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WordPress

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

Since
2.0.0, 6.9.0
Source
wp-includes/capabilities.php:1135
Adds a role, if it does not exist.

Description

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

Return value

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

Performance profile

How much work a call to 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
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
6–13

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 14.

Plugin surface
None

Nothing here hands control to plugin code.

Called by
1

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

What one call costs · 2 distinct outcomes

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

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
empty($role)6none
!empty($role)13wp_roles(), ->add_role()

Across PHP versions

Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 14 instructions, 6–13 executed per call, 1 branch. 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 · 2

  • wp_roles()Retrieves the global WP_Roles instance and instantiates it if necessary.
  • wp_roles()::add_role()

Used by · 1

Source code

View on Trac View on GitHub 

function add_role( $role, $display_name, $capabilities = array() ) {	if ( empty( $role ) ) {		return null;	} 	return wp_roles()->add_role( $role, $display_name, $capabilities );}

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 7.1.0 tag, from src/wp-includes/capabilities.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.
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