get_post_types( array|string $args = array(), string $output = 'names', string $operator = 'and' ): string[]|WP_Post_Type[]

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$argsarray|stringoptional

An array of key => value arguments to match against the post type objects. Default empty array.Default: array()

$outputstringoptional

The type of output to return. Either 'names' or 'objects'. Default 'names'.Default: 'names'

$operatorstringoptional

The logical operation to perform. 'or' means only one element from the array needs to match; 'and' means all elements must match; 'not' means no elements may match. Default 'and'.Default: 'and'

Return value

string[]|WP_Post_Type[]

An array of post type names or objects.

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.

$public_post_types = get_post_types( array( 'public' => true ) );

echo '<pre>' . esc_html( print_r( $public_post_types, true ) ) . '</pre>';

$post_type_objects = get_post_types( array( 'public' => true ), 'objects' );

foreach ( $post_type_objects as $post_type ) {
	printf(
		'<p>%s &rarr; %s</p>',
		esc_html( $post_type->name ),
		esc_html( $post_type->labels->name )
	);
}

Common problems and fixes · 3

• Why does get_post_types() return an empty array or miss my custom post type?
• Why am I getting an array of strings when I expected WP_Post_Type objects?
• Why does adding a second key to $args exclude a post type I expected to see?

Alternatives and related functions

get_post_type_object

When you already know the exact post type name and just need its single WP_Post_Type object instead of filtering a whole list.

post_type_exists

When all you need is a true or false check for whether a given post type name is registered.

register_post_type

When the post type is not registered yet and needs to be added to $wp_post_types before get_post_types() can see it.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_post_types() 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

15–16

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 17.

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 one call costs · 1 distinct outcome

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

Uses · 1

• wp_filter_object_list()Filters a list of objects, based on a set of key => value arguments.

Used by · 50

• WP::parse_request()Parses the request to find the correct WordPress query.
• WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::available_item_types()Returns an array of all the available item types.
• WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::search_available_items_query()Performs post queries for available-item searching.
• WP_Embed::cache_oembed()Triggers a caching of all oEmbed results.
• WP_Query::generate_cache_key()Generates cache key.
• WP_Query::get_posts()Retrieves an array of posts based on query variables.
• WP_REST_Block_Pattern_Categories_Controller::get_items_permissions_check()Checks whether a given request has permission to read block patterns.
• WP_REST_Block_Patterns_Controller::get_items_permissions_check()Checks whether a given request has permission to read block patterns.
• WP_REST_Block_Types_Controller::check_read_permission()Checks whether a given block type should be visible.
• WP_REST_Global_Styles_Controller::get_theme_item_permissions_check()Checks if a given request has access to read a single theme global styles config.
• WP_REST_Icon_Collections_Controller::get_items_permissions_check()Checks whether a given request has permission to read icon collections.
• WP_REST_Icons_Controller::get_items_permissions_check()Checks whether a given request has permission to read icons.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

1685function get_post_types( $args = array(), $output = 'names', $operator = 'and' ) {1686	global $wp_post_types;1687 1688	$field = ( 'names' === $output ) ? 'name' : false;1689 1690	return wp_filter_object_list( $wp_post_types, $args, $operator, $field );1691}

Changelog

Introduced in 2.9.0. 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/post.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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