Title: WP_User::get_caps_data
Published: November 20, 2017
Last modified: February 24, 2026

---

# WP_User::get_caps_data(): bool[]

## In this article

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

[ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_user/get_caps_data/?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.

Gets the available user capabilities data.

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

 bool[] List of capabilities keyed by the capability name, e.g. `array( 'edit_posts'
=> true, 'delete_posts' => false )`.

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

    ```php
    private function get_caps_data() {
    	$caps = get_user_meta( $this->ID, $this->cap_key, true );

    	if ( ! is_array( $caps ) ) {
    		return array();
    	}

    	return $caps;
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-includes/class-wp-user.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-user.php#L911)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/class-wp-user.php#L911-L919)

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

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

Retrieves user meta field for a user.

  |

| Used by | Description | 
| [WP_User::for_site()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_user/for_site/)`wp-includes/class-wp-user.php` |

Sets the site to operate on. Defaults to the current site.

  | 
| [WP_User::_init_caps()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_user/_init_caps/)`wp-includes/class-wp-user.php` |

Sets up capability object properties.

  |

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

| Version | Description | 
| [4.9.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/4.9.0/) | Introduced. |

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