get_the_excerpt( int|WP_Post $post = null ): string

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$postint|WP_Postoptional

Post ID or WP_Post object. Default is global $post.Default: null

Return value

string

Post excerpt.

Performance profile

How much work a call to get_the_excerpt() 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_post().

Scaling

Constant

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

Instructions

10–25

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 30.

Plugin surface

1 hook

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

Called by

6

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

What it touches

• querycontent queryget_post()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 · 6 distinct outcomes

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

Hooks and filters fired · 1

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

1. 1
   apply_filters( get_the_excerpt )filterline 436 (+23 into the body)

   Filters the retrieved post excerpt.

Uses · 5

• _deprecated_argument()Marks a function argument as deprecated and inform when it has been used.
• get_post()Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.
• post_password_required()Determines whether the post requires password and whether a correct password has been provided.
• __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
• apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.

Used by · 6

• WP_Posts_List_Table::column_title()Handles the title column output.
• render_block_core_latest_posts()Renders the `core/latest-posts` block on server.
• render_block_core_post_excerpt()Renders the `core/post-excerpt` block on the server.
• the_excerpt()Displays the post excerpt.
• the_excerpt_embed()Displays the post excerpt for the embed template.
• the_excerpt_rss()Displays the post excerpt for the feed.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

413function get_the_excerpt( $post = null ) {414	if ( is_bool( $post ) ) {415		_deprecated_argument( __FUNCTION__, '2.3.0' );416	}417 418	$post = get_post( $post );419	if ( empty( $post ) ) {420		return '';421	}422 423	if ( post_password_required( $post ) ) {424		return __( 'There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.' );425	}426 427	/**428	 * Filters the retrieved post excerpt.429	 *430	 * @since 1.2.0431	 * @since 4.5.0 Introduced the `$post` parameter.432	 *433	 * @param string  $post_excerpt The post excerpt.434	 * @param WP_Post $post         Post object.435	 */436	return apply_filters( 'get_the_excerpt', $post->post_excerpt, $post );437}

Changelog

Introduced in 4.5.0. One change between 6.7.7 and 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/post-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.