plugin_dir_path( string $file ): string

Get the filesystem directory path (with trailing slash) for the plugin __FILE__ passed in.

Parameters
Return
More Information
Source
Related
- Uses
Changelog
User Contributed Notes
- Feedback

Parameters

$file string Required: The filename of the plugin (__FILE__).

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Return

string the filesystem path of the directory that contains the plugin.

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More Information

It is a wrapper for trailingslashit( dirname( $file ) );.

The “plugin” part of the name is misleading – it can be used for any file, and will not return the directory of a plugin unless you call it within a file in the plugin’s base directory.

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Source

File: wp-includes/plugin.php. View all references

function plugin_dir_path( $file ) {
	return trailingslashit( dirname( $file ) );
}

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Uses

Uses
Uses	Description
trailingslashit() wp-includes/formatting.php	Appends a trailing slash.

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Changelog

Changelog
Version	Description
2.8.0	Introduced.

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User Contributed Notes

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Contributed by Codex — 8 years ago
Including all PHP files from a plugin sub folder and avoiding adding a unnecessary global just to determine a path that is already available everywhere just using WP core functions.
```
foreach ( glob( plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . "subfolder/*.php" ) as $file ) {
    include_once $file;
}
```
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Contributed by Aurovrata Venet — 6 years ago
If you want the get the path one level up from the current dir, you can do
```
//current path: /home/user/var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/my-plugin/
$dir = plugin_dir_path( __DIR__ );
//$dir is set to /home/user/var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/
```
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Contributed by Codex — 8 years ago
Get the directory of the current file:
```
$dir = plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ );
// Example: /home/user/var/www/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/my-plugin/
```
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Feedback
- The example comment refers to the return value if the code is called from the root of the my-plugin directory. — By Denis Žoljom — 3 years ago
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Contributed by Codex — 7 years ago
Define path constant

For calling numerous files, it is sometimes convenient to define a constant:
```
define( 'MY_PLUGIN_PATH', plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) );
include( MY_PLUGIN_PATH . 'includes/admin-page.php');
include( MY_PLUGIN_PATH . 'includes/classes.php');
// etc.
```
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Contributed by Codex — 7 years ago
Conditional loading

It is sometimes efficient to conditionally load files, e.g., admin-only (or even by specific admin screen):
```
if ( is_admin() ) {
    include_once( plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . 'includes/admin-functions.php' );
} else {
    include_once( plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . 'includes/front-end-functions.php' );
}
```
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Contributed by bharatthapa — 2 years ago

define( 'PREFIX_BASE_PATH', plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) );
define( 'PREFIX_ASSETS_URL', plugins_url( '/assets', __FILE__ ) );

use constant ‘PREFIX_BASE_PATH to include files in functions and files, e.g.,
include( PREFIX_BASE_PATH . 'inc/init.php' );

use constant: ‘PREFIX_ASSETS_URL’ to load assets via url (like; js, css, and images). e.g.,
wp_register_style( 'prefix_library', PREFIX_ASSETS_URL . '/dir/lib.css' );

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Contributed by raihanbabuam2am — 6 years ago
```
if ( is_admin() ) {
    include_once( plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . 'includes/admin-functions.php' );
} else {
    include_once( plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . 'includes/front-end-functions.php' );
}
```
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