Title: the_content Published: April 25, 2014 Last modified: February 24, 2026 --- # apply_filters( ‘the_content’, string $content ) ## In this article * [Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#parameters) * [More Information](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#more-information) - [Usage](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#usage) * [Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#source) * [Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#related) * [Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#changelog) * [User Contributed Notes](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#user-contributed-notes) [ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target) Filters the post content. ## 󠀁[Parameters](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#parameters)󠁿 `$content`string Content of the current post. ## 󠀁[More Information](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#more-information)󠁿 This filter is used to filter the content of a post after it is retrieved from the database and before it is printed to the screen. ### 󠀁[Usage](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#usage)󠁿 When using this filter it’s important to check if you’re filtering the content in the main query with the conditionals [is_main_query()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/is_main_query/) and [in_the_loop()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/in_the_loop/). The main post query can be thought of as the primary post loop that displays the main content for a post, page or archive. Without these conditionals you could unintentionally be filtering the content for custom loops in sidebars, footers, or elsewhere. ```php add_filter( 'the_content', 'filter_the_content_in_the_main_loop', 1 ); function filter_the_content_in_the_main_loop( $content ) { // Check if we're inside the main loop in a single Post. if ( is_singular() && in_the_loop() && is_main_query() ) { return $content . esc_html__( 'I’m filtering the content inside the main loop', 'wporg'); } return $content; } ``` ## 󠀁[Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#source)󠁿 ```php $content = apply_filters( 'the_content', $content ); ``` [View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-includes/post-template.php/) [View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/post-template.php#L256) [View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/post-template.php#L256-L256) ## 󠀁[Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#related)󠁿 | Used by | Description | | [insert_hooked_blocks_into_rest_response()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/insert_hooked_blocks_into_rest_response/)`wp-includes/blocks.php` | Hooks into the REST API response for the Posts endpoint and adds the first and last inner blocks. | | [WP_REST_Revisions_Controller::prepare_item_for_response()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_rest_revisions_controller/prepare_item_for_response/)`wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-revisions-controller.php` | Prepares the revision for the REST response. | | [WP_REST_Attachments_Controller::prepare_item_for_response()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_rest_attachments_controller/prepare_item_for_response/)`wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-attachments-controller.php` | Prepares a single attachment output for response. | | [WP_REST_Posts_Controller::prepare_item_for_response()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_rest_posts_controller/prepare_item_for_response/)`wp-includes/rest-api/endpoints/class-wp-rest-posts-controller.php` | Prepares a single post output for response. | | [wp_trim_excerpt()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_trim_excerpt/)`wp-includes/formatting.php` | Generates an excerpt from the content, if needed. | | [get_the_content_feed()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_the_content_feed/)`wp-includes/feed.php` | Retrieves the post content for feeds. | | [the_content()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/the_content/)`wp-includes/post-template.php` | Displays the post content. | | [do_trackbacks()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/do_trackbacks/)`wp-includes/comment.php` | Performs trackbacks. | [Show 3 more](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#) [Show less](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#) ## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿 | Version | Description | | [0.71](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/0.71/) | Introduced. | ## 󠀁[User Contributed Notes](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#user-contributed-notes)󠁿 1. [Skip to note 11 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-1153) 2. [Benjamin Intal](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bfintal/) [ 10 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-1153) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-1153) Vote results for this note: 6[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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-1153) 4. Note that `the_content` filter isn’t used when `get_the_content()` function is called. 5. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D1153%23feedback-editor-1153) 6. [Skip to note 12 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-1669) 7. [jon](https://profiles.wordpress.org/adiant/) [ 10 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-1669) 8. [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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-1669) Vote results for this note: 6[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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-1669) 9. You can choose whether $content will have Shortcodes processed before or after your `the_content` function has executed by setting the Priority in `add_filter`. The default (10) will process Shortcodes after you have returned $content at the end of your Filter function. A large figure, such as 99, will already have processed Shortcodes before your Filter function is passed $content. 10. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D1669%23feedback-editor-1669) 11. [Skip to note 13 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-2360) 12. [Barrett Golding](https://profiles.wordpress.org/hearvox/) [ 9 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-2360) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-2360) Vote results for this note: 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-2360) 14. **Example** 15. ```php /* Add a paragraph only to Pages. */ function my_added_page_content ( $content ) { if ( is_page() ) { return $content . '

Your content added to all pages (not posts).

