Video cover image generation

  • video
  • cover-image
  • poster
  • media-library
  • hero

When you upload a video, Dirigible can capture a still frame and save it as a normal library image. That still becomes the video’s cover — used as the poster while the video loads and as a mobile fallback when video cannot play.

You do not need a separate “poster” upload field on Hero, Section, Grid video cards, or Animated Slider slides. Those layouts read the cover from the video in the media library.

What happens on upload

  1. Upload a video from the block editor or Media → Add New.
  2. Wait a moment after WordPress finishes saving the file.
  3. Open the video in the media library — you should see a generated cover attached as its featured image.

Capture runs in your browser. The still is taken from early in the clip (about a tenth of a second in) and saved as a JPEG named from the video filename.

Generate or regenerate later

  1. Open the video in Media → Library or in a media modal.
  2. Find the Cover field in the attachment details.
  3. Click Generate Cover (first time) or Regenerate Cover (replace the current still).

Regenerating removes the previous generated cover owned by that video so the library stays tidy. Unrelated images are left alone.

If the first frame is black or unhelpful, regenerate after scrubbing is not available — re-upload a clip that starts on a useful frame, or regenerate and accept a slightly later automatic capture.

Where the cover is used

  • Section, Hero, and Grid video backgrounds use the cover for the poster attribute and as a still fallback on small screens.
  • Animated Slider slides with a BG Video use the same library cover as the poster while the background video loads (there is no separate poster control on the slide).

After a theme update, older videos without a cover may be queued for a one-time backfill while you are logged into wp-admin. A status notice appears until the queue finishes.

Tips

  • Prefer MP4 uploads that start on a clear, well-lit frame.
  • You can reuse the cover JPEG elsewhere like any other media library image.
  • Pair cover stills with focal points if that JPEG is also used in cropped image layouts.
  • Prepare photo assets separately with Formatting images.