WP_Query::get_posts(): WP_Post[]|int[]

Description

Compatibility

Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.

Return value

WP_Post[]|int[]

Array of post objects or post IDs.

Performance profile

How much work a call to WP_Query::get_posts() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.

Cost class

Heavy

Reaches the database via get_post().

Scaling

Scales with input

The body loops, so the work grows with how much data it finds.

Instructions

463–563

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 3252.

Plugin surface

35 hooks

Third-party callbacks on 'pre_get_posts', 'wp_allow_query_attachment_by_filename', 'posts_search' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.

Called by

1

1 place in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.

What it touches

• hookthird-party callbacksdo_action_ref_array()called directly
• optionoption read or writeget_option()called directly
• querycontent queryget_post()called directly
• cacheobject cachewp_cache_get_last_changed()called directly
• serializeserialisationserialize()called directly

Further down the call graph this can also reach transient. That is the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.

What one call costs · 32 distinct outcomes

One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost WP_Query::get_posts() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

This body has more branch combinations than are worth enumerating, so the table covers the outcomes found first rather than every one that exists.

Hooks and filters fired · 40

40 hooks fire while WP_Query::get_posts() runs, in this order:

1. 1
   do_action( pre_get_posts )actionline 1881 (+16 into the body)

   Fires after the query variable object is created, but before the actual query is run.

2. 2
   apply_filters( wp_allow_query_attachment_by_filename )filterline 1896 (+31 into the body)

   Filters whether an attachment query should include filenames or not.

3. 3
   apply_filters( posts_search )filterline 2239 (+374 into the body)

   Filters the search SQL that is used in the WHERE clause of WP_Query.

4. 4
   apply_filters( posts_search_orderby )filterline 2501 (+636 into the body)

   Filters the ORDER BY used when ordering search results.

5. 5
   apply_filters( posts_where )filterline 2722 (+857 into the body)

   Filters the WHERE clause of the query.

6. 6
   apply_filters( posts_join )filterline 2732 (+867 into the body)

   Filters the JOIN clause of the query.

7. 7
   apply_filters( comment_feed_join )filterline 2773 (+908 into the body)

   Filters the JOIN clause of the comments feed query before sending.

8. 8
   apply_filters( comment_feed_where )filterline 2783 (+918 into the body)

   Filters the WHERE clause of the comments feed query before sending.

9. 9
   apply_filters( comment_feed_groupby )filterline 2793 (+928 into the body)

   Filters the GROUP BY clause of the comments feed query before sending.

10. 10
    apply_filters( comment_feed_orderby )filterline 2803 (+938 into the body)

    Filters the ORDER BY clause of the comments feed query before sending.

11. 11
    apply_filters( comment_feed_limits )filterline 2813 (+948 into the body)

    Filters the LIMIT clause of the comments feed query before sending.

12. 12
    apply_filters( posts_where_paged )filterline 2870 (+1005 into the body)

    Filters the WHERE clause of the query.

13. 13
    apply_filters( posts_groupby )filterline 2880 (+1015 into the body)

    Filters the GROUP BY clause of the query.

14. 14
    apply_filters( posts_join_paged )filterline 2892 (+1027 into the body)

    Filters the JOIN clause of the query.

15. 15
    apply_filters( posts_orderby )filterline 2902 (+1037 into the body)

    Filters the ORDER BY clause of the query.

16. 16
    apply_filters( posts_distinct )filterline 2912 (+1047 into the body)

    Filters the DISTINCT clause of the query.

17. 17
    apply_filters( post_limits )filterline 2922 (+1057 into the body)

    Filters the LIMIT clause of the query.

18. 18
    apply_filters( posts_fields )filterline 2932 (+1067 into the body)

    Filters the SELECT clause of the query.

19. 19
    apply_filters( posts_clauses )filterline 2955 (+1090 into the body)

    Filters all query clauses at once, for convenience.

20. 20
    do_action( posts_selection )actionline 2975 (+1110 into the body)

    Fires to announce the query's current selection parameters.

21. 21
    apply_filters( posts_where_request )filterline 2992 (+1127 into the body)

    Filters the WHERE clause of the query.

22. 22
    apply_filters( posts_groupby_request )filterline 3004 (+1139 into the body)

    Filters the GROUP BY clause of the query.

23. 23
    apply_filters( posts_join_request )filterline 3016 (+1151 into the body)

    Filters the JOIN clause of the query.

24. 24
    apply_filters( posts_orderby_request )filterline 3028 (+1163 into the body)

    Filters the ORDER BY clause of the query.

25. 25
    apply_filters( posts_distinct_request )filterline 3040 (+1175 into the body)

    Filters the DISTINCT clause of the query.

26. 26
    apply_filters( posts_fields_request )filterline 3052 (+1187 into the body)

    Filters the SELECT clause of the query.

27. 27
    apply_filters( post_limits_request )filterline 3064 (+1199 into the body)

    Filters the LIMIT clause of the query.

28. 28
    apply_filters( posts_clauses_request )filterline 3089 (+1224 into the body)

    Filters all query clauses at once, for convenience.

29. 29
    apply_filters( posts_request )filterline 3142 (+1277 into the body)

    Filters the completed SQL query before sending.

30. 30
    apply_filters( posts_pre_query )filterline 3161 (+1296 into the body)

    Filters the posts array before the query takes place.

