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set_post_thumbnail()

set_post_thumbnail( int|WP_Post $post, int $thumbnail_id ): int|bool

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Sets the post thumbnail (featured image) for the given post.

Parameters

$postint|WP_Postrequired
Post ID or post object where thumbnail should be attached.
$thumbnail_idintrequired
Thumbnail to attach.

Return

int|bool Post meta ID if the key didn’t exist (ie. this is the first time that a thumbnail has been saved for the post), true on successful update, false on failure or if the value passed is the same as the one that is already in the database.

Source

function set_post_thumbnail( $post, $thumbnail_id ) {
	$post         = get_post( $post );
	$thumbnail_id = absint( $thumbnail_id );
	if ( $post && $thumbnail_id && get_post( $thumbnail_id ) ) {
		if ( wp_get_attachment_image( $thumbnail_id, 'thumbnail' ) ) {
			return update_post_meta( $post->ID, '_thumbnail_id', $thumbnail_id );
		} else {
			return delete_post_meta( $post->ID, '_thumbnail_id' );
		}
	}
	return false;
}

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UsesDescription
update_post_meta()wp-includes/post.php

Updates a post meta field based on the given post ID.

delete_post_meta()wp-includes/post.php

Deletes a post meta field for the given post ID.

absint()wp-includes/load.php

Converts a value to non-negative integer.

get_post()wp-includes/post.php

Retrieves post data given a post ID or post object.

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Used byDescription
WP_REST_Posts_Controller::handle_featured_media()wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-posts-controller.php

Determines the featured media based on a request param.

wp_ajax_set_attachment_thumbnail()wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php

Handles setting the featured image for an attachment via AJAX.

wp_ajax_set_post_thumbnail()wp-admin/includes/ajax-actions.php

Handles setting the featured image via AJAX.

wp_insert_post()wp-includes/post.php

Inserts or update a post.

wp_xmlrpc_server::mw_editPost()wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php

Edits a post.

wp_xmlrpc_server::mw_newPost()wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php

Creates a new post.

wp_xmlrpc_server::_insert_post()wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php

Helper method for wp_newPost() and wp_editPost(), containing shared logic.

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Changelog

VersionDescription
3.1.0Introduced.

User Contributed Notes

  1. Skip to note 4 content
    Aurovrata Venet
    You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this noteVote results for this note: 4You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note

    To programmatically setup an uploaded image file as a thumbnail, you can use the following code…

    /*
 * $file is the path to your uploaded file (for example as set in the $_FILE posted file array)
 * $filename is the name of the file
 * first we need to upload the file into the wp upload folder.
 */
$upload_file = wp_upload_bits( $filename, null, @file_get_contents( $file ) );
i
f ( ! $upload_file['error'] ) {
  // if succesfull insert the new file into the media library (create a new attachment post type).
  $wp_filetype = wp_check_filetype($filename, null );

  $attachment = array(
    'post_mime_type' => $wp_filetype['type'],
	'post_parent'    => $post_id,
	'post_title'     => preg_replace( '/\.[^.]+$/', '', $filename ),
	'post_content'   => '',
	'post_status'    => 'inherit'
  );

  $attachment_id = wp_insert_attachment( $attachment, $upload_file['file'], $post_id );

  if ( ! is_wp_error( $attachment_id ) ) {
     // if attachment post was successfully created, insert it as a thumbnail to the post $post_id.
     require_once(ABSPATH . "wp-admin" . '/includes/image.php');

     $attachment_data = wp_generate_attachment_metadata( $attachment_id, $upload_file['file'] );

     wp_update_attachment_metadata( $attachment_id,  $attachment_data );
     set_post_thumbnail( $post_id, $attachment_id );
   }
}

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