wp_get_nav_menus( array $args = array() ): WP_Term[]

Compatibility

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

Parameters

$argsarrayoptional

Array of arguments passed on to get_terms().
Default empty array.Default: array()

Return value

WP_Term[]

An array of menu objects.

Performance profile

How much work a call to wp_get_nav_menus() 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_terms().

Scaling

Constant

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

Instructions

16

Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 16.

Plugin surface

1 hook

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

Called by

8

8 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_terms()called directly

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

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

Hooks and filters fired · 1

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

1. 1
   apply_filters( wp_get_nav_menus )filterline 665 (+18 into the body)

   Filters the navigation menu objects being returned.

Uses · 3

• wp_parse_args()Merges user defined arguments into defaults array.
• apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.
• get_terms()Retrieves the terms in a given taxonomy or list of taxonomies.

Used by · 8

• WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::customize_register()Adds the customizer settings and controls.
• WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::enqueue_scripts()Enqueues scripts and styles for Customizer pane.
• WP_Nav_Menu_Widget::form()Outputs the settings form for the Navigation Menu widget.
• WP_Navigation_Fallback::get_fallback_classic_menu()Determines the most appropriate classic navigation menu to use as a fallback.
• block_core_navigation_get_classic_menu_fallback()Get the classic navigation menu to use as a fallback.
• wp_nav_menu()Displays a navigation menu.
• wp_nav_menu_update_menu_items()Saves nav menu items.
• wxr_nav_menu_terms()Outputs all navigation menu terms.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

647function wp_get_nav_menus( $args = array() ) {648	$defaults = array(649		'taxonomy'   => 'nav_menu',650		'hide_empty' => false,651		'orderby'    => 'name',652	);653	$args     = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );654 655	/**656	 * Filters the navigation menu objects being returned.657	 *658	 * @since 3.0.0659	 *660	 * @see get_terms()661	 *662	 * @param WP_Term[] $menus An array of menu objects.663	 * @param array     $args  An array of arguments used to retrieve menu objects.664	 */665	return apply_filters( 'wp_get_nav_menus', get_terms( $args ), $args );666}

Changelog

Introduced in 3.0.0. 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 6.9.7 tag, from src/wp-includes/nav-menu.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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