Title: WP_Plugin_Dependencies::get_circular_dependencies
Published: April 3, 2024
Last modified: February 24, 2026

---

# WP_Plugin_Dependencies::get_circular_dependencies(): array[]

## In this article

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

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

Gets circular dependency data.

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

 array[] An array of circular dependency pairings.

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

    ```php
    protected static function get_circular_dependencies() {
    	if ( is_array( self::$circular_dependencies_pairs ) ) {
    		return self::$circular_dependencies_pairs;
    	}

    	if ( null === self::$dependencies ) {
    		return array();
    	}

    	self::$circular_dependencies_slugs = array();

    	self::$circular_dependencies_pairs = array();
    	foreach ( self::$dependencies as $dependent => $dependencies ) {
    		/*
    		 * $dependent is in 'a/a.php' format. Dependencies are stored as slugs, i.e. 'a'.
    		 *
    		 * Convert $dependent to slug format for checking.
    		 */
    		$dependent_slug = self::convert_to_slug( $dependent );

    		self::$circular_dependencies_pairs = array_merge(
    			self::$circular_dependencies_pairs,
    			self::check_for_circular_dependencies( array( $dependent_slug ), $dependencies )
    		);
    	}

    	return self::$circular_dependencies_pairs;
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php#L764)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php#L764-L791)

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

| Uses | Description | 
| [WP_Plugin_Dependencies::convert_to_slug()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_plugin_dependencies/convert_to_slug/)`wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php` |

Converts a plugin filepath to a slug.

  | 
| [WP_Plugin_Dependencies::check_for_circular_dependencies()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_plugin_dependencies/check_for_circular_dependencies/)`wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php` |

Checks for circular dependencies.

  |

| Used by | Description | 
| [WP_Plugin_Dependencies::display_admin_notice_for_circular_dependencies()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_plugin_dependencies/display_admin_notice_for_circular_dependencies/)`wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php` |

Displays an admin notice if circular dependencies are installed.

  | 
| [WP_Plugin_Dependencies::has_circular_dependency()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_plugin_dependencies/has_circular_dependency/)`wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php` |

Determines whether the plugin has a circular dependency.

  |

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

| Version | Description | 
| [6.5.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/6.5.0/) | Introduced. |

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