Background

WordPress creates a new attachment each time we upload a file to the Media Library. Attachments are instances of the 'attachment' built-in post type. They contain metadata pulled from the file, such as file name and file size, and other fields like caption and description.

The uploaded file is stored in the wp-content/uploads folder by default. The attachment data is stored in the tables wp_posts and wp_postmeta. Deleting an attachment means deleting the file and all related records.

Steps

Follow these steps to delete an attachment in WordPress.

Step 1: Navigate to the Media Library.

Step 2: Click Delete Permanently in the action links for the target element.

Step 3: A confirmation window will appear. Click OK.