get_categories( string|array $args = '' ): array
Retrieves a list of category objects.
Contents
Description
If you set the ‘taxonomy’ argument to ‘link_category’, the link categories will be returned instead.
See also
- get_terms() : Type of arguments that can be changed.
Parameters
-
$args
string|array Optional -
Arguments to retrieve categories. See get_terms() for additional options.
taxonomy
stringTaxonomy to retrieve terms for. Default'category'
.
More Arguments from get_terms( ... $args )
Array or query string of term query parameters.
taxonomy
string|string[]Taxonomy name, or array of taxonomy names, to which results should be limited.object_ids
int|int[]Object ID, or array of object IDs. Results will be limited to terms associated with these objects.orderby
stringField(s) to order terms by. Accepts:
- Term fields (
'name'
,'slug'
,'term_group'
,'term_id'
,'id'
,'description'
,'parent'
,'term_order'
). Unless$object_ids
is not empty,'term_order'
is treated the same as'term_id'
. 'count'
to use the number of objects associated with the term.'include'
to match the'order'
of the$include
param.'slug__in'
to match the'order'
of the$slug
param.'meta_value'
'meta_value_num'
.- The value of
$meta_key
. - The array keys of
$meta_query
. 'none'
to omit the ORDER BY clause.
'name'
.- Term fields (
order
stringWhether to order terms in ascending or descending order.
Accepts'ASC'
(ascending) or'DESC'
(descending).
Default'ASC'
.hide_empty
bool|intWhether to hide terms not assigned to any posts. Accepts1|true
or0|false
. Default1|true
.include
int[]|stringArray or comma/space-separated string of term IDs to include.
Default empty array.exclude
int[]|stringArray or comma/space-separated string of term IDs to exclude.
If$include
is non-empty,$exclude
is ignored.
Default empty array.exclude_tree
int[]|stringArray or comma/space-separated string of term IDs to exclude along with all of their descendant terms. If$include
is non-empty,$exclude_tree
is ignored. Default empty array.number
int|stringMaximum number of terms to return. Accepts
(all) or any positive number. Default''
|0
(all). Note that''
|0$number
may not return accurate results when coupled with$object_ids
.
See #41796 for details.offset
intThe number by which to offset the terms query.fields
stringTerm fields to query for. Accepts:
'all'
Returns an array of complete term objects (WP_Term[]
).'all_with_object_id'
Returns an array of term objects with the'object_id'
param (WP_Term[]
). Works only when the$object_ids
parameter is populated.'ids'
Returns an array of term IDs (int[]
).'tt_ids'
Returns an array of term taxonomy IDs (int[]
).'names'
Returns an array of term names (string[]
).'slugs'
Returns an array of term slugs (string[]
).'count'
Returns the number of matching terms (int
).'id=>parent'
Returns an associative array of parent term IDs, keyed by term ID (int[]
).'id=>name'
Returns an associative array of term names, keyed by term ID (string[]
).'id=>slug'
Returns an associative array of term slugs, keyed by term ID (string[]
).
'all'
.count
boolWhether to return a term count. If true, will take precedence over$fields
. Default false.name
string|string[]Name or array of names to return term(s) for.
slug
string|string[]Slug or array of slugs to return term(s) for.
term_taxonomy_id
int|int[]Term taxonomy ID, or array of term taxonomy IDs, to match when querying terms.hierarchical
boolWhether to include terms that have non-empty descendants (even if$hide_empty
is set to true). Default true.search
stringSearch criteria to match terms. Will be SQL-formatted with wildcards before and after.name__like
stringRetrieve terms with criteria by which a term is LIKE$name__like
.description__like
stringRetrieve terms where the description is LIKE$description__like
.pad_counts
boolWhether to pad the quantity of a term's children in the quantity of each term's "count" object variable. Default false.get
stringWhether to return terms regardless of ancestry or whether the terms are empty. Accepts'all'
or''
(disabled). Default''
.child_of
intTerm ID to retrieve child terms of. If multiple taxonomies are passed,$child_of
is ignored. Default 0.parent
intParent term ID to retrieve direct-child terms of.
childless
boolTrue to limit results to terms that have no children.
