Automatic Video Cover Images

What it helps you do

Turn uploaded videos into polished backgrounds and heroes without hunting for a separate poster image. Dirigible captures a still from the video and saves it as a normal library image you can reuse anywhere.

Where to find it

  • Upload — add a video in the block editor or through Media → Add New.
  • Media Library — open a video attachment. The Cover field shows a preview when a cover exists, plus Generate Cover or Regenerate Cover.
  • Attachment details — the same Cover controls appear when you edit a video in the media modal.

How to use it

New uploads

  1. Upload a video as you normally would.
  2. Wait a moment after WordPress finishes saving the file.
  3. Open the video in the library — you should see a generated cover attached as its featured image.

Existing videos

After a theme update, Dirigible may queue older videos that never received a cover. Keep an admin screen open while logged in; a status notice appears until the queue finishes.

Manual control

  1. Open the video in the media library or modal.
  2. Click Generate Cover (first time) or Regenerate Cover (replace the current still).
  3. The new JPEG becomes the video’s featured image.

What happens automatically

  • Capture happens in the browser — no server-side video tools required. The still is taken from about a tenth of a second into the clip.
  • The cover is saved as a JPEG in the media library (named from the video filename) and linked to the video as its featured image.
  • Section, Hero, and Grid video backgrounds use that cover for the poster frame and as a mobile fallback when video cannot play.
  • Regenerating removes the previous generated cover owned by that video so the library stays tidy.
  • On theme update, videos without a valid cover image may be queued for one-time backfill the next time wp-admin loads.

Things to know

  • The cover is a snapshot, not a live preview. Re-upload the video or click Regenerate Cover if the first frame is black or unhelpful.
  • Only generated covers tied to a video are replaced when you regenerate; unrelated images in the library are left alone.
  • If capture fails for a specific file (unusual codec, very large file, browser limits), check Dirigible → Flags for skipped items and try Regenerate Cover on that video.

Related settings and guides