'; } return $content; } add_filter( 'the_content', 'my_added_page_content'); ``` 16. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D2360%23feedback-editor-2360) 17. [Skip to note 14 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-2502) 18. [SeanM88](https://profiles.wordpress.org/seanm88/) [ 8 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-2502) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-2502) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-2502) 20. **Consolidate multiple string replacement filters** String replacements are a common reason for filtering `the_content` and with **PHP7** you can now consolidate multiple callback functions using `preg_replace_callback_array();` if it makes sense to. 21. **Example:** 22. ```php add_filter( 'the_content', 'multiple_string_replacements'); function multiple_string_replacements ( $content ) { if ( is_single() && in_the_loop() && is_main_query() ) { return preg_replace_callback_array([ // 1. Removes WordPress injected

tags surrounding images in post content. '/

\s*()?\s*()\s*(<\/a>)?\s*<\/p>/iU' => function ( &$matches ) { return $matches[1] . $matches[2] . $matches[3]; }, // 2. Adds custom data-attribute to

tags providing a paragraph id number. '|

|' => function ( &$matches ) { static $i = 1; return sprintf( '

', $i++ ); }, ], $content ); } return $content; } ``` 23. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D2502%23feedback-editor-2502) 24. [Skip to note 15 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-3148) 25. [arena](https://profiles.wordpress.org/arena/) [ 7 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-3148) 26. [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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-3148) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-3148) 27. the info at the bottom of the hook is wrong for most of the hooks : 28. **Used by 7 functions | Uses 0 functions** (At least it could be 0 function … ah ah ah !) 29. HERE is what i have for WP 5.1 : * (7 is right, 0 is wrong) * and i am not counting apply_filters_ref_array (happily there is no for “the_content” ) 30. **apply_filter** the_content comment.php 2656 the_content feed.php 191 the_content formatting.php 3692 the_content post-template.php 247 the_content class-wp-rest- attachments-controller.php 310 the_content class-wp-rest-posts-controller.php 1532 the_content class-wp-rest-revisions-controller.php 545 **add_filter** the_content blocks.php 269 the_content blocks.php 296 the_content class-wp-embed.php 32 the_content class-wp-embed.php 39 the_content default-filters.php 142 the_content default- filters.php 172 the_content default-filters.php 173 the_content default-filters. php 174 the_content default-filters.php 175 the_content default-filters.php 176 the_content default-filters.php 177 the_content default-filters.php 178 the_content default-filters.php 519 31. There should be an indication of the WP version. 32. my doc (WP 5.1) is available here ([https://blog.mailpress.org/hooks/wordpress-5-1/](https://blog.mailpress.org/hooks/wordpress-5-1/))! 33. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D3148%23feedback-editor-3148) 34. [Skip to note 16 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-4742) 35. [dch2018](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dch2018/) [ 5 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-4742) 36. [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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-4742) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-4742) 37. This is also a good hook to use if you want to display custom fields from a plugin( including ACF fields). 38. The following example is from Jeff Starr’s plugins course. 39. ```php // display all custom fields for each post function wpdocs_display_all_custom_fields( $content ) { $custom_fields = 'Custom Fields'; $all_custom_fields = get_post_custom(); foreach ( $all_custom_fields as $key => $array ) { foreach ( $array as $value ) { if ( '_' !== substr( $key, 0, 1 ) ) { $custom_fields .= ''. $key .' => '. $value .''; } } } return $content . $custom_fields; } add_filter( 'the_content', 'wpdocs_display_all_custom_fields' ); ``` 40. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D4742%23feedback-editor-4742) 41. [Skip to note 17 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-5125) 42. [Muhammad Ayoub](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mohammadayoub96/) [ 5 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-5125) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-5125) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-5125) 44. Using the example to add classes to `p` tag & `h2` tag. 45. ```php ' => '

', '

' => '

