Title: Image file behavior
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: September 10, 2020
Last modified: March 4, 2026

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 1. [VIP File System](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-file-system/)
 2. Image file behavior

#  Image file behavior

Default behavior of image files (e.g., `jpg`, `png`, `gif`) that are located in 
a site’s `/uploads/` directory, served by the VIP File System:

 * Separate [intermediate image files are not created](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-file-system/image-files/intermediate-images/)
   for images that are uploaded to a WordPress media library. Instead, [requested image sizes are dynamically generated](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-file-system/image-files/transformations/)
   using a built-in service similar to [Site Accelerator](https://developer.wordpress.com/docs/site-accelerator/)(
   previously Photon).
 * All images are automatically converted and [served as next-gen formats](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-file-system/image-files/image-quality/),
   including `*.webp` files, to compatible browsers.
 * Image files are served relative to the `home_url` of their site, so images will
   be on the same domain as a site. This differs from [Site Accelerator](https://developer.wordpress.com/docs/photon/)(
   previously “Photon”), which serves files through a subdomain of `wp.com` (e.g.`
   i1.wp.com`).
 * [Responsive images](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-file-system/image-files/responsive-images/)
   are automatically supported by WordPress Core. Image markup will automatically
   include `srcset` and `sizes` attributes for images uploaded to a WordPress site’s
   Media Library.
 * By default, image metadata is not stripped. If needed, logic can be added to 
   [strip image metadata on upload](https://docs.wpvip.com/images-strip-image-metadata-on-upload/).

Last updated: March 04, 2026