get_post_custom( int $post_id = 0 ): array<string,
- Since
- 1.2.0
- Source
wp-includes/post.php:2805
Description
The post meta fields are retrieved from the cache where possible, so the function is optimized to be called more than once.
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 1.2.0
- 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
$post_idintoptional- Post ID. Default is the ID of the global
$post.Default:0
Return value
array<string,- array<int, string>>|false Array of post meta values keyed by meta key, or false on failure.
Post meta values will always be strings, even for values which would otherwise be retrieved individually as arrays or objects via get_post_meta(). An empty array is returned if the post has no post meta.
Performance profile
How much work a call to get_post_custom() 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
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 10–13
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 7
Reaches the database via get_post().
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 13.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
7 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- querycontent query
get_post()one call below get_post_custom()
Further down the call graph this can also reach hook, cache, serialize, option 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 · 2 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost get_post_custom() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
| always | 10 | absint(), get_post_meta() |
| always | 13 | absint(), get_the_ID(), get_post_meta() |
Across PHP versions
Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 13 instructions, 10–13 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 · 3
- absint()Converts a value to non-negative integer.
- get_the_ID()Retrieves the ID of the current item in the WordPress Loop.
- get_post_meta()Retrieves a post meta field for the given post ID.
Used by · 7
- atom_enclosure()Displays the atom enclosure for the current post.
- get_enclosed()Retrieves enclosures already enclosed for a post.
- get_post_custom_keys()Retrieves meta field names for a post.
- get_post_custom_values()Retrieves values for a custom post field.
- post_custom()Retrieves post custom meta data field.
- rss_enclosure()Displays the rss enclosure for the current post.
- wp_xmlrpc_server::mw_getPost()Retrieves a post.
Source code
function get_post_custom( $post_id = 0 ) { $post_id = absint( $post_id ); if ( ! $post_id ) { $post_id = get_the_ID(); } return get_post_meta( $post_id );}Changelog
Introduced in 1.2.0. One change between 6.7.7 and 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
mixed to array<string,.verified against sourceAbout this page
- Parsed data
- Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.0.4 tag, from
src/wp-includes/post.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.