', ); $text_content = str_ireplace( array_keys( $text ), $text, $text_content ); } return $text_content; } add_filter( 'the_content', 'wpdocs_replace_content' ); ?> ``` 46. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D5125%23feedback-editor-5125) 47. [Skip to note 18 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-5363) 48. [Chigozie Orunta](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chigozieorunta/) [ 5 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-5363) 49. [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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-5363) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-5363) 50. A useful hook to filter out vulgar words from your site and keep things nice and tidy for your site visitors. 51. ```php add_filter( 'the_content', 'wpdocs_filter_vulgar_words' ); function wpdocs_filter_vulgar_words( $content ) { $vulgar_words = array( $vulgar_word1, $vulgar_word2, $vulgar_word3, $vulgar_word4 ); foreach ( $vulgar_words as $word ) { $hashed_word = substr( $word, 0, 1 ) . str_repeat( '*', strlen( $word ) - 1 ); $content = str_replace( $word, $hashed_word, $content ); } return $content; } ``` 52. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D5363%23feedback-editor-5363) 53. [Skip to note 19 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-3918) 54. [trebitzki](https://profiles.wordpress.org/trebitzki/) [ 6 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-3918) 55. [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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-3918) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-3918) 56. The usage example is misleading. Unless you’re _not_ interested in pages, it should be 57. ```php if ( ( is_single() || is_page() ) && in_the_loop() && is_main_query() ) { ... } ``` 58. You should also add a sufficiently high priority to the filter to hook on `the_content` before rendering happens: 59. ```php add_filter( 'the_content', 'filter_the_content_in_the_main_loop', -1 ); function filter_the_content_in_the_main_loop( $content ) { // Check if we're inside the main loop in a post or page. if ( ( is_single() || is_page() ) && in_the_loop() && is_main_query() ) { return $content . esc_html__("I'm filtering the content inside the main loop", "my-textdomain"); } return $content; } ``` 60. This should go in functions.php. It took me half a day to figure out why my filter was doing nothing. 61. * Thanks, the example was edited accordingly. * [Jb Audras](https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/) [6 years ago](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-3928) * The usage example is NOT misleading. If condition is checking for [is_singular()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/is_singular/) which is true for post, page, custom post type or attachment ([doc](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/is_singular/)). Your suggestion to use ([is_single()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/is_single/) || [is_page()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/is_page/)) instead of [is_singular()](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/is_singular/) is not optimal. To your second though about higher priority to the filer in order to be applied before page is rendered. I guess you had other callbacks bind to ‘the_content’ hook with higher priority than yours (probably, you had a default 10) which overwrote your changes and it seemed to you that the page was rendered before your filter was applied, which again is a wrong perception of what ‘the_content’ hook is doing. All what it does is written on the top of this page: “This filter is used to filter the content of a post after it is retrieved from the database and **before** it is printed to the screen.” There is no way how this filter can be applied **after** the page is rendered. * [fylh](https://profiles.wordpress.org/fylh/) [3 years ago](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-6389) 62. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D3918%23feedback-editor-3918) 63. [Skip to note 20 content](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/?output_format=md#comment-content-4593) 64. [renanbessa](https://profiles.wordpress.org/renanbessa/) [ 5 years ago ](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-4593) 65. [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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-4593) 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%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%23comment-4593) 66. Using the example below verifies that if the ALT attribute of any image inserted in the content is empty, get the file name. 67. ```php function wpdocs_replaceALT( $content ) { if ( is_single() && in_the_loop() && is_main_query() ) { libxml_use_internal_errors( true ); $post = new DOMDocument(); $post->loadHTML( $content ); $images = $post->getElementsByTagName( 'img' ); foreach ( $images as $image ) { if ( empty( $image->getAttribute( 'alt' ) ) ) { $src = $image->getAttribute( 'src' ); $alt = pathinfo( $src, PATHINFO_FILENAME ); $image->setAttribute( 'alt', $alt ); } } $content = $post->saveHTML(); return $content; } } add_filter( 'the_content', 'wpdocs_replaceALT' ); ``` 68. * The note will not work with content with accent.. there is a problem with encoding.. should use : * ```php $post->loadHTML( '' . $content ); ``` * [keusta](https://profiles.wordpress.org/keusta/) [5 years ago](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/the_content/#comment-5098) 69. [Log in to add feedback](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F%3Freplytocom%3D4593%23feedback-editor-4593) You must [log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fdeveloper.wordpress.org%2Freference%2Fhooks%2Fthe_content%2F) before being able to contribute a note or feedback.