WP_User_Query::prepare_query( string|array $query = array() )

Prepares the query variables.

Parameters

$querystring|arrayoptional
Array or string of query parameters.
  • blog_id int
    The site ID. Default is the current site.
  • role string|string[]
    An array or a comma-separated list of role names that users must match to be included in results. Note that this is an inclusive list: users must match *each* role.
  • role__in string[]
    An array of role names. Matched users must have at least one of these roles.
  • role__not_in string[]
    An array of role names to exclude. Users matching one or more of these roles will not be included in results.
  • meta_key string|string[]
    Meta key or keys to filter by.
  • meta_value string|string[]
    Meta value or values to filter by.
  • meta_compare string
    MySQL operator used for comparing the meta value.
    See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values and default value.
  • meta_compare_key string
    MySQL operator used for comparing the meta key.
    See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values and default value.
  • meta_type string
    MySQL data type that the meta_value column will be CAST to for comparisons.
    See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values and default value.
  • meta_type_key string
    MySQL data type that the meta_key column will be CAST to for comparisons.
    See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values and default value.
  • meta_query array
    An associative array of WP_Meta_Query arguments.
    See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values.
  • capability string|string[]
    An array or a comma-separated list of capability names that users must match to be included in results. Note that this is an inclusive list: users must match *each* capability.
    Does NOT work for capabilities not in the database or filtered via 'map_meta_cap'.
  • capability__in string[]
    An array of capability names. Matched users must have at least one of these capabilities.
    Does NOT work for capabilities not in the database or filtered via 'map_meta_cap'.
  • capability__not_in string[]
    An array of capability names to exclude. Users matching one or more of these capabilities will not be included in results.
    Does NOT work for capabilities not in the database or filtered via 'map_meta_cap'.
  • include int[]
    An array of user IDs to include.
  • exclude int[]
    An array of user IDs to exclude.
  • search string
    Search keyword. Searches for possible string matches on columns.
    When $search_columns is left empty, it tries to determine which column to search in based on search string.
  • search_columns string[]
    Array of column names to be searched. Accepts 'ID', 'user_login', 'user_email', 'user_url', 'user_nicename', 'display_name'.
  • orderby string|array
    Field(s) to sort the retrieved users by. May be a single value, an array of values, or a multi-dimensional array with fields as keys and orders ('ASC' or 'DESC') as values. Accepted values are:
    • 'ID'
    • 'display_name' (or 'name')
    • 'include'
    • 'user_login' (or 'login')
    • 'login__in'
    • 'user_nicename' (or 'nicename'),
    • 'nicename__in'
    • ‘user_email (or 'email')
    • 'user_url' (or 'url'),
    • 'user_registered' (or 'registered')
    • 'post_count'
    • 'meta_value',
    • 'meta_value_num'
    • The value of $meta_key
    • An array key of $meta_query To use 'meta_value' or 'meta_value_num', $meta_key must be also be defined. Default 'user_login'.
  • order string
    Designates ascending or descending order of users. Order values passed as part of an $orderby array take precedence over this parameter. Accepts 'ASC', 'DESC'. Default 'ASC'.
  • offset int
    Number of users to offset in retrieved results. Can be used in conjunction with pagination. Default 0.
  • number int
    Number of users to limit the query for. Can be used in conjunction with pagination. Value -1 (all) is supported, but should be used with caution on larger sites.
    Default -1 (all users).
  • paged int
    When used with number, defines the page of results to return.
    Default 1.
  • count_total bool
    Whether to count the total number of users found. If pagination is not needed, setting this to false can improve performance.
    Default true.
  • fields string|string[]
    Which fields to return. Single or all fields (string), or array of fields. Accepts:
    • 'ID'
    • 'display_name'
    • 'user_login'
    • 'user_nicename'
    • 'user_email'
    • 'user_url'
    • 'user_registered'
    • 'user_pass'
    • 'user_activation_key'
    • 'user_status'
    • 'spam' (only available on multisite installs)
    • 'deleted' (only available on multisite installs)
    • 'all' for all fields and loads user meta.
    • 'all_with_meta' Deprecated. Use 'all'.
    Default 'all'.
  • who string
    Type of users to query. Accepts 'authors'.
    Default empty (all users).
  • has_published_posts bool|string[]
    Pass an array of post types to filter results to users who have published posts in those post types. true is an alias for all public post types.
  • nicename string
    The user nicename.
  • nicename__in string[]
    An array of nicenames to include. Users matching one of these nicenames will be included in results.
  • nicename__not_in string[]
    An array of nicenames to exclude. Users matching one of these nicenames will not be included in results.
  • login string
    The user login.
  • login__in string[]
    An array of logins to include. Users matching one of these logins will be included in results.
  • login__not_in string[]
    An array of logins to exclude. Users matching one of these logins will not be included in results.
  • cache_results bool
    Whether to cache user information. Default true.

