admin_url( string $path = '', string $scheme = 'admin' ): string

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$pathstringoptional

Path relative to the admin URL. Default empty.Default: ''

$schemestringoptional

The scheme to use. Default is 'admin', which obeys force_ssl_admin() and is_ssl().
'http' or 'https' can be passed to force those schemes.Default: 'admin'

Return value

string

Admin URL link with optional path appended.

Code examples

Every example is editable and runs in a real WordPress booted in your browser by WordPress Playground. Press Run, then edit the code: clicking away re-runs it. Nothing is sent anywhere until you do.

$settings_url = add_query_arg(
	array( 'page' => 'myplugin' ),
	admin_url( 'options-general.php' )
);

printf(
	'<a href="%s">%s</a>',
	esc_url( $settings_url ),
	esc_html__( 'Plugin settings', 'myplugin' )
);

Performance profile

How much work a call to admin_url() 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

8

Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 8.

Plugin surface

None

Nothing here hands control to plugin code.

Called by

50

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

What it touches

• hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()one call below admin_url()

Further down the call graph this can also reach option, cache, serialize, 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 · 1 distinct outcome

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

Uses · 1

• get_admin_url()Retrieves the URL to the admin area for a given site.

Used by · 50

• Custom_Background::admin_page()Displays the custom background page.
• Custom_Image_Header::help()Adds contextual help.
• Custom_Image_Header::step_1()Displays first step of custom header image page.
• Featured_Content::customize_register()Adds settings to the Customizer.
• Plugin_Installer_Skin::after()Performs an action following a plugin install.
• Theme_Installer_Skin::after()Performs an action following a single theme install.
• Theme_Upgrader_Skin::after()Performs an action following a single theme update.
• WP_Automatic_Updater::send_email()Sends an email upon the completion or failure of a background core update.
• WP_Automatic_Updater::send_plugin_theme_email()Sends an email upon the completion or failure of a plugin or theme background update.
• WP_Comments_List_Table::column_author()Outputs the author column.
• WP_Comments_List_Table::get_views()Returns an array of comment status links.
• WP_Customize_Manager::customize_pane_settings()Prints JavaScript settings for parent window.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

3573function admin_url( $path = '', $scheme = 'admin' ) {3574	return get_admin_url( null, $path, $scheme );3575}

Changelog

Introduced in 2.6.0. 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/link-template.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.