get_the_post_thumbnail( int|WP_Post|null $post = null, string|int[] $size = 'post-thumbnail', string|array $attr = '' ): string
- Since
- 2.9.0, 4.4.0
- Source
wp-includes/post-thumbnail-template.php:165
Description
When a theme adds 'post-thumbnail' support, a special 'post-thumbnail' image size is registered, which differs from the 'thumbnail' image size managed via the Settings > Media screen.
When using the_post_thumbnail() or related functions, the 'post-thumbnail' image size is used by default, though a different size can be specified instead as needed.
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 4.4.0
- 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
$postint|WP_Post|nulloptional- Post ID or WP_Post object. Default is global
$post.Default:null $sizestring|int[]optional- Image size. Accepts any registered image size name, or an array of width and height values in pixels (in that order). Default 'post-thumbnail'.Default:
'post-thumbnail' $attrstring|arrayoptional- Query string or array of attributes. Default empty.Default:
''
Return value
string- The post thumbnail image tag.
Performance profile
How much work a call to get_the_post_thumbnail() 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
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 9–61
- Plugin surface
- 4 hooks
- Called by
- 5
Reaches the database via get_post().
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 63.
Third-party callbacks on 'post_thumbnail_size', 'begin_fetch_post_thumbnail_html', 'end_fetch_post_thumbnail_html' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.
5 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- querycontent query
get_post()called directly - hookthird-party callbacks
apply_filters()called directly
Further down the call graph this can also reach cache, serialize, option 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 · 4 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost get_the_post_thumbnail() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
| always | 9 | get_post() |
| always | 33 | get_post(), get_post_thumbnail_id(), apply_filters(), apply_filters() |
!in_the_loop() | 59 | get_post(), get_post_thumbnail_id(), apply_filters(), do_action(), in_the_loop(), wp_get_attachment_image(), do_action(), apply_filters() |
in_the_loop() | 61 | get_post(), get_post_thumbnail_id(), apply_filters(), do_action(), in_the_loop(), update_post_thumbnail_cache(), wp_get_attachment_image(), do_action(), 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: 63 instructions, 9–61 executed per call, 3 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 · 4
4 hooks fire while get_the_post_thumbnail() runs, in this order:
- apply_filters( post_thumbnail_size )filterline 184 (+19 into the body)
Filters the post thumbnail size.
- do_action( begin_fetch_post_thumbnail_html )actionline 200 (+35 into the body)
Fires before fetching the post thumbnail HTML.
- do_action( end_fetch_post_thumbnail_html )actionline 218 (+53 into the body)
Fires after fetching the post thumbnail HTML.
- apply_filters( post_thumbnail_html )filterline 236 (+71 into the body)
Filters the post thumbnail HTML.
Uses · 7
- get_post()Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.
- get_post_thumbnail_id()Retrieves the post thumbnail ID.
- apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
- do_action()Calls the callback functions that have been added to an action hook.
- in_the_loop()Determines whether the caller is in the Loop.
- update_post_thumbnail_cache()Updates cache for thumbnails in the current loop.
- wp_get_attachment_image()Gets an HTML img element representing an image attachment.
Used by · 5
- Twenty_Fourteen_Ephemera_Widget::widget()Outputs the HTML for this widget.
- render_block_core_cover()Renders the `core/cover` block on server.
- render_block_core_latest_posts()Renders the `core/latest-posts` block on server.
- render_block_core_post_featured_image()Renders the `core/post-featured-image` block on the server.
- the_post_thumbnail()Displays the post thumbnail.
Source code
function get_the_post_thumbnail( $post = null, $size = 'post-thumbnail', $attr = '' ) { $post = get_post( $post ); if ( ! $post ) { return ''; } $post_thumbnail_id = get_post_thumbnail_id( $post ); /** * Filters the post thumbnail size. * * @since 2.9.0 * @since 4.9.0 Added the `$post_id` parameter. * * @param string|int[] $size Requested image size. Can be any registered image size name, or * an array of width and height values in pixels (in that order). * @param int $post_id The post ID. */ $size = apply_filters( 'post_thumbnail_size', $size, $post->ID ); if ( $post_thumbnail_id ) { /** * Fires before fetching the post thumbnail HTML. * * Provides "just in time" filtering of all filters in wp_get_attachment_image(). * * @since 2.9.0 * * @param int $post_id The post ID. * @param int $post_thumbnail_id The post thumbnail ID. * @param string|int[] $size Requested image size. Can be any registered image size name, or * an array of width and height values in pixels (in that order). */ do_action( 'begin_fetch_post_thumbnail_html', $post->ID, $post_thumbnail_id, $size ); if ( in_the_loop() ) { update_post_thumbnail_cache(); } $html = wp_get_attachment_image( $post_thumbnail_id, $size, false, $attr ); /** * Fires after fetching the post thumbnail HTML. * * @since 2.9.0 * * @param int $post_id The post ID. * @param int $post_thumbnail_id The post thumbnail ID. * @param string|int[] $size Requested image size. Can be any registered image size name, or * an array of width and height values in pixels (in that order). */ do_action( 'end_fetch_post_thumbnail_html', $post->ID, $post_thumbnail_id, $size ); } else { $html = ''; } /** * Filters the post thumbnail HTML. * * @since 2.9.0 * * @param string $html The post thumbnail HTML. * @param int $post_id The post ID. * @param int $post_thumbnail_id The post thumbnail ID, or 0 if there isn't one. * @param string|int[] $size Requested image size. Can be any registered image size name, or * an array of width and height values in pixels (in that order). * @param string|array $attr Query string or array of attributes. */ return apply_filters( 'post_thumbnail_html', $html, $post->ID, $post_thumbnail_id, $size, $attr );}Changelog
Introduced in 2.9.0. One change between 6.7.7 and 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
$post retyped from int|WP_Post to int|WP_Post|null.verified against source$post can be a post ID or WP_Post object.from the docblockAbout this page
- Parsed data
- Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.1.0 tag, from
src/wp-includes/post-thumbnail-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.