Default:array()

Source

public function prepare_query( $query = array() ) {
	global $wpdb, $wp_roles;

	if ( empty( $this->query_vars ) || ! empty( $query ) ) {
		$this->query_limit = null;
		$this->query_vars  = $this->fill_query_vars( $query );
	}

	/**
	 * Fires before the WP_User_Query has been parsed.
	 *
	 * The passed WP_User_Query object contains the query variables,
	 * not yet passed into SQL.
	 *
	 * @since 4.0.0
	 *
	 * @param WP_User_Query $query Current instance of WP_User_Query (passed by reference).
	 */
	do_action_ref_array( 'pre_get_users', array( &$this ) );

	// Ensure that query vars are filled after 'pre_get_users'.
	$qv =& $this->query_vars;
	$qv = $this->fill_query_vars( $qv );

	$allowed_fields = array(
		'id',
		'user_login',
		'user_pass',
		'user_nicename',
		'user_email',
		'user_url',
		'user_registered',
		'user_activation_key',
		'user_status',
		'display_name',
	);
	if ( is_multisite() ) {
		$allowed_fields[] = 'spam';
		$allowed_fields[] = 'deleted';
	}

	if ( is_array( $qv['fields'] ) ) {
		$qv['fields'] = array_map( 'strtolower', $qv['fields'] );
		$qv['fields'] = array_intersect( array_unique( $qv['fields'] ), $allowed_fields );

		if ( empty( $qv['fields'] ) ) {
			$qv['fields'] = array( 'id' );
		}

		$this->query_fields = array();
		foreach ( $qv['fields'] as $field ) {
			$field                = 'id' === $field ? 'ID' : sanitize_key( $field );
			$this->query_fields[] = "$wpdb->users.$field";
		}
		$this->query_fields = implode( ',', $this->query_fields );
	} elseif ( 'all_with_meta' === $qv['fields'] || 'all' === $qv['fields'] || ! in_array( $qv['fields'], $allowed_fields, true ) ) {
		$this->query_fields = "$wpdb->users.ID";
	} else {
		$field              = 'id' === strtolower( $qv['fields'] ) ? 'ID' : sanitize_key( $qv['fields'] );
		$this->query_fields = "$wpdb->users.$field";
	}

	if ( isset( $qv['count_total'] ) && $qv['count_total'] ) {
		$this->query_fields = 'SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS ' . $this->query_fields;
	}

	$this->query_from  = "FROM $wpdb->users";
	$this->query_where = 'WHERE 1=1';

	// Parse and sanitize 'include', for use by 'orderby' as well as 'include' below.
	if ( ! empty( $qv['include'] ) ) {
		$include = wp_parse_id_list( $qv['include'] );
	} else {
		$include = false;
	}

