strip backgrounds, generate metadata, audit accessibility, and undo any change. It all runs on your own laptop, then pushes to any WordPress site over the REST API. No cloud SaaS, no per-image credits, no plugin.

$brew install gfargo/tap/localpress

Get started →

fig.01 · interactive media browser$ localpress list -i

localpress list -i

localPress interactive media browser: navigate items, view details, and configure optimization from the terminal

// why localpress

Plugins charge monthly for what your laptop does for free.

Smush, ShortPixel, and Imagify all ship your images to a remote server and bill you per-image or per-month. localPress processes everything on your own machine and syncs the results back over the REST API. Four reasons that's a better deal.

Your hardware does the work

✗Cloud plugins charge $4–13/month for compute your laptop does for free.

→Run BiRefNet, ISNet, or lightweight U2-Net models locally. localPress pins and checksum-verifies every download, then reuses one loaded session across the whole batch.

Works with any WordPress host

✗EWWW needs exec() and shell access that most shared hosts block.

→localPress talks to WordPress via Application Passwords, built into WP core since 5.6. Works on the cheapest shared host. Your laptop is the runtime.

Round-trip with real editors

✗No plugin lets you open an image in Photoshop, edit, and sync back.

→Open in GIMP, Photoshop, or Preview. Save. It syncs back on its own. This is the workflow designers actually want, and no one else offers it.

Built for AI agents

✗No image optimizer integrates with Claude, Cursor, Kiro, or MCP-native agents.

→First-party MCP server with 52 typed tools. Drop one config block into your agent and it manages your entire media library autonomously.

// see it in action

A full media manager, in your terminal.

fig.02 · interactive browserlive

localpress list -i

localPress interactive media browser — navigate through your WordPress media library, open detail views, and manage images from the terminal

Browse, inspect, and act on your media library without leaving the terminal.

// keyboard-driven overlays · every action one keystroke away

[o] optimize

localPress optimize settings — configure quality, format conversion, and replace-in-place from an inline overlay

Inline optimize · quality, format, replace mode

[/] search

Live search filters as you type

[c] convert

localPress format conversion — pick WebP, AVIF, JPEG, or PNG from a keyboard-driven picker

Format picker · WebP, AVIF, JPEG, PNG

[↵] details

localPress detail view — full metadata including dimensions, alt text, registered sizes, and processing status

Full metadata detail view

// workflows, not screenshots

actions tour

Every action one keystroke away · optimize, convert, resize

full workflow

doctor → list → stats · the full localpress loop

// what's inside

38 commands. One binary.

One image or your whole library, the processing stays on your machine. Bulk writes dry-run by default, and shared concurrency keeps batches predictable.

commands total

Processing

optimize

Compress without compromise

sharp + jSquash WASM codecs. Set a quality floor, pick a format, use named profiles, preview in the browser with --preview, or process your entire library in one pass.

$ localpress optimize --unoptimized --profile hero --apply

remove-bg

Background removal. No cloud.

Five checksum-verified ONNX models, including BiRefNet, all running on your hardware. Preview first; batch runs reuse one loaded model session.

$ localpress remove-bg 847 --model birefnet-lite --preview

Discovery

audit

Seven health checks, one command

Unoptimized, oversized, missing alt text, display-size mismatch, duplicate images, broken refs, orphaned files. Every check runs in seconds.

$ localpress audit

export / importMigration

Backup, migrate, bulk-load.

Export your entire library as a ZIP with metadata manifest. Import directories or ZIPs with optional optimization on upload.

watchAutomation

Drop files. They appear in WordPress.

Watch a local directory for new or changed images, including atomic editor saves, then optimize and push continuously.

editRound-trip

Open in any editor. Syncs back.

Download → GIMP, Photoshop, or Preview → save → automatically pushed to WordPress.

referencesDiscovery

Find every usage

Scan all posts for an attachment's URL. Rewrite them in-place after a rename or move.

// also included

initInteractive site wizard

sitesManage multiple sites

doctorCapability check + --fix

configProfiles + scalar values

listBrowse media library

showAttachment metadata

statsLibrary health dashboard

captionAI alt-text via Ollama

convertJPEG → WebP → AVIF

resizeResize preserving ratio

regenerateRebuild WP thumbnails

exportBackup as ZIP or dir

importBulk upload with optimize

postsContent CRUD

a11yWCAG accessibility audit

pullDownload to local disk

pushUpload + replace-in-place

updateSelf-update localpress

completionsbash / zsh / fish

// localpress audit

Seven health checks in a single pass.

