add_post_meta

function

add_post_meta( int $post_id, string $meta_key, mixed $meta_value, bool $unique = false )

Adds a meta field to the given post.

Description Description

Post meta data is called "Custom Fields" on the Administration Screen.

Parameters Parameters

$post_id

(int) (Required) Post ID.

$meta_key

(string) (Required) Metadata name.

$meta_value

(mixed) (Required) Metadata value. Must be serializable if non-scalar.

$unique

(bool) (Optional) Whether the same key should not be added.

Default value: false

Return Return

(int|false) Meta ID on success, false on failure.

Source Source

File: wp-includes/post.php

function add_post_meta( $post_id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $unique = false ) {
	// Make sure meta is added to the post, not a revision.
	$the_post = wp_is_post_revision( $post_id );
	if ( $the_post ) {
		$post_id = $the_post;
	}

	return add_metadata( 'post', $post_id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $unique );
}

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Changelog Changelog

Changelog
Version	Description
1.5.0	Introduced.

Uses Uses

Uses
Uses	Description
wp-includes/revision.php: wp_is_post_revision()	Determines if the specified post is a revision.
wp-includes/meta.php: add_metadata()	Add metadata for the specified object.

Used By Used By

Used By
Used By	Description
wp-includes/post.php: wp_check_for_changed_dates()	Check for changed dates for published post objects and save the old date.
wp-admin/includes/class-wp-privacy-policy-content.php: WP_Privacy_Policy_Content::get_suggested_policy_text()	Check for updated, added or removed privacy policy information from plugins.
wp-admin/includes/class-wp-privacy-policy-content.php: WP_Privacy_Policy_Content::_policy_page_updated()	Update the cached policy info when the policy page is updated.
wp-includes/class-wp-customize-manager.php: WP_Customize_Manager::trash_changeset_post()	Trash or delete a changeset post.
wp-includes/post.php: wp_add_trashed_suffix_to_post_name_for_post()	Adds a trashed suffix for a given post.
wp-admin/includes/image.php: wp_generate_attachment_metadata()	Generate attachment meta data and create image sub-sizes for images.
wp-admin/includes/post.php: wp_write_post()	Creates a new post from the “Write Post” form using $_POST information.
wp-admin/includes/post.php: add_meta()	Add post meta data defined in $_POST superglobal for post with given ID.
wp-includes/functions.php: do_enclose()	Check content for video and audio links to add as enclosures.
wp-includes/post.php: _publish_post_hook()	Hook to schedule pings and enclosures when a post is published.
wp-includes/post.php: wp_check_for_changed_slugs()	Check for changed slugs for published post objects and save the old slug.
wp-includes/post.php: wp_insert_post()	Insert or update a post.
wp-includes/post.php: wp_trash_post()	Move a post or page to the Trash
wp-includes/post.php: wp_trash_post_comments()	Moves comments for a post to the trash.
wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php: wp_xmlrpc_server::add_enclosure_if_new()	Adds an enclosure to a post if it’s new.
wp-includes/class-wp-xmlrpc-server.php: wp_xmlrpc_server::set_custom_fields()	Set custom fields for post.

User Contributed Notes User Contributed Notes

Skip to note 1 content
Vote results for this note: 2

Contributed by Codex — 4 years ago
Hidden Custom Fields

If you are a plugin or theme developer and you are planning to use custom fields to store parameters related to your plugin or template, it is interesting to note that WordPress will not show custom fields which have keys starting with an “_” (underscore) in the custom fields list on the post edit screen or when using the the_meta() template function. This can be for example used to show these custom fields in an unusual way by using the add_meta_box() function.

The following example:
```
<?php add_post_meta( 68, '_color', 'red', true ); ?>
```
will add a unique custom field with the key name _color and the value ‘red’ but this custom field will not display in the post edit screen.

In addition, if the $meta_value argument is an array, it will not be displayed on the page edit screen, even if you don’t prefix the key name with an underscore.
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Vote results for this note: 1

Contributed by Codex — 4 years ago
Adding or Updating a Unique Custom Field
Adds a new custom field if the key does not already exist, or updates the value of the custom field with that key otherwise.
```
<?php
if ( ! add_post_meta( 7, 'fruit', 'banana', true ) ) { 
   update_post_meta ( 7, 'fruit', 'banana' );
}
```
Feedback
- Just update_post_meta ( 7, 'fruit', 'banana' ); alone does the same. — By RavanH — 8 months ago
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Vote results for this note: 0

Contributed by Codex — 4 years ago
Default Usage
```
<?php add_post_meta( 68, 'my_key', 47 ); ?>
```
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Contributed by Codex — 4 years ago
Other Examples
Adds a new custom field only if a custom field with the given key does not already exists:
```
<?php add_post_meta( 68, 'my_key', '47', true ); ?>
```
Adds several custom fields with different values but with the same key ‘my_key’:
```
<?php add_post_meta( 68, 'my_key', '47' ); ?>
<?php add_post_meta( 68, 'my_key', '682' ); ?>
<?php add_post_meta( 68, 'my_key', 'The quick, brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.' ); ?>
```
For a more detailed example, see the post_meta Functions Examples page.
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