	$blog_id = 0;
	if ( isset( $qv['blog_id'] ) ) {
		$blog_id = absint( $qv['blog_id'] );
	}

	if ( $qv['has_published_posts'] && $blog_id ) {
		if ( true === $qv['has_published_posts'] ) {
			$post_types = get_post_types( array( 'public' => true ) );
		} else {
			$post_types = (array) $qv['has_published_posts'];
		}

		foreach ( $post_types as &$post_type ) {
			$post_type = $wpdb->prepare( '%s', $post_type );
		}

		$posts_table        = $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'posts';
		$this->query_where .= " AND $wpdb->users.ID IN ( SELECT DISTINCT $posts_table.post_author FROM $posts_table WHERE $posts_table.post_status = 'publish' AND $posts_table.post_type IN ( " . implode( ', ', $post_types ) . ' ) )';
	}

	// nicename
	if ( '' !== $qv['nicename'] ) {
		$this->query_where .= $wpdb->prepare( ' AND user_nicename = %s', $qv['nicename'] );
	}

	if ( ! empty( $qv['nicename__in'] ) ) {
		$sanitized_nicename__in = array_map( 'esc_sql', $qv['nicename__in'] );
		$nicename__in           = implode( "','", $sanitized_nicename__in );
		$this->query_where     .= " AND user_nicename IN ( '$nicename__in' )";
	}

	if ( ! empty( $qv['nicename__not_in'] ) ) {
		$sanitized_nicename__not_in = array_map( 'esc_sql', $qv['nicename__not_in'] );
		$nicename__not_in           = implode( "','", $sanitized_nicename__not_in );
		$this->query_where         .= " AND user_nicename NOT IN ( '$nicename__not_in' )";
	}

	// login
	if ( '' !== $qv['login'] ) {
		$this->query_where .= $wpdb->prepare( ' AND user_login = %s', $qv['login'] );
	}

	if ( ! empty( $qv['login__in'] ) ) {
		$sanitized_login__in = array_map( 'esc_sql', $qv['login__in'] );
		$login__in           = implode( "','", $sanitized_login__in );
		$this->query_where  .= " AND user_login IN ( '$login__in' )";
	}

	if ( ! empty( $qv['login__not_in'] ) ) {
		$sanitized_login__not_in = array_map( 'esc_sql', $qv['login__not_in'] );
		$login__not_in           = implode( "','", $sanitized_login__not_in );
		$this->query_where      .= " AND user_login NOT IN ( '$login__not_in' )";
	}

	// Meta query.
	$this->meta_query = new WP_Meta_Query();
	$this->meta_query->parse_query_vars( $qv );

	if ( isset( $qv['who'] ) && 'authors' === $qv['who'] && $blog_id ) {
		_deprecated_argument(
			'WP_User_Query',
			'5.9.0',
			sprintf(
				/* translators: 1: who, 2: capability */
				__( '%1$s is deprecated. Use %2$s instead.' ),
				'<code>who</code>',
				'<code>capability</code>'
			)
		);

		$who_query = array(
			'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'user_level',
			'value'   => 0,
			'compare' => '!=',
		);

		// Prevent extra meta query.
		$qv['blog_id'] = 0;
		$blog_id       = 0;

		if ( empty( $this->meta_query->queries ) ) {
			$this->meta_query->queries = array( $who_query );
		} else {
			// Append the cap query to the original queries and reparse the query.
			$this->meta_query->queries = array(
				'relation' => 'AND',
				array( $this->meta_query->queries, $who_query ),
			);
		}

		$this->meta_query->parse_query_vars( $this->meta_query->queries );
	}

	// Roles.
	$roles = array();
	if ( isset( $qv['role'] ) ) {
		if ( is_array( $qv['role'] ) ) {
			$roles = $qv['role'];
		} elseif ( is_string( $qv['role'] ) && ! empty( $qv['role'] ) ) {
			$roles = array_map( 'trim', explode( ',', $qv['role'] ) );
		}
	}

	$role__in = array();
	if ( isset( $qv['role__in'] ) ) {
		$role__in = (array) $qv['role__in'];
	}