This parameter has no effect on non-hierarchical taxonomies.
Default false.cache_domain
stringUnique cache key to be produced when this query is stored in an object cache. Default'core'
.cache_results
boolWhether to cache term information. Default true.update_term_meta_cache
boolWhether to prime meta caches for matched terms. Default true.meta_key
string|string[]Meta key or keys to filter by.meta_value
string|string[]Meta value or values to filter by.meta_compare
stringMySQL operator used for comparing the meta value.
See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values and default value.meta_compare_key
stringMySQL operator used for comparing the meta key.
See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values and default value.meta_type
stringMySQL 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
stringMySQL 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
arrayAn associative array of WP_Meta_Query arguments.
See WP_Meta_Query::__construct() for accepted values.
Default:
''
Return
array List of category objects.
Source
File: wp-includes/category.php
.
View all references
function get_categories( $args = '' ) {
$defaults = array( 'taxonomy' => 'category' );
$args = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );
/**
* Filters the taxonomy used to retrieve terms when calling get_categories().
*
* @since 2.7.0
*
* @param string $taxonomy Taxonomy to retrieve terms from.
* @param array $args An array of arguments. See get_terms().
*/
$args['taxonomy'] = apply_filters( 'get_categories_taxonomy', $args['taxonomy'], $args );
// Back compat.
if ( isset( $args['type'] ) && 'link' === $args['type'] ) {
_deprecated_argument(
__FUNCTION__,
'3.0.0',
sprintf(
/* translators: 1: "type => link", 2: "taxonomy => link_category" */
__( '%1$s is deprecated. Use %2$s instead.' ),
'<code>type => link</code>',
'<code>taxonomy => link_category</code>'
)
);
$args['taxonomy'] = 'link_category';
}
$categories = get_terms( $args );
if ( is_wp_error( $categories ) ) {
$categories = array();
} else {
$categories = (array) $categories;
foreach ( array_keys( $categories ) as $k ) {
_make_cat_compat( $categories[ $k ] );
}
}
return $categories;
}
Hooks
-
apply_filters( 'get_categories_taxonomy',
string $taxonomy ,array $args ) -
Filters the taxonomy used to retrieve terms when calling get_categories() .
Changelog
Version | Description |
---|---|
2.1.0 | Introduced. |
User Contributed Notes
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List Categories and Descriptions
This example will list, in alphabetic order, all categories presented as links to the corresponding category archive. Each category description is listed after the category link.
Function only returns categories in use by posts
It is very important to note that by default, the
get_category()
will ONLY return categories that ARE IN USE. This means if no post is assigned to the category, then the category object for that category is not returned.This means if you are developer, and you created a category (maybe during testing), you should supply an argument array having the
'hide_empty' => false
in it. Check the example usage below.Get only top level categories
To get the top level categories only, set parent value to zero. This example gets link and name of top level categories.
Specific category parent title with linked menu of subcategories
– could be used in a sidebar application
If there are no categories to display,
get_categories()
will return an empty array.get all parent categories, and then based on parent id you can write a recurring function that gives you the child category of given id.
Output look like this:
A – Main category
B – Child Category
C – Child Category
D – Nested Child Category( if available )
E – Main category
F – Child Category
G – Child Category
H – Nested Child Category( if available )
Drop-down box as used in Parent category at post category page
This is the code used in the built-in category page.
The slightly altered code below will grab all categories and display them with indent for a new level (child category). The select box will have name and id attribute values of ‘select_name’. This select element will not display a default “none” as the original code was used to attach a category as a child to another category (or none).
Drop-down Box
Here’s how to create a drop-down box of the subcategories of, say, a category that archives information on past events.
This mirrors the example of the drop-down example of
wp_get_archives()
which shows how to create a drop-down box for monthly archives.Suppose the category whose subcategories you want to show is category 10, and that its category “nicename” is “archives”.