Title: get_the_author_meta Published: April 25, 2014 Last modified: August 20, 2026 --- # get_the_author_meta( string $field = '', int|false $user_id = false ): string ## In this article * [Description](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#description) * [Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#parameters) * [Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#return) * [More Information](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#more-information) * [Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#source) * [Hooks](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#hooks) * [Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#related) * [Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#changelog) * [User Contributed Notes](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#user-contributed-notes) [ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target) Retrieves the requested data of the author of the current post. ## 󠀁[Description](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#description)󠁿 Valid values for the `$field` parameter include: * admin_color * comment_shortcuts * description * display_name * first_name * ID * last_name * nickname * plugins_last_view * plugins_per_page * rich_editing * syntax_highlighting * user_activation_key * user_description * user_email * user_firstname * user_lastname * user_level * user_login * user_nicename * user_pass * user_registered * user_status * user_url ## 󠀁[Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#parameters)󠁿 `$field`stringoptional The user field to retrieve. Default:`''` `$user_id`int|falseoptional User ID. Defaults to the current post author. Default:`false` ## 󠀁[Return](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#return)󠁿 string The author’s field from the current author’s DB object, otherwise an empty string. ## 󠀁[More Information](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#more-information)󠁿 If used within [The Loop](https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop), the user ID need not be specified, it defaults to current post author. A user ID must be specified if used outside [The Loop](https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop). [get_the_author_meta()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/) returns the data for use programmatically in PHP. To just display it instead, use [the_author_meta()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/the_author_meta/) If the specified meta field does not exist for this user, an empty string is returned. Plugins may add additional fields to the user profile, which in turn adds new key/ value pairs to the wp_usermeta database table. This additional data can be retrieved by passing the field’s key to the function as the `$field` parameter. ## 󠀁[Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#source)󠁿 ```php function get_the_author_meta( $field = '', $user_id = false ) { $original_user_id = $user_id; if ( ! $user_id ) { global $authordata; $user_id = $authordata->ID ?? 0; } else { $authordata = get_userdata( $user_id ); } if ( in_array( $field, array( 'login', 'pass', 'nicename', 'email', 'url', 'registered', 'activation_key', 'status' ), true ) ) { $field = 'user_' . $field; } $value = $authordata->$field ?? ''; /** * Filters the value of the requested user metadata. * * The filter name is dynamic and depends on the $field parameter of the function. * * @since 2.8.0 * @since 4.3.0 The `$original_user_id` parameter was added. * * @param string $value The value of the metadata. * @param int $user_id The user ID for the value. * @param int|false $original_user_id The original user ID, as passed to the function. */ return apply_filters( "get_the_author_{$field}", $value, $user_id, $original_user_id ); } ``` [View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-includes/author-template.php/) [View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/7.1/src/wp-includes/author-template.php#L167) [View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/7.1/src/wp-includes/author-template.php#L167-L196) ## 󠀁[Hooks](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#hooks)󠁿 [apply_filters( “get_the_author_{$field}”, string $value, int $user_id, int|false $original_user_id )](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/get_the_author_field/) Filters the value of the requested user metadata. ## 󠀁[Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#related)󠁿 | Uses | Description | | [get_userdata()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_userdata/)`wp-includes/pluggable.php` | Retrieves user info by user ID. | | [apply_filters()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/apply_filters/)`wp-includes/plugin.php` | Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook. | | Used by | Description | | [WP_Posts_List_Table::column_author()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_posts_list_table/column_author/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-posts-list-table.php` | Handles the post author column output. | | [WP_Media_List_Table::column_author()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_media_list_table/column_author/)`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-media-list-table.php` | Handles the author column output. | | [get_the_archive_description()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_archive_description/)`wp-includes/general-template.php` | Retrieves the description for an author, post type, or term archive. | | [export_wp()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/export_wp/)`wp-admin/includes/export.php` | Generates the WXR export file for download. | | [wp_prepare_revisions_for_js()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_prepare_revisions_for_js/)`wp-admin/includes/revision.php` | Prepare revisions for JavaScript. | | [feed_links_extra()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/feed_links_extra/)`wp-includes/general-template.php` | Displays the links to the extra feeds such as category feeds. | | [get_profile()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_profile/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve user data based on field. | | [get_the_author_icq()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_icq/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the ICQ number of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_yim()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_yim/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the Yahoo! IM name of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_msn()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_msn/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the MSN address of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_aim()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_aim/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the AIM address of the author of the current post. | | [get_author_name()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_author_name/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the specified author’s preferred display name. | | [get_the_author_url()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_url/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the URL to the home page of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_ID()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_id/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the ID of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_description()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_description/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the