	$role__not_in = array();
	if ( isset( $qv['role__not_in'] ) ) {
		$role__not_in = (array) $qv['role__not_in'];
	}

	// Capabilities.
	$available_roles = array();

	if ( ! empty( $qv['capability'] ) || ! empty( $qv['capability__in'] ) || ! empty( $qv['capability__not_in'] ) ) {
		$wp_roles->for_site( $blog_id );
		$available_roles = $wp_roles->roles;
	}

	$capabilities = array();
	if ( ! empty( $qv['capability'] ) ) {
		if ( is_array( $qv['capability'] ) ) {
			$capabilities = $qv['capability'];
		} elseif ( is_string( $qv['capability'] ) ) {
			$capabilities = array_map( 'trim', explode( ',', $qv['capability'] ) );
		}
	}

	$capability__in = array();
	if ( ! empty( $qv['capability__in'] ) ) {
		$capability__in = (array) $qv['capability__in'];
	}

	$capability__not_in = array();
	if ( ! empty( $qv['capability__not_in'] ) ) {
		$capability__not_in = (array) $qv['capability__not_in'];
	}

	// Keep track of all capabilities and the roles they're added on.
	$caps_with_roles = array();

	foreach ( $available_roles as $role => $role_data ) {
		$role_caps = array_keys( array_filter( $role_data['capabilities'] ) );

		foreach ( $capabilities as $cap ) {
			if ( in_array( $cap, $role_caps, true ) ) {
				$caps_with_roles[ $cap ][] = $role;
				break;
			}
		}

		foreach ( $capability__in as $cap ) {
			if ( in_array( $cap, $role_caps, true ) ) {
				$role__in[] = $role;
				break;
			}
		}

		foreach ( $capability__not_in as $cap ) {
			if ( in_array( $cap, $role_caps, true ) ) {
				$role__not_in[] = $role;
				break;
			}
		}
	}

	$role__in     = array_merge( $role__in, $capability__in );
	$role__not_in = array_merge( $role__not_in, $capability__not_in );

	$roles        = array_unique( $roles );
	$role__in     = array_unique( $role__in );
	$role__not_in = array_unique( $role__not_in );

	// Support querying by capabilities added directly to users.
	if ( $blog_id && ! empty( $capabilities ) ) {
		$capabilities_clauses = array( 'relation' => 'AND' );

		foreach ( $capabilities as $cap ) {
			$clause = array( 'relation' => 'OR' );

			$clause[] = array(
				'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'capabilities',
				'value'   => '"' . $cap . '"',
				'compare' => 'LIKE',
			);

			if ( ! empty( $caps_with_roles[ $cap ] ) ) {
				foreach ( $caps_with_roles[ $cap ] as $role ) {
					$clause[] = array(
						'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'capabilities',
						'value'   => '"' . $role . '"',
						'compare' => 'LIKE',
					);
				}
			}

			$capabilities_clauses[] = $clause;
		}

		$role_queries[] = $capabilities_clauses;

		if ( empty( $this->meta_query->queries ) ) {
			$this->meta_query->queries[] = $capabilities_clauses;
		} else {
			// Append the cap query to the original queries and reparse the query.
			$this->meta_query->queries = array(
				'relation' => 'AND',
				array( $this->meta_query->queries, array( $capabilities_clauses ) ),
			);
		}

		$this->meta_query->parse_query_vars( $this->meta_query->queries );
	}

	if ( $blog_id && ( ! empty( $roles ) || ! empty( $role__in ) || ! empty( $role__not_in ) || is_multisite() ) ) {
		$role_queries = array();

		$roles_clauses = array( 'relation' => 'AND' );
		if ( ! empty( $roles ) ) {
			foreach ( $roles as $role ) {
				$roles_clauses[] = array(
					'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'capabilities',
					'value'   => '"' . $role . '"',
					'compare' => 'LIKE',
				);
			}

