FAQ
General
Section titled “General”What does CoverKit do?
Section titled “What does CoverKit do?”It generates branded images from Gutenberg templates mapped to post and site data, rendered on your WordPress server. Use cases decide where each image goes—for example social link previews (including Open Graph), featured images, or editor sidebar previews.
Do I need an external image service?
Section titled “Do I need an external image service?”No. Generation uses PHP and Imagick on your WordPress host. Images are stored on your server (CoverKit cache and uploads when saving previews).
Which WordPress and PHP versions are required?
Section titled “Which WordPress and PHP versions are required?”WordPress 7.0+ and PHP 8.0 and above with Imagick.
Templates and use cases
Section titled “Templates and use cases”Where do I create templates?
Section titled “Where do I create templates?”CoverKit → Add New (or Media → CoverKit). Templates are not regular posts or pages.
What is a “use case”?
Section titled “What is a “use case”?”A use case defines how a template is used to produce an image—for example Open Graph image or sidebar preview. You enable and configure them per template in the editor sidebar. See Use cases overview.
What size should I use for social sharing?
Section titled “What size should I use for social sharing?”It depends on the use case. For social link previews, 1200×630 pixels matches the common Open Graph recommendation—see Open Graph image. Featured images follow your theme’s thumbnail size—see Featured image.
Fields and content
Section titled “Fields and content”Which fields can I map?
Section titled “Which fields can I map?”Built-ins include post title, excerpt, content, date, permalink, author, categories, tags, featured image, site name/description/URL/logo, plus custom field sources when the mapping UI lists them.
Can layer text use placeholders?
Section titled “Can layer text use placeholders?”Yes. Use {post_title} style tokens in layer text; they resolve when the image is generated.
Output and URLs
Section titled “Output and URLs”How does Open Graph work?
Section titled “How does Open Graph work?”When enabled on a template, CoverKit prints og:image (and related tags) on eligible views. The image URL is served from your site (REST-backed generated image). See Open Graph image.
Are generated image URLs public?
Section titled “Are generated image URLs public?”Some routes that serve generated bytes are public (Open Graph and canvas cache URLs) so social crawlers can fetch them. Preview and registry routes require editor capabilities. See REST API.
Which image formats are supported?
Section titled “Which image formats are supported?”Global default format is set in Settings → CoverKit (png, jpg, gif, webp). Individual use cases may recommend specific formats.
Caching
Section titled “Caching”Why do I still see an old image?
Section titled “Why do I still see an old image?”CoverKit may be serving a cached file on your server—clear the template cache. Social networks also cache link previews separately; fixing CoverKit does not instantly refresh Facebook or LinkedIn thumbnails.
Extending CoverKit
Section titled “Extending CoverKit”Can developers add custom use cases?
Section titled “Can developers add custom use cases?”Yes. Register types with coverkit_register_use_case() on the coverkit_init action. See Custom use cases and use cases and output profiles.