strapi-plugin-publish-media-validation

A Strapi v5 plugin that enforces required: true on media fields at publish time.

Why this exists

Strapi v5 validates required: true on scalar fields (string, integer, etc.) when publishing, but skips that check for media fields (type: "media"). This means a content manager can publish an entry with a missing required banner, thumbnail, or any other required image/file — even though the field is marked as required in the schema.

This plugin intercepts the Document Service publish action and blocks it if any required media field is empty, returning a clear error message instead of silently allowing the publish.

Installation

npm install strapi-plugin-publish-media-validation
# or
yarn add strapi-plugin-publish-media-validation
# or
pnpm add strapi-plugin-publish-media-validation

pnpm users

Because @strapi/utils is a peer dependency and pnpm does not hoist packages by default, you also need to add it as a direct dependency:

pnpm add @strapi/utils

Usage

No configuration needed. Once installed, the plugin automatically scans every content type's schema on publish and blocks any entry where a required: true media field is empty.

Example schema:

{
  "banner": {
    "type": "media",
    "multiple": false,
    "required": true,
    "allowedTypes": ["images"]
  }
}

If you try to publish without a banner, the admin panel will show:

The following required media fields are empty: Banner

How it works

The plugin registers a Document Service middleware that:

1. Runs on every publish action across all content types
2. Reads the model schema to find type: "media" fields with required: true
3. Fetches the draft document and checks each required media field
4. Throws a ValidationError listing any empty fields, which Strapi maps to a 400 response with the message shown in the admin UI

Compatibility

| Strapi version | Supported | |----------------|-----------| | v5.x | ✅ | | v4.x | ❌ |