			$role_queries[] = $roles_clauses;
		}

		$role__in_clauses = array( 'relation' => 'OR' );
		if ( ! empty( $role__in ) ) {
			foreach ( $role__in as $role ) {
				$role__in_clauses[] = array(
					'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'capabilities',
					'value'   => '"' . $role . '"',
					'compare' => 'LIKE',
				);
			}

			$role_queries[] = $role__in_clauses;
		}

		$role__not_in_clauses = array( 'relation' => 'AND' );
		if ( ! empty( $role__not_in ) ) {
			foreach ( $role__not_in as $role ) {
				$role__not_in_clauses[] = array(
					'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'capabilities',
					'value'   => '"' . $role . '"',
					'compare' => 'NOT LIKE',
				);
			}

			$role_queries[] = $role__not_in_clauses;
		}

		// If there are no specific roles named, make sure the user is a member of the site.
		if ( empty( $role_queries ) ) {
			$role_queries[] = array(
				'key'     => $wpdb->get_blog_prefix( $blog_id ) . 'capabilities',
				'compare' => 'EXISTS',
			);
		}

		// Specify that role queries should be joined with AND.
		$role_queries['relation'] = 'AND';

		if ( empty( $this->meta_query->queries ) ) {
			$this->meta_query->queries = $role_queries;
		} else {
			// Append the cap query to the original queries and reparse the query.
			$this->meta_query->queries = array(
				'relation' => 'AND',
				array( $this->meta_query->queries, $role_queries ),
			);
		}

		$this->meta_query->parse_query_vars( $this->meta_query->queries );
	}

	if ( ! empty( $this->meta_query->queries ) ) {
		$clauses            = $this->meta_query->get_sql( 'user', $wpdb->users, 'ID', $this );
		$this->query_from  .= $clauses['join'];
		$this->query_where .= $clauses['where'];

		if ( $this->meta_query->has_or_relation() ) {
			$this->query_fields = 'DISTINCT ' . $this->query_fields;
		}
	}

	// Sorting.
	$qv['order'] = isset( $qv['order'] ) ? strtoupper( $qv['order'] ) : '';
	$order       = $this->parse_order( $qv['order'] );

	if ( empty( $qv['orderby'] ) ) {
		// Default order is by 'user_login'.
		$ordersby = array( 'user_login' => $order );
	} elseif ( is_array( $qv['orderby'] ) ) {
		$ordersby = $qv['orderby'];
	} else {
		// 'orderby' values may be a comma- or space-separated list.
		$ordersby = preg_split( '/[,\s]+/', $qv['orderby'] );
	}

	$orderby_array = array();
	foreach ( $ordersby as $_key => $_value ) {
		if ( ! $_value ) {
			continue;
		}

		if ( is_int( $_key ) ) {
			// Integer key means this is a flat array of 'orderby' fields.
			$_orderby = $_value;
			$_order   = $order;
		} else {
			// Non-integer key means this the key is the field and the value is ASC/DESC.
			$_orderby = $_key;
			$_order   = $_value;
		}

		$parsed = $this->parse_orderby( $_orderby );

		if ( ! $parsed ) {
			continue;
		}

		if ( 'nicename__in' === $_orderby || 'login__in' === $_orderby ) {
			$orderby_array[] = $parsed;
		} else {
			$orderby_array[] = $parsed . ' ' . $this->parse_order( $_order );
		}
	}

	// If no valid clauses were found, order by user_login.
	if ( empty( $orderby_array ) ) {
		$orderby_array[] = "user_login $order";
	}

	$this->query_orderby = 'ORDER BY ' . implode( ', ', $orderby_array );