description of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_login()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_login/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the login name of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_firstname()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_firstname/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the first name of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_lastname()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_lastname/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the last name of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_nickname()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_nickname/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the nickname of the author of the current post. | | [get_the_author_email()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_email/)`wp-includes/deprecated.php` | Retrieve the email of the author of the current post. | | [wp_post_revision_title_expanded()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_post_revision_title_expanded/)`wp-includes/post-template.php` | Retrieves formatted date timestamp of a revision (linked to that revisions’s page). | | [the_author_meta()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/the_author_meta/)`wp-includes/author-template.php` | Outputs the field from the user’s DB object. Defaults to current post’s author. | | [get_the_author_link()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_link/)`wp-includes/author-template.php` | Retrieves either author’s link or author’s name. | [Show 18 more](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#) [Show less](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#) ## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿 | Version | Description | | [6.9.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/6.9.0/) | Removed `aim`, `jabber`, and `yim` as valid values for the `$field` parameter. | | [2.8.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/2.8.0/) | Introduced. | ## 󠀁[User Contributed Notes](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#user-contributed-notes)󠁿 1. [Skip to note 8 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-3500) 2. [aThemeArt](https://profiles.wordpress.org/athemeart/) [ 7 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-3500) 3. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-3500) Vote results for this note: 9[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-3500) 4. Get the author ID Outside loop: 5. ```php global $post; $author_id = $post->post_author; ``` 6. Get the author ID inside a loop : 7. ```php $author_id = get_the_author_meta( 'ID' ); ``` 8. bellow is a few examples of author value : 9. ```php // to get nicename get_the_author_meta( 'nicename', $author_id ); // to get email get_the_author_meta( 'email', $author_id ); // to get url get_the_author_meta( 'url', $author_id ); // to get status get_the_author_meta( 'status', $author_id ); ``` 10. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D3500%23feedback-editor-3500) 11. [Skip to note 9 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-1559) 12. [studio-jt](https://profiles.wordpress.org/studiojt/) [ 11 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-1559) 13. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-1559) Vote results for this note: 7[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-1559) 14. **Display the author bio (description) keeping the line break** 15. ```php ``` 16. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D1559%23feedback-editor-1559) 17. [Skip to note 10 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-2187) 18. [Milana Cap](https://profiles.wordpress.org/milana_cap/) [ 9 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-2187) 19. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-2187) Vote results for this note: 4[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-2187) 20. Using the [wpautop()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wpautop/) for description will also keep the line break (like in [studio-jt’ comment](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-1559)) but will output cleaner html: 21. ```php /** * Display Author's description * with keeping line breaks and wrapping its paragraphs * into

tag * * @link https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wpautop/ */ echo wpautop( get_the_author_meta( 'description' ) ); ``` 22. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D2187%23feedback-editor-2187) 23. [Skip to note 11 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-3246) 24. [Salim](https://profiles.wordpress.org/salimhossain/) [ 7 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-3246) 25. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-3246) Vote results for this note: 2[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-3246) 26. Get the author ID: 27. ```php ``` 28. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D3246%23feedback-editor-3246) 29. [Skip to note 12 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-484) 30. [Codex](https://profiles.wordpress.org/codex/) [ 11 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-484) 31. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-484) Vote results for this note: 1[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-484) 32. **Show a User’s Display Name With Email Address Linked** Get the email address for user ID 25, and echo it using their display name as the anchor text. 33. ```php

Email the author:

``` 34. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D484%23feedback-editor-484) 35. [Skip to note 13 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-483) 36. [Codex](https://profiles.wordpress.org/codex/) [ 11 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-483) 37. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-483) Vote results for this note: 0[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-483) 38. **Get A User’s Email Address** Get the email address for the author of the current post and store it in the `$user_email` variable for further use. (Remember, this function returns data, it doesn’t display it.) 39. ```php ``` 40. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D483%23feedback-editor-483) 41. [Skip to note 14 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/?output_format=md#comment-content-2350) 42. [karlazz](https://profiles.wordpress.org/karlazz/) [ 9 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-2350) 43. [You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-2350) Vote results for this note: 0[You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note](https://login.wordpress.org?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%23comment-2350) 44. What are the author meta that I can use in “field”? 45. Could they be added to this page? Or a link to another page that lists them could be added perhaps? 46. * Just confirmed that it will get any user meta fields, including other ones created with `add_user_meta()` * [Bruno Cantuaria](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cantuaria/) [8 years ago](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_author_meta/#comment-3116) 47. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F%3Freplytocom%3D2350%23feedback-editor-2350) You must [log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Ffunctions%2Fget_the_author_meta%2F) before being able to contribute a note or feedback.