wppaste
WordPress

get_query_template( string $type, string[] $templates = array() ): string

Since
1.5.0
Source
wp-includes/template.php:23
Retrieves path to a template.

Description

Used to quickly retrieve the path of a template without including the file extension. It will also check the parent theme, if the file exists, with the use of locatetemplate(). Allows for more generic template location without the use of the other get*_template() functions.

Compatibility

WordPress
since 1.5.0
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

$typestring
Filename without extension.
$templatesstring[]optional
An optional list of template candidates.Default: array()

Return value

string
Full path to template file.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_query_template() 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
31–34

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 34.

Plugin surface
2 hooks

Third-party callbacks on '{$type}_template_hierarchy', '{$type}_template' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.

Called by
18

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

What it touches

  • hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()called directly

Further down the call graph this can also reach option, query, cache, serialize 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 get_query_template() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
always31–34apply_filters(), locate_template(), locate_block_template(), apply_filters()

Across PHP versions

PHPCompiledExecutedBranchesNotes
8.6-dev3431–341
8.53431–341
8.43431–3413 fewer instructions than PHP 8.3
8.33734–371
8.23734–371
8.13734–371
7.43734–371

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.

Hooks and filters fired · 2

2 hooks fire while get_query_template() runs, in this order:

  1. apply_filters( {$type}_template_hierarchy )filterline 62 (+39 into the body)

    Filters the list of template filenames that are searched for when retrieving a template to use.

  2. apply_filters( {$type}_template )filterline 103 (+80 into the body)

    Filters the path of the queried template by type.

Uses · 3

  • apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
  • locate_template()Retrieves the name of the highest priority template file that exists.
  • locate_block_template()Finds a block template with equal or higher specificity than a given PHP template file.

Used by · 18

Show all 18

Source code

function get_query_template( $type, $templates = array() ) {	$type = preg_replace( '|[^a-z0-9-]+|', '', $type ); 	if ( empty( $templates ) ) {		$templates = array( "{$type}.php" );	} 	/**	 * Filters the list of template filenames that are searched for when retrieving a template to use.	 *	 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$type`, refers to the filename -- minus the file	 * extension and any non-alphanumeric characters delimiting words -- of the file to load.	 * The last element in the array should always be the fallback template for this query type.	 *	 * Possible hook names include:	 *	 *  - `404_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `archive_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `attachment_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `author_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `category_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `date_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `embed_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `frontpage_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `home_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `index_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `page_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `paged_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `privacypolicy_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `search_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `single_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `singular_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `tag_template_hierarchy`	 *  - `taxonomy_template_hierarchy`	 *	 * @since 4.7.0	 *	 * @param string[] $templates A list of template candidates, in descending order of priority.	 */	$templates = apply_filters( "{$type}_template_hierarchy", $templates ); 	$template = locate_template( $templates ); 	$template = locate_block_template( $template, $type, $templates ); 	/**	 * Filters the path of the queried template by type.	 *	 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$type`, refers to the filename -- minus the file	 * extension and any non-alphanumeric characters delimiting words -- of the file to load.	 * This hook also applies to various types of files loaded as part of the Template Hierarchy.	 *	 * Possible hook names include:	 *	 *  - `404_template`	 *  - `archive_template`	 *  - `attachment_template`	 *  - `author_template`	 *  - `category_template`	 *  - `date_template`	 *  - `embed_template`	 *  - `frontpage_template`	 *  - `home_template`	 *  - `index_template`	 *  - `page_template`	 *  - `paged_template`	 *  - `privacypolicy_template`	 *  - `search_template`	 *  - `single_template`	 *  - `singular_template`	 *  - `tag_template`	 *  - `taxonomy_template`	 *	 * @since 1.5.0	 * @since 4.8.0 The `$type` and `$templates` parameters were added.	 *	 * @param string   $template  Path to the template. See locate_template().	 * @param string   $type      Sanitized filename without extension.	 * @param string[] $templates A list of template candidates, in descending order of priority.	 */

Changelog

Introduced in 1.5.0. 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 6.8.8 tag, from src/wp-includes/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.