	// Limit.
	if ( isset( $qv['number'] ) && $qv['number'] > 0 ) {
		if ( $qv['offset'] ) {
			$this->query_limit = $wpdb->prepare( 'LIMIT %d, %d', $qv['offset'], $qv['number'] );
		} else {
			$this->query_limit = $wpdb->prepare( 'LIMIT %d, %d', $qv['number'] * ( $qv['paged'] - 1 ), $qv['number'] );
		}
	}

	$search = '';
	if ( isset( $qv['search'] ) ) {
		$search = trim( $qv['search'] );
	}

	if ( $search ) {
		$leading_wild  = ( ltrim( $search, '*' ) !== $search );
		$trailing_wild = ( rtrim( $search, '*' ) !== $search );
		if ( $leading_wild && $trailing_wild ) {
			$wild = 'both';
		} elseif ( $leading_wild ) {
			$wild = 'leading';
		} elseif ( $trailing_wild ) {
			$wild = 'trailing';
		} else {
			$wild = false;
		}
		if ( $wild ) {
			$search = trim( $search, '*' );
		}

		$search_columns = array();
		if ( $qv['search_columns'] ) {
			$search_columns = array_intersect( $qv['search_columns'], array( 'ID', 'user_login', 'user_email', 'user_url', 'user_nicename', 'display_name' ) );
		}
		if ( ! $search_columns ) {
			if ( str_contains( $search, '@' ) ) {
				$search_columns = array( 'user_email' );
			} elseif ( is_numeric( $search ) ) {
				$search_columns = array( 'user_login', 'ID' );
			} elseif ( preg_match( '|^https?://|', $search ) && ! ( is_multisite() && wp_is_large_network( 'users' ) ) ) {
				$search_columns = array( 'user_url' );
			} else {
				$search_columns = array( 'user_login', 'user_url', 'user_email', 'user_nicename', 'display_name' );
			}
		}

		/**
		 * Filters the columns to search in a WP_User_Query search.
		 *
		 * The default columns depend on the search term, and include 'ID', 'user_login',
		 * 'user_email', 'user_url', 'user_nicename', and 'display_name'.
		 *
		 * @since 3.6.0
		 *
		 * @param string[]      $search_columns Array of column names to be searched.
		 * @param string        $search         Text being searched.
		 * @param WP_User_Query $query          The current WP_User_Query instance.
		 */
		$search_columns = apply_filters( 'user_search_columns', $search_columns, $search, $this );

		$this->query_where .= $this->get_search_sql( $search, $search_columns, $wild );
	}

	if ( ! empty( $include ) ) {
		// Sanitized earlier.
		$ids                = implode( ',', $include );
		$this->query_where .= " AND $wpdb->users.ID IN ($ids)";
	} elseif ( ! empty( $qv['exclude'] ) ) {
		$ids                = implode( ',', wp_parse_id_list( $qv['exclude'] ) );
		$this->query_where .= " AND $wpdb->users.ID NOT IN ($ids)";
	}

	// Date queries are allowed for the user_registered field.
	if ( ! empty( $qv['date_query'] ) && is_array( $qv['date_query'] ) ) {
		$date_query         = new WP_Date_Query( $qv['date_query'], 'user_registered' );
		$this->query_where .= $date_query->get_sql();
	}

	/**
	 * Fires after the WP_User_Query has been parsed, and before
	 * the query is executed.
	 *
	 * The passed WP_User_Query object contains SQL parts formed
	 * from parsing the given query.
	 *
	 * @since 3.1.0
	 *
	 * @param WP_User_Query $query Current instance of WP_User_Query (passed by reference).
	 */
	do_action_ref_array( 'pre_user_query', array( &$this ) );
}

Hooks

do_action_ref_array( ‘pre_get_users’, WP_User_Query $query )

Fires before the WP_User_Query has been parsed.

do_action_ref_array( ‘pre_user_query’, WP_User_Query $query )

Fires after the WP_User_Query has been parsed, and before the query is executed.

apply_filters( ‘user_search_columns’, string[] $search_columns, string $search, WP_User_Query $query )

Filters the columns to search in a WP_User_Query search.