31. 31
    apply_filters( split_the_query )filterline 3333 (+1468 into the body)

    Filters whether to split the query.

32. 32
    apply_filters( posts_request_ids )filterline 3355 (+1490 into the body)

    Filters the Post IDs SQL request before sending.

33. 33
    apply_filters( posts_results )filterline 3401 (+1536 into the body)

    Filters the raw post results array, prior to status checks.

34. 34
    apply_filters( comment_feed_join )filterline 3406 (+1541 into the body)

    Filters the JOIN clause of the comments feed query before sending.

35. 35
    apply_filters( comment_feed_where )filterline 3409 (+1544 into the body)

    Filters the WHERE clause of the comments feed query before sending.

36. 36
    apply_filters( comment_feed_groupby )filterline 3412 (+1547 into the body)

    Filters the GROUP BY clause of the comments feed query before sending.

37. 37
    apply_filters( comment_feed_orderby )filterline 3416 (+1551 into the body)

    Filters the ORDER BY clause of the comments feed query before sending.

38. 38
    apply_filters( comment_feed_limits )filterline 3420 (+1555 into the body)

    Filters the LIMIT clause of the comments feed query before sending.

39. 39
    apply_filters( the_preview )filterline 3495 (+1630 into the body)

    Filters the single post for preview mode.

40. 40
    apply_filters( the_posts )filterline 3558 (+1693 into the body)

    Filters the array of retrieved posts after they've been fetched and internally processed.

Uses · 58

• do_action_ref_array()Calls the callback functions that have been added to an action hook, specifying arguments in an array.
• apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
• remove_all_filters()Removes all of the callback functions from a filter hook.
• _deprecated_argument()Marks a function argument as deprecated and inform when it has been used.
• __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
• get_option()Retrieves an option value based on an option name.
• absint()Converts a value to non-negative integer.
• get_post_type_object()Retrieves a post type object by name.
• sanitize_title_for_query()Sanitizes a title with the 'query' context.
• get_page_by_path()Retrieves a page given its path.
• wp_basename()i18n-friendly version of basename().
• get_post()Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.

Used by · 1

• WP_Query::query()Sets up the WordPress query by parsing query string.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

1865	public function get_posts() {1866		global $wpdb;1867 1868		$this->parse_query();1869 1870		/**1871		 * Fires after the query variable object is created, but before the actual query is run.1872		 *1873		 * Note: If using conditional tags, use the method versions within the passed instance1874		 * (e.g. $this->is_main_query() instead of is_main_query()). This is because the functions1875		 * like is_main_query() test against the global $wp_query instance, not the passed one.1876		 *1877		 * @since 2.0.01878		 *1879		 * @param WP_Query $query The WP_Query instance (passed by reference).1880		 */1881		do_action_ref_array( 'pre_get_posts', array( &$this ) );1882 1883		// Shorthand.1884		$q = &$this->query_vars;1885 1886		// Fill again in case 'pre_get_posts' unset some vars.1887		$q = $this->fill_query_vars( $q );1888 1889		/**1890		 * Filters whether an attachment query should include filenames or not.1891		 *1892		 * @since 6.0.31893		 *1894		 * @param bool $allow_query_attachment_by_filename Whether or not to include filenames.1895		 */1896		$this->allow_query_attachment_by_filename = apply_filters( 'wp_allow_query_attachment_by_filename', false );1897		remove_all_filters( 'wp_allow_query_attachment_by_filename' );1898 1899		// Parse meta query.1900		$this->meta_query = new WP_Meta_Query();1901		$this->meta_query->parse_query_vars( $q );1902 1903		// Set a flag if a 'pre_get_posts' hook changed the query vars.1904		$hash = md5( serialize( $this->query_vars ) );1905		if ( $hash != $this->query_vars_hash ) {1906			$this->query_vars_changed = true;1907			$this->query_vars_hash    = $hash;1908		}1909		unset( $hash );1910 1911		// First let's clear some variables.1912		$distinct         = '';1913		$whichauthor      = '';1914		$whichmimetype    = '';1915		$where            = '';1916		$limits           = '';1917		$join             = '';1918		$search           = '';1919		$groupby          = '';1920		$post_status_join = false;1921		$page             = 1;1922 1923		if ( isset( $q['caller_get_posts'] ) ) {1924			_deprecated_argument(1925				'WP_Query',1926				'3.1.0',1927				sprintf(1928					/* translators: 1: caller_get_posts, 2: ignore_sticky_posts */1929					__( '%1$s is deprecated. Use %2$s instead.' ),1930					'<code>caller_get_posts</code>',1931					'<code>ignore_sticky_posts</code>'1932				)1933			);1934 1935			if ( ! isset( $q['ignore_sticky_posts'] ) ) {1936				$q['ignore_sticky_posts'] = $q['caller_get_posts'];1937			}1938		}1939 1940		if ( ! isset( $q['ignore_sticky_posts'] ) ) {1941			$q['ignore_sticky_posts'] = false;1942		}1943 1944		if ( ! isset( $q['suppress_filters'] ) ) {

Changelog

Introduced in 1.5.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.

1. 6.7.7
2. 6.8.8
3. 6.9.7
4. 7.0.4
5. 7.1.0

Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.

About this page

Parsed data

Generated from the wordpress-develop 6.7.7 tag, from src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

Something wrong on this page? Report it and it gets fixed in the next regeneration.