Title: WP_Image_Editor_Imagick::write_image
Published: December 9, 2020
Last modified: February 24, 2026

---

# WP_Image_Editor_Imagick::write_image( Imagick $image, string $filename ): true|󠀁[WP_Error](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_error/)󠁿

## In this article

 * [Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#parameters)
 * [Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#return)
 * [Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#source)
 * [Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#related)
 * [Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#changelog)

[ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target)

This function’s access is marked private. This means it is not intended for use 
by plugin or theme developers, only by core. It is listed here for completeness.

Writes an image to a file or stream.

## 󠀁[Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#parameters)󠁿

 `$image`Imagickrequired

`$filename`stringrequired

The destination filename or stream URL.

## 󠀁[Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#return)󠁿

 true|[WP_Error](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_error/)

## 󠀁[Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#source)󠁿

    ```php
    private function write_image( $image, $filename ) {
    	if ( wp_is_stream( $filename ) ) {
    		/*
    		 * Due to reports of issues with streams with `Imagick::writeImageFile()` and `Imagick::writeImage()`, copies the blob instead.
    		 * Checks for exact type due to: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.file-put-contents.php
    		 */
    		if ( file_put_contents( $filename, $image->getImageBlob() ) === false ) {
    			return new WP_Error(
    				'image_save_error',
    				sprintf(
    					/* translators: %s: PHP function name. */
    					__( '%s failed while writing image to stream.' ),
    					'<code>file_put_contents()</code>'
    				),
    				$filename
    			);
    		} else {
    			return true;
    		}
    	} else {
    		$dirname = dirname( $filename );

    		if ( ! wp_mkdir_p( $dirname ) ) {
    			return new WP_Error(
    				'image_save_error',
    				sprintf(
    					/* translators: %s: Directory path. */
    					__( 'Unable to create directory %s. Is its parent directory writable by the server?' ),
    					esc_html( $dirname )
    				)
    			);
    		}

    		try {
    			return $image->writeImage( $filename );
    		} catch ( Exception $e ) {
    			return new WP_Error( 'image_save_error', $e->getMessage(), $filename );
    		}
    	}
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-imagick.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-imagick.php#L990)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-imagick.php#L990-L1029)

## 󠀁[Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#related)󠁿

| Uses | Description | 
| [wp_is_stream()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_is_stream/)`wp-includes/functions.php` |

Tests if a given path is a stream URL

  | 
| [wp_mkdir_p()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_mkdir_p/)`wp-includes/functions.php` |

Recursive directory creation based on full path.

  | 
| [__()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/__/)`wp-includes/l10n.php` |

Retrieves the translation of $text.

  | 
| [esc_html()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/esc_html/)`wp-includes/formatting.php` |

Escaping for HTML blocks.

  | 
| [WP_Error::__construct()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_error/__construct/)`wp-includes/class-wp-error.php` |

Initializes the error.

  |

[Show 3 more](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#)
[Show less](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#)

| Used by | Description | 
| [WP_Image_Editor_Imagick::_save()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/_save/)`wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-imagick.php` |  |

## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_image_editor_imagick/write_image/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿

| Version | Description | 
| [5.6.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/5.6.0/) | Introduced. |

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