01 --unoptimizedImages never processed by localPress

02 --largeImages over a size threshold (default 1 MB)

03 --missing-altImages without alt text (accessibility / SEO)

04 --display-sizeImages larger than their biggest registered thumbnail

05 --duplicatesPerceptually identical images via dHash

06 --broken-refsAttachment URLs that return 404

07 --orphansFiles on disk with no DB record (requires WP-CLI)

fig.03 · library health dashboard$ localpress stats

localpress stats

// vision ai

Six fields, one vision model.

The same local Ollama vision model that powers caption now generates titles, descriptions, tags, image-type classifications, and AI-renamed slugs. Each is its own command, or run them all at once with vision.

what it generates

localpress alt

Alt text

Concise single-sentence description for accessibility. Writes to alt_text.

localpress title

Title

3-7 word noun phrase. Auto-detects machine-generated names (Screenshot-…, IMG_…) for bulk cleanup.

localpress describe

Description

2-3 sentence description for galleries and attachment-page SEO. Writes to the description field.

localpress tag

Type

Detects screenshot/photo/illustration/diagram. Cached locally so optimize picks PNG vs WebP automatically.

localpress rename

Slug

AI-generated permalink slug (with --smart) or explicit (--to). Straight talk on the file URL: slug only for v1.

// or · all at once

The vision workflow

localpress vision <id> runs all five generators in one pass. Print-only by default so you can review before writing. Pair with --apply to commit everything to WordPress in a single composed update.

localPress caches the classification locally, so later optimize calls on the same attachment pick PNG for screenshots and WebP for photos on their own.

terminal

# Print all five fields for review
localpress vision 2202

# Or write them all back at once
localpress vision 2202 --apply

# Or pick a subset
localpress vision 2202 --fields alt,title --apply

Commands reference →Ollama setup ↗

// time-machine

Reversible by design.

Source and metadata changes write a snapshot before WordPress mutates. Explicit keep-original runs skip needless snapshots; automatic REST fallbacks retain recovery history. Wrong bulk optimize or bad cutout? Walk it back.

Run anything

Optimize, convert, resize, remove-bg, caption, in bulk or one at a time. Before any source or metadata write, localpress captures the state needed to recover it.

localpress optimize --unoptimized --apply

Browse history

Every command creates a session. Inspect snapshots with history, or drop into the interactive TUI to walk through them.

localpress history -i

Undo the bad one

Dry-run first, apply when ready. Single attachment, whole session, or step back op-by-op. Works the same when an MCP agent drives it.

localpress undo --apply

Safe by default

Bulk undos dry-run unless you pass --apply, matching the rest of the CLI.

Bounded disk

Default 2 GB cap per site. Auto-prune on every op. Configurable via history.maxSizeBytes.

Idempotent-aware

Skipped ops (source unchanged) don't create snapshots. Re-running unchanged ops costs nothing.

MCP-first

Agents get undo, history_list, history_show, and history_prune as typed tools.

History & Undo guide →

// agent-native

Built for AI agents.

Drop one config block into Claude Desktop, Cursor, Kiro, or any MCP client. 52 typed tools cover every operation, including bulk optimization and accessibility audits. Same binary, new entrypoint. Now an agent can run your whole media library on its own.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "localpress": {
      "command": "localpress",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

fig.04 · agent driving localpressclaude · localpress mcp

claude · localpress MCP

AI agent using localpress MCP tools — lists unoptimized images and compresses them to WebP automatically

An AI agent finds unoptimized images and compresses them, no manual commands needed.

52 tools · 4 resources

Setup

sites_list
sites_use
sites_add
sites_remove
doctor
health_check
config_*

Discovery

list
show
stats
audit
references
search_by_url
site_briefing
watch_status

Content

posts_list
posts_show
posts_create
posts_update
posts_delete

Accessibility

a11y_audit

Vision AI

caption
generate_title
generate_description
tag
classify
vision

Processing

optimize
convert
resize
remove_bg
update_metadata

Library

pull
push
delete
rename
regenerate
export
import

Time-machine

history_list
history_show
history_prune
undo

resources

localpress://siteslocalpress://statslocalpress://capabilitieslocalpress://history

MCP Setup guide →About the Model Context Protocol ↗

// the full picture

How localPress stacks up.

Feature by feature against five WordPress image optimization plugins you already know.

Feature	localPress	EWWW	ShortPixel	Smush	Imagify
Processing location	Your laptop	WP server	Cloud	Cloud	Cloud
Recurring cost	$0	$0 – $25/mo	$4 – $10/mo	$3 – $13/mo	$6 – $12/mo
Works on shared host	✓	Needs exec()	✓	✓	✓
AI background removal	✓ local	✗	✓ paid	✗	✗
Desktop editor round-trip	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
AI agent skill	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗
License	MIT	GPLv3	Proprietary	Mixed	Proprietary

§ 09 / Installation

Three ways in.

One binary. No runtime to babysit, no daemon in the background. Pick a lane and ship.

Homebrew · recommended

View tap ↗