wp_set_current_user() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

Changes the current user by ID or name.

Description

Set $id to null and specify a name if you do not know a user’s ID.

Some WordPress functionality is based on the current user and not based on the signed in user. Therefore, it opens the ability to edit and perform actions on users who aren’t signed in.

Parameters

$idint|nullrequired: User ID.
$namestringoptional: User’s username.
Default:''

Return

WP_User Current user User object.

More Information

This function can be replaced via plugins. If plugins do not redefine these functions, then this will be used instead.

Source

function wp_set_current_user( $id, $name = '' ) {
	global $current_user;

	// If `$id` matches the current user, there is nothing to do.
	if ( isset( $current_user )
	&& ( $current_user instanceof WP_User )
	&& ( $id === $current_user->ID )
	&& ( null !== $id )
	) {
		return $current_user;
	}

	$current_user = new WP_User( $id, $name );

	setup_userdata( $current_user->ID );

	/**
	 * Fires after the current user is set.
	 *
	 * @since 2.0.1
	 */
	do_action( 'set_current_user' );

	return $current_user;
}

View all references View on Trac View on GitHub

Hooks

do_action( ‘set_current_user’ ): Fires after the current user is set.

Uses	Description
WP_User::__construct()`wp-includes/class-wp-user.php`	Constructor.
setup_userdata()`wp-includes/user.php`	Sets up global user vars.
do_action()`wp-includes/plugin.php`	Calls the callback functions that have been added to an action hook.

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Used by	Description
WP_Customize_Manager::_publish_changeset_values()`wp-includes/class-wp-customize-manager.php`	Publishes the values of a changeset.
_wp_get_current_user()`wp-includes/user.php`	Retrieves the current user object.
rest_cookie_check_errors()`wp-includes/rest-api.php`	Checks for errors when using cookie-based authentication.
WP_Importer::set_user()`wp-admin/includes/class-wp-importer.php`
wp_logout()`wp-includes/pluggable.php`	Logs the current user out.
set_current_user()`wp-includes/pluggable-deprecated.php`	Changes the current user by ID or name.
wp_xmlrpc_server::login()`wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php`	Logs user in.

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Changelog

Version	Description
2.0.3	Introduced.

User Contributed Notes

Skip to note 3 content

Codex 10 years ago

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Note that setting the current user does not log in that user. This example will set the current user and log them in.
```
$user_id = 12345;
$user = get_user_by( 'id', $user_id ); 
if( $user ) {
	wp_set_current_user( $user_id, $user->user_login );
	wp_set_auth_cookie( $user_id );
	do_action( 'wp_login', $user->user_login, $user );
}
```
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Skip to note 4 content

Andrei Surdu 7 years ago

You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this noteVote results for this note: 2You must log in to vote on the helpfulness of this note
Attention!
Running this function will affect everything related to the current(real) user, after it. You must restore the real user:
```
$original_user_id = get_current_user_id(); // For example the real user ID is 7
wp_set_current_user( 15 );

// get_current_user_id() now returns 15
// Do other stuff here...
// ...
// get_current_user_id() still returns 15

// Restore the original user.
wp_set_current_user( $original_user_id );

// get_current_user_id() now returns 7
```
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wp_set_current_user( int|null $id, string $name = '' ): WP_User

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