wppaste
WordPress

get_stylesheet(): string

Since
1.5.0
Source
wp-includes/theme.php:181

Returns the folder name of the theme currently serving the front end, read from the stylesheet option and passed through the stylesheet filter. Use it when you need the active theme's slug for building paths, cache keys, or conditional logic, not the parent theme's slug (that's get_template()). A common mix-up is expecting a directory path or URI back; this returns only the theme folder name, so pass it to get_stylesheet_directory() or get_stylesheet_directory_uri() when you need a location on disk or on the web.

Retrieves name of the current stylesheet.

Description

The theme name that is currently set as the front end theme.

For all intents and purposes, the template name and the stylesheet name are going to be the same for most cases.

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.

Return value

string
Stylesheet name.

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.

Get the slug of the currently active theme

Print the raw value returned by get_stylesheet() with no arguments.

$active_theme_slug = get_stylesheet();

echo esc_html( 'Active stylesheet: ' . $active_theme_slug );

For a child theme this returns the child theme's folder name, not the parent's.

Build a theme-aware transient key so cached data invalidates on theme switch

Cache a computed value (post 2's price meta) under a key that includes the active theme so switching themes automatically busts the cache.

$post_id = 2;
$cache_key = 'price_display_' . get_stylesheet() . '_' . $post_id;

$cached = get_transient( $cache_key );

if ( false === $cached ) {
	$price = get_post_meta( $post_id, 'price', true );
	$cached = 'Price: ' . esc_html( $price );
	set_transient( $cache_key, $cached, HOUR_IN_SECONDS );
	echo esc_html( 'Computed fresh: ' ) . $cached;
} else {
	echo esc_html( 'Served from cache: ' ) . $cached;
}

Run the snippet twice to see the second run hit the cached branch.

Common problems and fixes · 3

Why does get_stylesheet() return the child theme name instead of the parent theme?

This is expected: get_stylesheet() always reads the 'stylesheet' option, which WordPress sets to the active (child) theme's folder. The parent theme's folder comes from a different function.

Why did paths built from get_stylesheet() break after I filtered it?

The value passes through the 'stylesheet' filter before being returned, so any plugin or theme hooking that filter changes what every caller of get_stylesheet() sees, including code that assumes it matches the folder on disk.

Why does concatenating get_stylesheet() into a URL give me a broken link?

get_stylesheet() only returns the theme's folder name (a plain string like 'twentytwentyfour'), not a path or URL.

Alternatives and related functions

get_template
When you need the parent theme's folder name rather than the active child theme's.
get_stylesheet_directory
When you need the absolute filesystem path to the active theme's folder, not just its name.
get_stylesheet_directory_uri
When you need a public URL into the active theme's folder, for enqueuing assets.
wp_get_theme
When you need theme metadata such as version, author, or display name rather than just the folder slug.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_stylesheet() 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
Moderate

Reads stored settings via get_option(), cached per request but not free on a cold cache.

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
1 hook

Third-party callbacks on 'stylesheet' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.

Called by
48

48 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
  • optionoption read or writeget_option()called directly
  • cacheobject cachewp_cache_get()one call below get_stylesheet()
  • serializeserialisationmaybe_unserialize()one call below get_stylesheet()

Further down the call graph this can also reach 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 get_stylesheet() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

WhenInstructionsCalls it makes
always8get_option(), apply_filters()

Across PHP versions

Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 8 instructions, 8 executed per call, 0 branches. 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.

Hooks and filters fired · 1

One hook fires while get_stylesheet() runs, in this order:

  1. apply_filters( stylesheet )filterline 189 (+8 into the body)

    Filters the name of current stylesheet.

Uses · 2

  • apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
  • get_option()Retrieves an option value based on an option name.

Used by · 48

Show all 48

Source code

View on Trac View on GitHub 

function get_stylesheet() {	/**	 * Filters the name of current stylesheet.	 *	 * @since 1.5.0	 *	 * @param string $stylesheet Name of the current stylesheet.	 */	return apply_filters( 'stylesheet', get_option( 'stylesheet' ) );}

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

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Generated from the wordpress-develop 6.8.8 tag, from src/wp-includes/theme.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.
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