wp_delete_file( string $file ): bool
- Since
- 4.2.0, 6.7.0
- Source
wp-includes/functions.php:7760
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 6.7.0
- 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
$filestring- The path to the file to delete.
Return value
bool- True on success, false on failure.
Performance profile
How much work a call to wp_delete_file() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Heavy
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 9–14
- Plugin surface
- 1 hook
- Called by
- 8
Reads or writes the filesystem via unlink().
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 15.
Third-party callbacks on 'wp_delete_file' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.
8 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- hookthird-party callbacks
apply_filters()called directly - filesystemfilesystem access
unlink()called directly
What one call costs · 2 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost wp_delete_file() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
empty($delete) | 9 | apply_filters() |
!empty($delete) | 14 | apply_filters(), unlink() |
Across PHP versions
Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 15 instructions, 9–14 executed per call, 1 branch. The work does not change between versions.
An instruction is not a fixed amount of time, so a matching count is not necessarily the same speed; what it rules out is a difference in the work itself.
Hooks and filters fired · 1
One hook fires while wp_delete_file() runs, in this order:
- apply_filters( wp_delete_file )filterline 7768 (+8 into the body)
Filters the path of the file to delete.
Uses · 1
- apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
Used by · 8
- Custom_Image_Header::step_3()Displays third step of custom header image page.
- File_Upload_Upgrader::__construct()Construct the upgrader for a form.
- _wp_before_delete_font_face()Deletes associated font files when a font face is deleted.
- wp_ajax_crop_image()Handles cropping an image via AJAX.
- wp_delete_file_from_directory()Deletes a file if its path is within the given directory.
- wp_privacy_generate_personal_data_export_file()Generate the personal data export file.
- wp_restore_image()Restores the metadata for a given attachment.
- wp_save_image()Saves image to post, along with enqueued changes in `$_REQUEST['history']`.
Source code
function wp_delete_file( $file ) { /** * Filters the path of the file to delete. * * @since 2.1.0 * * @param string $file Path to the file to delete. */ $delete = apply_filters( 'wp_delete_file', $file ); if ( ! empty( $delete ) ) { return @unlink( $delete ); } return false;}Changelog
Introduced in 4.2.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
About this page
- Parsed data
- Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.0.4 tag, from
src/wp-includes/functions.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.