the_permalink( int|WP_Post $post = 0 )

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 post object. Default is the global $post.Default: 0

Performance profile

How much work a call to the_permalink() 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

14

Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 14.

Plugin surface

1 hook

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

Called by

11

11 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
• querycontent queryget_post()one call below the_permalink()
• optionoption read or writeget_option()one call below the_permalink()

Further down the call graph this can also reach 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 · 1 distinct outcome

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

Hooks and filters fired · 1

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

1. 1
   apply_filters( the_permalink )filterline 27 (+10 into the body)

   Filters the display of the permalink for the current post.

Uses · 3

• esc_url()Checks and cleans a URL.
• apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
• get_permalink()Retrieves the full permalink for the current post or post ID.

Used by · 11

• Twenty_Fourteen_Ephemera_Widget::widget()Outputs the HTML for this widget.
• WP_Widget_Recent_Posts::widget()Outputs the content for the current Recent Posts widget instance.
• permalink_link()Print the permalink of the current post in the loop.
• print_embed_sharing_dialog()Prints the necessary markup for the embed sharing dialog.
• trackback_rdf()Generates and displays the RDF for the trackback information of current post.
• twenty_twenty_one_post_thumbnail()Displays an optional post thumbnail.
• twentyfifteen_post_thumbnail()Displays an optional post thumbnail.
• twentyfourteen_post_thumbnail()Displays an optional post thumbnail.
• twentynineteen_post_thumbnail()Displays an optional post thumbnail.
• twentysixteen_post_thumbnail()Displays an optional post thumbnail.
• twentytwenty_get_post_meta()Retrieves the post meta.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

17function the_permalink( $post = 0 ) {18	/**19	 * Filters the display of the permalink for the current post.20	 *21	 * @since 1.5.022	 * @since 4.4.0 Added the `$post` parameter.23	 *24	 * @param string      $permalink The permalink for the current post.25	 * @param int|WP_Post $post      Post ID, WP_Post object, or 0. Default 0.26	 */27	echo esc_url( apply_filters( 'the_permalink', get_permalink( $post ), $post ) );28}

Changelog

Introduced in 1.2.0. 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/link-template.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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