you can use wp_handle_sideload() method // Gives us access to the download_url() and wp_handle_sideload() functions require_once( ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/file.php' ); // URL to the WordPress logo $url = 'http://s.w.org/style/images/wp-header-logo.png'; $timeout_seconds = 5; // Download file to temp dir $temp_file = download_url( $url, $timeout_seconds ); if ( !is_wp_error( $temp_file ) ) { // Array based on $_FILE as seen in PHP file uploads $file = array( 'name' => basename($url), // ex: wp-header-logo.png 'type' => 'image/png', 'tmp_name' => $temp_file, 'error' => 0, 'size' => filesize($temp_file), ); $overrides = array( // Tells WordPress to not look for the POST form // fields that would normally be present as // we downloaded the file from a remote server, so there // will be no form fields // Default is true 'test_form' => false, // Setting this to false lets WordPress allow empty files, not recommended // Default is true 'test_size' => true, ); // Move the temporary file into the uploads directory $results = wp_handle_sideload( $file, $overrides ); if ( !empty( $results['error'] ) ) { // Insert any error handling here } else { $filename = $results['file']; // Full path to the file $local_url = $results['url']; // URL to the file in the uploads dir $type = $results['type']; // MIME type of the file // Perform any actions here based in the above results } }