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WP_REST_Server::check_authentication(): WP_Error|null|true

Since
4.4.0
Source
wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php:172
Checks the authentication headers if supplied.

Compatibility

WordPress
since 4.4.0
PHP
7.4–8.6-dev
  • 6.7.7
  • 6.8.8
  • 6.9.7
  • 7.0.4
  • 7.1.0

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_Error|null|true
WP_Error if authentication error occurred, null if authentication method wasn't used, true if authentication succeeded.

Performance profile

How much work a call to WP_REST_Server::check_authentication() 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
Trivial

Touches nothing outside its own arguments.

Scaling
Constant

No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.

Instructions
5

Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 5.

Plugin surface
1 hook

Third-party callbacks on 'rest_authentication_errors' 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 callbacksapply_filters()called directly

What one call costs · 1 distinct outcome

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

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
always5apply_filters()

Across PHP versions

Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 5 instructions, 5 executed per call, 0 branches. The work does not change between versions.

An instruction is not a fixed amount of time, so a matching count is not necessarily the same speed; what it rules out is a difference in the work itself.

Hooks and filters fired · 1

One hook fires while WP_REST_Server::check_authentication() runs, in this order:

  1. apply_filters( rest_authentication_errors )filterline 197 (+25 into the body)

    Filters REST API authentication errors.

Uses · 1

  • apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.

Used by · 1

Source code

	public function check_authentication() {		/**		 * Filters REST API authentication errors.		 *		 * This is used to pass a WP_Error from an authentication method back to		 * the API.		 *		 * Authentication methods should check first if they're being used, as		 * multiple authentication methods can be enabled on a site (cookies,		 * HTTP basic auth, OAuth). If the authentication method hooked in is		 * not actually being attempted, null should be returned to indicate		 * another authentication method should check instead. Similarly,		 * callbacks should ensure the value is `null` before checking for		 * errors.		 *		 * A WP_Error instance can be returned if an error occurs, and this should		 * match the format used by API methods internally (that is, the `status`		 * data should be used). A callback can return `true` to indicate that		 * the authentication method was used, and it succeeded.		 *		 * @since 4.4.0		 *		 * @param WP_Error|null|true $errors WP_Error if authentication error occurred, null if authentication		 *                                   method wasn't used, true if authentication succeeded.		 */		return apply_filters( 'rest_authentication_errors', null );	}

Changelog

Introduced in 4.4.0. 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 7.1.0 tag, from src/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.
Corrections
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