Introduction to Virtual Files

Virtual Files is a powerful WordPress plugin that allows you to create and manage files that behave as if they physically exist in your website root directory. This innovative approach enables you to serve dynamic content through static file URLs without cluttering your filesystem.

What are Virtual Files?

Virtual files are WordPress posts that are served as actual files through clean URLs. Instead of creating physical files on your server, Virtual Files intercepts requests and serves content dynamically while maintaining proper file headers and MIME types.

Key Benefits

🚀 Clean URLs

Serve files through clean, SEO-friendly URLs like:

• yourdomain.com/robots.txt
• yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
• yourdomain.com/api/config.json

📁 Dynamic Content

Create files that can be updated through the WordPress admin without FTP or file system access. Perfect for:

• Dynamic sitemaps
• API endpoints
• Configuration files
• Redirect rules

⚡ Performance Optimized

Built-in caching system ensures lightning-fast file serving with minimal database overhead.

🔒 Secure by Design

Multi-layer security with content sanitization, access control, and WordPress security best practices.

Use Cases

SEO & Search Engines

• robots.txt: Dynamic robots files that can include custom rules
• sitemap.xml: Auto-generated sitemaps with your latest content
• sitemap_index.xml: Multiple sitemap management

API Development

• JSON endpoints: RESTful API responses through clean URLs
• Configuration files: Dynamic config files for applications
• Integration Ready: REST API endpoints for external integrations

Content Management

• Documentation: Serve markdown files as HTML
• Download files: Generate and serve CSV/JSON exports
• Verification files: Domain ownership and service verification

Development & Testing

• Mock endpoints: Create test endpoints for development
• Staging configs: Environment-specific configuration files
• Debug files: Temporary debugging information

How It Works

1. File Creation: Create virtual files through WordPress admin
2. URL Registration: Plugin registers rewrite rules for clean URLs
3. Request Interception: WordPress intercepts requests to virtual file URLs
4. Content Serving: Plugin serves content with proper headers and caching
5. Performance: Built-in caching reduces database queries

Architecture Overview

Virtual Files uses modern WordPress development practices:

• PSR-4 Autoloading: Clean, organized code structure
• MVC Pattern: Separation of concerns with controllers and traits
• WordPress Hooks: Proper integration with WordPress lifecycle
• Security Layers: Multiple validation and sanitization points
• Caching System: Transient-based caching with TTL support

Free vs Pro

Feature	Free	Pro
Basic File Types (TXT, MD, JSON)	✅	✅
Active Files Limit	5	Unlimited
Basic Text Editor	✅	✅
Clean URL Serving	✅	✅
Advanced File Types (XML, RSS, CSV, YAML, LOG)	❌	✅
CodeMirror Editor with Syntax Highlighting	❌	✅
Performance Caching	❌	✅
Analytics & Access Tracking	❌	✅
Import/Export Functionality	❌	✅
Advanced UI Features	❌	✅

Getting Started

Ready to dive in? Check out our Installation Guide to get Virtual Files up and running on your WordPress site.

For a quick overview of creating your first virtual file, see our Quick Start Guide.