Changelog

VersionDescription
6.3.0Added 'cache_results' parameter.
5.9.0Added 'capability', 'capability__in', and 'capability__not_in' parameters.
5.3.0Introduced the 'meta_type_key' parameter.
5.1.0Introduced the 'meta_compare_key' parameter.
4.7.0Added 'nicename', 'nicename__in', 'nicename__not_in', 'login', 'login__in', and 'login__not_in' parameters.
4.4.0Added 'paged', 'role__in', and 'role__not_in' parameters. The 'role' parameter was updated to permit an array or comma-separated list of values. The 'number' parameter was updated to support querying for all users with using -1.
4.3.0Added 'has_published_posts' parameter.
4.2.0Added 'meta_value_num' support for $orderby parameter. Added multi-dimensional array syntax for $orderby parameter.
4.1.0Added the ability to order by the include value.
3.1.0Introduced.
Show 5 moreShow less

User Contributed Notes

  1. Skip to note 9 content

    The specification for providing meta_query keys as orderby parameters is confusing at best. The docs say to use “fields as keys” and an accepted value is “an array key of $meta_query“. In fact values must be the array key from the array returned by $WP_Meta_Query::get_clauses(). You could get this array by instantiating WP_Meta_Query with your meta_query arguments, then calling WP_Meta_Query::get_sql('user','wp_users','ID'), (provide your correct table name for wp_users) then calling $WP_Meta_Query::get_clauses(). The array keys in the returned array are the correct keys to assign to the orderby argument.

    A perhaps easier way to get the proper keys is to instantiate WP_User_Query with your meta_query arguments, then examining the SQL query in WP_User_Query::request. In particular the WHERE portion related to user meta. The keys are the table aliases used in the SQL query. The first meta_query argument’s key is always the table name, usually wp_usermeta unless you specified a different prefix in wp-config.php. Additional meta_query arguments are assigned aliases like mt1, mt2, etc. The related meta key name occurs to the right of the = sign in each case. Thus your orderby argument might be array('mt1', 'wp_usermeta',) or if you need differing order arguments, array('mt1'=>'ASC', 'wp_usermeta'=>'DESC',)

    For reference, the user_meta part of the SQL WHERE clause may look something like this:
    (( wp_usermeta.meta_key = 'foo' AND wp_usermeta.meta_value LIKE '%bar%' )
    AND
    ( mt1.meta_key = 'sna' AND mt1.meta_value LIKE '%fu%' ))

  2. Skip to note 13 content

    WordPress 5.9 added arguments “capability”, “capability__in” and “capability__not_in” and deprecated the “who” parameter.

    So if you want to write code that works with WordPress 5.8 and 5.9 without any deprecation warnings, you need to check the current WordPress version like in this trac ticket:

    // Capability queries were only introduced in WP 5.9.
    if ( version_compare( $GLOBALS['wp_version'], '5.9', '<' ) ) {
            $args['who'] = 'authors';
    } else {
            $args['capability'] = ['edit_posts'];
    }
  3. Skip to note 14 content

    You can use the date_query parameter to obtain users that have registered on a particular date, for example:

    $users = get_users( [
        'date_query' => [ 'day' => 1, 'month' => 6, 'year' => 2022 ]
    ] );

    It’s also possible to obtain users registered for a date range, as in this example:

    $users = get_users(
    	array(
            'fields' => 'ID',
            'date_query' => array(
                'compare' => 'BETWEEN',
                'day'     => [1,31],
                'month'   => [1,12],
                'year'    => [2022,2022]
            )
        )
    );

    Equivalent using the WP_User_Query class:

    $args = array(
        'date_query' => array(
            'compare' => 'BETWEEN',
            'day'     => [1,31],
            'month'   => [1,12],
            'year'    => [2022,2022]
        )
    );
    $user_query = new WP_User_Query( $args );
    $users = $user_query->get_results();

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