add_option( string $option, mixed $value = , string $deprecated = , bool|null $autoload = null ): bool

Adds a new option.

Description

You do not need to serialize values. If the value needs to be serialized, then it will be serialized before it is inserted into the database.
Remember, resources cannot be serialized or added as an option.

You can create options without values and then update the values later.
Existing options will not be updated and checks are performed to ensure that you aren’t adding a protected WordPress option. Care should be taken to not name options the same as the ones which are protected.

Parameters

$optionstringrequired
Name of the option to add. Expected to not be SQL-escaped.
$valuemixedoptional
Option value. Must be serializable if non-scalar.
Expected to not be SQL-escaped.

Default:''

$deprecatedstringoptional
Description. Not used anymore.

Default:''

$autoloadbool|nulloptional
Whether to load the option when WordPress starts up.
Accepts a boolean, or null to leave the decision up to default heuristics in WordPress. For backward compatibility 'yes' and 'no' are also accepted, though using these values is deprecated.
Autoloading too many options can lead to performance problems, especially if the options are not frequently used. For options which are accessed across several places in the frontend, it is recommended to autoload them, by using true.
For options which are accessed only on few specific URLs, it is recommended to not autoload them, by using false.
Default is null, which means WordPress will determine the autoload value.

Default:null

Return

bool True if the option was added, false otherwise.

Source

function add_option( $option, $value = '', $deprecated = '', $autoload = null ) {
	global $wpdb;

	if ( ! empty( $deprecated ) ) {
		_deprecated_argument( __FUNCTION__, '2.3.0' );
	}

	if ( is_scalar( $option ) ) {
		$option = trim( $option );
	}

	if ( empty( $option ) ) {
		return false;
	}

	/*
	 * Until a proper _deprecated_option() function can be introduced,
	 * redirect requests to deprecated keys to the new, correct ones.
	 */
	$deprecated_keys = array(
		'blacklist_keys'    => 'disallowed_keys',
		'comment_whitelist' => 'comment_previously_approved',
	);

	if ( isset( $deprecated_keys[ $option ] ) && ! wp_installing() ) {
		_deprecated_argument(
			__FUNCTION__,
			'5.5.0',
			sprintf(
				/* translators: 1: Deprecated option key, 2: New option key. */
				__( 'The "%1$s" option key has been renamed to "%2$s".' ),
				$option,
				$deprecated_keys[ $option ]
			)
		);
		return add_option( $deprecated_keys[ $option ], $value, $deprecated, $autoload );
	}

	wp_protect_special_option( $option );

	if ( is_object( $value ) ) {
		$value = clone $value;
	}

	$value = sanitize_option( $option, $value );

	/*
	 * Make sure the option doesn't already exist.
	 * We can check the 'notoptions' cache before we ask for a DB query.
	 */
	$notoptions = wp_cache_get( 'notoptions', 'options' );

	if ( ! is_array( $notoptions ) || ! isset( $notoptions[ $option ] ) ) {
		/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/option.php */
		if ( apply_filters( "default_option_{$option}", false, $option, false ) !== get_option( $option ) ) {
			return false;
		}
	}

	$serialized_value = maybe_serialize( $value );

	$autoload = wp_determine_option_autoload_value( $option, $value, $serialized_value, $autoload );

	/**
	 * Fires before an option is added.
	 *
	 * @since 2.9.0
	 *
	 * @param string $option Name of the option to add.
	 * @param mixed  $value  Value of the option.
	 */
	do_action( 'add_option', $option, $value );

	$result = $wpdb->query( $wpdb->prepare( "INSERT INTO `$wpdb->options` (`option_name`, `option_value`, `autoload`) VALUES (%s, %s, %s) ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE `option_name` = VALUES(`option_name`), `option_value` = VALUES(`option_value`), `autoload` = VALUES(`autoload`)", $option, $serialized_value, $autoload ) );
	if ( ! $result ) {
		return false;
	}

	if ( ! wp_installing() ) {
		if ( in_array( $autoload, wp_autoload_values_to_autoload(), true ) ) {
			$alloptions            = wp_load_alloptions( true );
			$alloptions[ $option ] = $serialized_value;
			wp_cache_set( 'alloptions', $alloptions, 'options' );
		} else {
			wp_cache_set( $option, $serialized_value, 'options' );
		}
	}

	// This option exists now.
	$notoptions = wp_cache_get( 'notoptions', 'options' ); // Yes, again... we need it to be fresh.

	if ( is_array( $notoptions ) && isset( $notoptions[ $option ] ) ) {
		unset( $notoptions[ $option ] );
		wp_cache_set( 'notoptions', $notoptions, 'options' );
	}

	/**
	 * Fires after a specific option has been added.
	 *
	 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$option`, refers to the option name.
	 *
	 * @since 2.5.0 As "add_option_{$name}"
	 * @since 3.0.0
	 *
	 * @param string $option Name of the option to add.
	 * @param mixed  $value  Value of the option.
	 */
	do_action( "add_option_{$option}", $option, $value );

	/**
	 * Fires after an option has been added.
	 *
	 * @since 2.9.0
	 *
	 * @param string $option Name of the added option.
	 * @param mixed  $value  Value of the option.
	 */
	do_action( 'added_option', $option, $value );

	return true;
}

Hooks

do_action( ‘added_option’, string $option, mixed $value )

Fires after an option has been added.

do_action( ‘add_option’, string $option, mixed $value )

Fires before an option is added.

do_action( “add_option_{$option}”, string $option, mixed $value )

Fires after a specific option has been added.

apply_filters( “default_option_{$option}”, mixed $default_value, string $option, bool $passed_default )

Filters the default value for an option.

Changelog

VersionDescription
6.7.0The autoload values 'yes' and 'no' are deprecated.
6.6.0The $autoload parameter’s default value was changed to null.
1.0.0Introduced.

User Contributed Notes

  1. Skip to note 3 content

    The `autoload` option means that WordPress will automatically fetch this option and its value on every page request.

    If your code relies on the option value on every, or close to every, page request, setting this value to `yes` will save a database query from being triggered when you request the option.

    Take note that the value of your option entry will add to the overall memory consumed by the website, so keep this in mind when autoloading large datasets.

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