MediaLume is a WordPress plugin that brings AI image generation directly into the native Media Library — no separate dashboard, no leaving the WordPress editor. Users generate, edit, and insert AI images into posts and pages the same way they’d upload any other media file.
The problem it solves
Most AI image tools live outside WordPress as standalone web apps, forcing a generate-download-upload workflow. MediaLume removes that friction entirely by embedding generation and editing controls inside the existing Media Library modal — the same interface every WordPress user already knows.
Zero-friction onboarding, real flexibility underneath
MediaLume is designed so a brand-new user can generate their first AI image in seconds, with room to scale up as their needs grow:
- Instant use, no setup — Out of the box, MediaLume works immediately through Pollinations.ai, giving every user free access to 2 Flux models with zero configuration and no account required.
- Connected Pollinations account — Users can optionally connect their own Pollinations.ai account to unlock the full range of available models using their own Pollinations credit.
- fal.ai (BYOK) — For users who want access to fal.ai’s model lineup, MediaLume supports a simple Bring-Your-Own-Key setup — users add their fal.ai API key and get direct access to fal.ai’s generation pipeline.
All image requests are routed server-side through PHP rather than the browser, which keeps API keys secure and avoids CORS restrictions entirely. Every successful generation is downloaded and saved permanently into the user’s own Media Library, so the image never depends on a third-party URL that could later expire or change.
Engineering highlights
- A unified internal generation function returns a consistent response shape regardless of which provider (Pollinations or fal.ai) handled the request, keeping the React frontend provider-agnostic and easy to extend with future providers.
- Deep integration with WordPress core’s Backbone-based Media Library JS API, engineered for compatibility from WordPress 5.0 through the latest release — including fallback strategies across multiple internal media-frame APIs that have changed across major WordPress versions.
- Clean separation between free anonymous usage (Pollinations default), connected-account usage (Pollinations with user credit), and BYOK usage (fal.ai), all routed through the same generation interface.
Built in collaboration with Claude
This plugin was developed in close collaboration with Claude (Anthropic) — using Claude Code for iterative feature development and debugging WordPress core API compatibility issues across versions, while I directed product decisions, UX flow, and the provider integration strategy.