register_block_type( string|WP_Block_Type $block_type, array $args = array() ): WP_Block_Type|false

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$block_typestring|WP_Block_Type

Block type name including namespace, or alternatively a path to the JSON file with metadata definition for the block, or a path to the folder where the block.json file is located, or a complete WP_Block_Type instance.
In case a WP_Block_Type is provided, the $args parameter will be ignored.

$argsarrayoptional

Array of block type arguments. Accepts any public property of WP_Block_Type. See WP_Block_Type::__construct() for information on accepted arguments. Default empty array.Default: array()

Return value

WP_Block_Type|false

The registered block type on success, or false on failure.

Performance profile

How much work a call to register_block_type() 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

Reads or writes the filesystem via file_exists().

Scaling

Constant

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

Instructions

11–15

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 20.

Plugin surface

None

Nothing here hands control to plugin code.

Called by

1

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

What it touches

• filesystemfilesystem accessfile_exists()called directly
• hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()one call below register_block_type()

Further down the call graph this can also reach option, cache, serialize, 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 · 3 distinct outcomes

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

Uses · 3

• register_block_type_from_metadata()Registers a block type from the metadata stored in the `block.json` file.
• WP_Block_Type_Registry::get_instance()::register()
• WP_Block_Type_Registry::get_instance()Utility method to retrieve the main instance of the class.

Used by · 1

• register_legacy_post_comments_block()Ensures backwards compatibility for any users running the Gutenberg plugin who have used Post Comments before it was merged into Comments Query Loop.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

842function register_block_type( $block_type, $args = array() ) {843	if ( is_string( $block_type ) && file_exists( $block_type ) ) {844		return register_block_type_from_metadata( $block_type, $args );845	}846 847	return WP_Block_Type_Registry::get_instance()->register( $block_type, $args );848}

Changelog

Introduced in 5.0.0. 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 7.1.0 tag, from src/wp-includes/blocks.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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