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Import externally linked images to filesystem, on demand. #4832
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Originally created by @ghost on GitHub (Jun 19, 2024).
Describe the feature you'd like
The ability to, on demand, have external images in a document be downloaded to the Bookstack instance's filesystem, replacing the link pointing outside the instance with the new local copy route.
It would be ideal to have this achievable in two ways:
The tooltips for these actions in the interface could read:
For good UX, it would be important that the import button for single elements be reachable from the main image actions popup and not hidden in nested menus or dialogues. As it would be an activity that could have to be performed repeatedly for a document.
On the other hand, the import button for all external images, could be nested somewhere or out of sight without risking negatively impacting its usability.
Describe the benefits this would bring to existing BookStack users
When an image (and other media) is linked to a document from outside the BookStack instance, it can go offline without notice.
How important this is, hugely depends on whether the user knowingly linked the media or not and if they considered the consequences of their actions.
If the items were linked manually, it is possible that the user knows that it can break at any moment, as it is common in other platforms. But if the images were automatically linked by copying and pasting, this can pass unnoticed until it is too late.
Thus, affecting the integrity of the information and the reliability of the platform.
Can the goal of this request already be achieved via other means?
Yes.
Have you searched for an existing open/closed issue?
How long have you been using BookStack?
3 months to 1 year
Additional context
Among other, I also use BookStack to compile research notes, and often copy and paste from the web, this means that the images are not uploaded, only hotlinked. Links break, from sites that don't want you to hotlink to sites that move the resources or simply delete them. Research notes are not as vital to deserve investing time into manually uploading each image, but aren't unimportant either, so when the image breaks, I'm pushed to search for it again.
@likwid101 commented on GitHub (Jan 1, 2026):
I just became aware that the images were staying external (from the external website). Have you found a workaround to get this to happen and/or is this feature now a part of bookstack at the beginning of 2026 (almost)