wp_add_dashboard_widget( string $widget_id, string $widget_name, callable $callback, callable $control_callback = null, array $callback_args = null, string $context = 'normal', string $priority = 'core' )

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$widget_idstring

Widget ID (used in the 'id' attribute for the widget).

$widget_namestring

Title of the widget.

$callbackcallable

Function that fills the widget with the desired content.
The function should echo its output.

$control_callbackcallableoptional

Function that outputs controls for the widget. Default null.Default: null

$callback_argsarrayoptional

Data that should be set as the $args property of the widget array (which is the second parameter passed to your callback). Default null.Default: null

$contextstringoptional

The context within the screen where the box should display.
Accepts 'normal', 'side', 'column3', or 'column4'. Default 'normal'.Default: 'normal'

$prioritystringoptional

The priority within the context where the box should show.
Accepts 'high', 'core', 'default', or 'low'. Default 'core'.Default: 'core'

Performance profile

How much work a call to wp_add_dashboard_widget() 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

Trivial

Touches nothing outside its own arguments.

Scaling

Constant

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

Instructions

35–86

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 112.

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

• hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()one call below wp_add_dashboard_widget()

Further down the call graph this can also reach query, 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 · 8 distinct outcomes

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

Uses · 6

• get_current_screen()Get the current screen object
• current_user_can()Returns whether the current user has the specified capability.
• add_query_arg()Retrieves a modified URL query string.
• esc_url()Checks and cleans a URL.
• __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
• add_meta_box()Adds a meta box to one or more screens.

Used by · 1

• wp_dashboard_setup()Registers dashboard widgets.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

188function wp_add_dashboard_widget( $widget_id, $widget_name, $callback, $control_callback = null, $callback_args = null, $context = 'normal', $priority = 'core' ) {189	global $wp_dashboard_control_callbacks;190 191	$screen = get_current_screen();192 193	$private_callback_args = array( '__widget_basename' => $widget_name );194 195	if ( is_null( $callback_args ) ) {196		$callback_args = $private_callback_args;197	} elseif ( is_array( $callback_args ) ) {198		$callback_args = array_merge( $callback_args, $private_callback_args );199	}200 201	if ( $control_callback && is_callable( $control_callback ) && current_user_can( 'edit_dashboard' ) ) {202		$wp_dashboard_control_callbacks[ $widget_id ] = $control_callback;203 204		if ( isset( $_GET['edit'] ) && $widget_id === $_GET['edit'] ) {205			list($url)    = explode( '#', add_query_arg( 'edit', false ), 2 );206			$widget_name .= ' <span class="postbox-title-action"><a href="' . esc_url( $url ) . '">' . __( 'Cancel' ) . '</a></span>';207			$callback     = '_wp_dashboard_control_callback';208		} else {209			list($url)    = explode( '#', add_query_arg( 'edit', $widget_id ), 2 );210			$widget_name .= ' <span class="postbox-title-action"><a href="' . esc_url( "$url#$widget_id" ) . '" class="edit-box open-box">' . __( 'Configure' ) . '</a></span>';211		}212	}213 214	$side_widgets = array( 'dashboard_quick_press', 'dashboard_primary' );215 216	if ( in_array( $widget_id, $side_widgets, true ) ) {217		$context = 'side';218	}219 220	$high_priority_widgets = array( 'dashboard_browser_nag', 'dashboard_php_nag' );221 222	if ( in_array( $widget_id, $high_priority_widgets, true ) ) {223		$priority = 'high';224	}225 226	if ( empty( $context ) ) {227		$context = 'normal';228	}229 230	if ( empty( $priority ) ) {231		$priority = 'core';232	}233 234	add_meta_box( $widget_id, $widget_name, $callback, $screen, $context, $priority, $callback_args );235}

Changelog

Introduced in 2.7.0. 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-admin/includes/dashboard.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.