register_post_status() │ WP 3.0.0

Register a post status. Do not use before init.

A simple function for creating or modifying a post status based on the parameters given. The function will accept an array (second optional parameter), along with a string for the post status name.

Arguments prefixed with an _underscore shouldn't be used by plugins and themes.

Used By: create_initial_post_types()

No Hooks.

Return

Object.

Usage

register_post_status( $post_status, $args );
$post_status(string) (required)
Name of the post status.
$args(array|string)

Array or string of post status arguments.

Default: array()

  • label(true|false|string)
    A descriptive name for the post status marked for translation.
    Default: value of $post_status

  • label_count(array|false)
    Nooped plural text from _n_noop() to provide the singular and plural forms of the label for counts.
    Default: false which means the $label argument will be used for both the singular and plural forms of this label

  • exclude_from_search(true|false)
    Whether to exclude posts with this post status from search results.
    Default: value of $internal

  • _builtin(true|false)
    Whether the status is built-in. Core-use only.
    Default: false

  • public(true|false)
    Whether posts of this status should be shown in the front end of the site.
    Default: false

  • internal(true|false)
    Whether the status is for internal use only.
    Default: false

  • protected(true|false)
    Whether posts with this status should be protected.
    Default: false

  • private(true|false)
    Whether posts with this status should be private.
    Default: false

  • publicly_queryable(true|false)
    Whether posts with this status should be publicly- queryable.
    Default: value of $public

  • show_in_admin_all_list(true|false)
    Whether to include posts in the edit listing for their post type.
    Default: opposite value of $internal

  • show_in_admin_status_list(true|false)
    Show in the list of statuses with post counts at the top of the edit listings, e.g. All (12) | Published (9) | My Custom Status (2) Default is the opposite value of $internal.

  • date_floating(true|false)
    Whether the post has a floating creation date.
    Default: false

Examples

0

#1 An example of registering the status of a post called Unread: 

add_action( 'init', 'my_custom_post_status' );

function my_custom_post_status(){

	register_post_status( 'unread', array(
		'label'                     => _x( 'Unread', 'post' ),
		'public'                    => true,
		'exclude_from_search'       => false,
		'show_in_admin_all_list'    => true,
		'show_in_admin_status_list' => true,
		'label_count'               => _n_noop( 'Unread <span class="count">(%s)</span>', 'Unread <span class="count">(%s)</span>' ),
	) );
}
0

#2 Maximum character length for the $post_status - is 20

We’re able to register a post status with longer than 20 characters, but we’re unable to save/update posts with it. Instead, the $wpdb->process_fields() method compares the converted data to the provided data and returns false because they’re different.

global $wpdb;
$res = $wpdb->get_col_length( $wpdb->posts, 'post_status' );
print_r( $res );
/*
Array
(
	[type] => char
	[length] => 20
)
*/

Notes

  • Global. stdClass[]. $wp_post_statuses Inserts new post status object into the list

Changelog

Since 3.0.0 Introduced.

register_post_status() code WP 6.4.1

wp-includes/post.php 
function register_post_status( $post_status, $args = array() ) {
	global $wp_post_statuses;

	if ( ! is_array( $wp_post_statuses ) ) {
		$wp_post_statuses = array();
	}

	// Args prefixed with an underscore are reserved for internal use.
	$defaults = array(
		'label'                     => false,
		'label_count'               => false,
		'exclude_from_search'       => null,
		'_builtin'                  => false,
		'public'                    => null,
		'internal'                  => null,
		'protected'                 => null,
		'private'                   => null,
		'publicly_queryable'        => null,
		'show_in_admin_status_list' => null,
		'show_in_admin_all_list'    => null,
		'date_floating'             => null,
	);
	$args     = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );
	$args     = (object) $args;

	$post_status = sanitize_key( $post_status );
	$args->name  = $post_status;

	// Set various defaults.
	if ( null === $args->public && null === $args->internal && null === $args->protected && null === $args->private ) {
		$args->internal = true;
	}

	if ( null === $args->public ) {
		$args->public = false;
	}

	if ( null === $args->private ) {
		$args->private = false;
	}

	if ( null === $args->protected ) {
		$args->protected = false;
	}

	if ( null === $args->internal ) {
		$args->internal = false;
	}

	if ( null === $args->publicly_queryable ) {
		$args->publicly_queryable = $args->public;
	}

	if ( null === $args->exclude_from_search ) {
		$args->exclude_from_search = $args->internal;
	}

	if ( null === $args->show_in_admin_all_list ) {
		$args->show_in_admin_all_list = ! $args->internal;
	}

	if ( null === $args->show_in_admin_status_list ) {
		$args->show_in_admin_status_list = ! $args->internal;
	}

	if ( null === $args->date_floating ) {
		$args->date_floating = false;
	}

	if ( false === $args->label ) {
		$args->label = $post_status;
	}

	if ( false === $args->label_count ) {
		// phpcs:ignore WordPress.WP.I18n.NonSingularStringLiteralSingular,WordPress.WP.I18n.NonSingularStringLiteralPlural
		$args->label_count = _n_noop( $args->label, $args->label );
	}

	$wp_post_statuses[ $post_status ] = $args;

	return $args;
}

WP extension (enhancement)

statuses (of post comment user)

Posts, pages...