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WordPress

WP_Roles::add_role( string $role, string $display_name, array<string,bool>|array<int,string> $capabilities = array() ): WP_Role|void

Since
2.0.0, 6.9.0
Source
wp-includes/class-wp-roles.php:176
Adds a role name with capabilities to the list.

Description

Updates the list of roles, if the role doesn't already exist.

The list of capabilities can be passed either as a numerically indexed array of capability names, or an associative array of boolean values keyed by the capability name. To explicitly deny the role a capability, set the value for that capability to false.

Examples:

// Add a role that can edit posts.
wp_roles()->add_role( 'custom_role', 'Custom Role', array(
 'read',
 'edit_posts',
) );

Or, using an associative array:

// Add a role that can edit posts but explicitly cannot not delete them.
wp_roles()->add_role( 'custom_role', 'Custom Role', array(
 'read' => true,
 'edit_posts' => true,
 'delete_posts' => false,
) );

Compatibility

WordPress
since 6.9.0
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.

Parameters

$rolestring
Role name.
$display_namestring
Role display name.
$capabilitiesarray<string,bool>|array<int,string>optional
Capabilities to be added to the role.
Default empty array.Default: array()

Return value

WP_Role|void
WP_Role object, if the role is added.

Performance profile

How much work a call to WP_Roles::add_role() 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
Moderate

Reads stored settings via update_option(), cached per request but not free on a cold cache.

Scaling
Constant

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

Instructions
6–46

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 47.

Plugin surface
None

Nothing here hands control to plugin code.

Called by
0

Nothing in core calls this; the cost is only what you spend yourself.

What it touches

  • optionoption read or writeupdate_option()called directly
  • hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()one call below WP_Roles::add_role()
  • serializeserialisationmaybe_serialize()one call below WP_Roles::add_role()
  • cacheobject cachewp_cache_get()one call below WP_Roles::add_role()

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

What one call costs · 5 distinct outcomes

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

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
always6–9none
!empty($role) && !isset($role) && !wp_is_numeric_array()32wp_is_numeric_array(), name()
!empty($role) && !isset($role) && wp_is_numeric_array()37wp_is_numeric_array(), array_fill_keys(), name()
!empty($role) && !isset($role) && !wp_is_numeric_array()41wp_is_numeric_array(), update_option(), name()
!empty($role) && !isset($role) && wp_is_numeric_array()46wp_is_numeric_array(), array_fill_keys(), update_option(), name()

Across PHP versions

Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 47 instructions, 6–46 executed per call, 4 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.

Uses · 3

Source code

View on Trac View on GitHub 

	public function add_role( $role, $display_name, $capabilities = array() ) {		if ( empty( $role ) || isset( $this->roles[ $role ] ) ) {			return;		} 		if ( wp_is_numeric_array( $capabilities ) ) {			$capabilities = array_fill_keys( $capabilities, true );		} 		$this->roles[ $role ] = array(			'name'         => $display_name,			'capabilities' => $capabilities,		);		if ( $this->use_db ) {			update_option( $this->role_key, $this->roles, true );		}		$this->role_objects[ $role ] = new WP_Role( $role, $capabilities );		$this->role_names[ $role ]   = $display_name;		return $this->role_objects[ $role ];	}

Changelog

Introduced in 2.0.0. 2 changes between 6.7.7 and 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.

7.1.0
Return type changed from WP_Role|void to WP_Role|null.verified against source
6.9.7
Parameter $capabilities retyped from bool[] to array|array.verified against source
6.9.0
Support was added for a numerically indexed array of strings for the capabilities array.from the docblock
2.0.0
Introduced.from the docblock

About this page

Parsed data
Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.0.4 tag, from src/wp-includes/class-wp-roles.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.
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