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

---

# WP_Plugin_Dependencies::get_plugins(): array

## In this article

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

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

Gets data for installed plugins.

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

 array An array of plugin data.

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

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

    	require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
    	self::$plugins = get_plugins();

    	return self::$plugins;
    }
    ```

[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#L542)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-plugin-dependencies.php#L542-L551)

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

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

Checks the plugins directory and retrieve all plugin files with plugin data.

  |

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

Retrieves and stores dependency plugin data from the WordPress.org Plugin API.

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

Gets plugin directory names.

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

Checks plugin dependencies after a plugin is installed via AJAX.

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

Reads and stores dependency slugs from a plugin’s ‘Requires Plugins’ header.

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

Gets the names of plugins required by the plugin.

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

Gets the names of plugins that require the plugin.

  |

[Show 2 more](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_plugin_dependencies/get_plugins/?output_format=md#)
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## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_plugin_dependencies/get_plugins/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿

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

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