get_tags( string|array $args = '' ): WP_Term[]|int|WP_Error

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$argsstring|arrayoptional

Arguments to retrieve tags. See get_terms() for additional options.Default: ''

• $taxonomystringdefault: 'post_tag'

  Taxonomy to retrieve terms for.

Return value

WP_Term[]|int|WP_Error

Array of 'post_tag' term objects, a count thereof, or WP_Error if any of the taxonomies do not exist.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_tags() 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

Reaches the database via get_terms().

Scaling

Constant

No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.

Instructions

15–20

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 22.

Plugin surface

1 hook

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

Called by

2

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

What it touches

• querycontent queryget_terms()called directly
• hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()called directly

Further down the call graph this can also reach option, 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 · 2 distinct outcomes

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

Hooks and filters fired · 1

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

1. 1
   apply_filters( get_tags )filterline 312 (+18 into the body)

   Filters the array of term objects returned for the 'post_tag' taxonomy.

Uses · 3

• wp_parse_args()Merges user defined arguments into defaults array.
• get_terms()Retrieves the terms in a given taxonomy or list of taxonomies.
• apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.

Used by · 2

• export_wp()Generates the WXR export file for download.
• wp_xmlrpc_server::wp_getTags()Gets the list of all tags.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

294function get_tags( $args = '' ) {295	$defaults = array( 'taxonomy' => 'post_tag' );296	$args     = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );297 298	$tags = get_terms( $args );299 300	if ( empty( $tags ) ) {301		$tags = array();302	} else {303		/**304		 * Filters the array of term objects returned for the 'post_tag' taxonomy.305		 *306		 * @since 2.3.0307		 *308		 * @param WP_Term[]|int|WP_Error $tags Array of 'post_tag' term objects, a count thereof,309		 *                                     or WP_Error if any of the taxonomies do not exist.310		 * @param array                  $args An array of arguments. See {@see get_terms()}.311		 */312		$tags = apply_filters( 'get_tags', $tags, $args );313	}314 315	return $tags;316}

Changelog

Introduced in 2.3.0. 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 6.7.7 tag, from src/wp-includes/category.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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