WP_Admin_Bar Class

Last updated: February 12, 2026

Core class implementing the Toolbar API. Defined in wp-includes/class-wp-admin-bar.php.

Class Definition

#[AllowDynamicProperties]
class WP_Admin_Bar {
    private $nodes = array();
    private $bound = false;
    public $user;
    public $menu = array(); // Deprecated since 3.3.0
}

Properties

$nodes (private)

Internal storage for all admin bar nodes.

private $nodes = array();

Type: array of node objects

$bound (private)

Flag indicating whether the node tree has been bound.

private $bound = false;

Type: bool

Once bound, nodes cannot be retrieved or modified.

$user (public)

User data object populated during initialization.

public $user;

Type: stdClass with properties:

  • blogs – Array of user’s blogs (get_blogs_of_user())
  • active_blog – User’s active blog object
  • domain – User’s home domain
  • account_domain – Account domain URL

$menu (public, deprecated)

Legacy menu property.

public $menu = array();

Deprecated: Since 3.3.0. Use get_node(), add_node(), remove_node() instead.

Public Methods

initialize()

Initializes the admin bar.

public function initialize(): void

Actions Performed:

  1. Creates user data object
  2. Populates user blogs and domain info
  3. Adds wp_admin_bar_header action to wp_head and admin_head
  4. Adds bump callback to wp_head
  5. Enqueues admin-bar script and style
  6. Fires admin_bar_init action

Usage:

// Called automatically by _wp_admin_bar_init()
$wp_admin_bar->initialize();

add_menus()

Adds all default menus to the admin bar.

public function add_menus(): void

Hooks Added:

Priority Function Menu
0 wp_admin_bar_my_account_menu My Account submenu
0 wp_admin_bar_sidebar_toggle Menu toggle
10 wp_admin_bar_wp_menu WordPress logo
20 wp_admin_bar_my_sites_menu My Sites
30 wp_admin_bar_site_menu Site Name
40 wp_admin_bar_edit_site_menu Edit Site
40 wp_admin_bar_customize_menu Customize
50 wp_admin_bar_updates_menu Updates
60 wp_admin_bar_comments_menu Comments
70 wp_admin_bar_new_content_menu New
80 wp_admin_bar_edit_menu Edit
200 wp_admin_bar_add_secondary_groups Secondary groups
9991 wp_admin_bar_my_account_item My Account
9992 wp_admin_bar_recovery_mode_menu Recovery Mode
9999 wp_admin_bar_search_menu Search

Fires: add_admin_bar_menus action after menus are added

add_node()

Adds a node (menu item) to the admin bar.

public function add_node( array $args ): void

Parameters:

Key Type Description
id string Required. Unique identifier
title string Display text/HTML
parent string Parent node ID (default: ‘root’)
href string Link URL
group bool Whether node is a group (default: false)
meta array Additional attributes (see below)

Meta Array Options:

Key Type Description
class string CSS class(es)
html string Extra HTML after item
onclick string JavaScript onclick handler
target string Link target (_blank, etc.)
title string Tooltip text
rel string Link rel attribute
lang string Language code
dir string Text direction (ltr/rtl)
tabindex int Tab index value
menu_title string ARIA menu name (since 6.5.0)

Usage:

$wp_admin_bar->add_node( array(
    'id'     => 'my-plugin',
    'title'  => '<span class="ab-icon dashicons-admin-plugins"></span> My Plugin',
    'href'   => admin_url( 'plugins.php' ),
    'parent' => 'top-secondary',
    'meta'   => array(
        'class' => 'my-plugin-node',
        'title' => 'Manage My Plugin',
    ),
) );

Node Merging: If a node with the same ID already exists, the new values are merged with existing values.

Back-Compat Parents: Automatically converts deprecated parent IDs:

  • my-account-with-avatar → my-account (3.3)
  • my-blogs → my-sites (3.3)

add_menu()

Alias for add_node().

public function add_menu( array $node ): void

add_group()

Adds a group node to organize items.

final public function add_group( array $args ): void

Parameters:

Key Type Description
id string Required. Group identifier
parent string Parent node ID (default: ‘root’)
meta array Supports ‘class’, ‘onclick’, ‘target’, ‘title’

Usage:

$wp_admin_bar->add_group( array(
    'id'     => 'my-plugin-actions',
    'parent' => 'my-plugin',
    'meta'   => array(
        'class' => 'ab-sub-secondary',
    ),
) );

// Add items to the group
$wp_admin_bar->add_node( array(
    'parent' => 'my-plugin-actions',
    'id'     => 'action-one',
    'title'  => 'Action One',
    'href'   => '#',
) );

Group Classes:

  • ab-top-menu – Applied to root-level groups
  • ab-sub-secondary – Secondary styling for subgroups

remove_node()

Removes a node from the admin bar.

public function remove_node( string $id ): void

Parameters:

  • $id (string) – The ID of the node to remove

Usage:

// Remove WordPress logo
$wp_admin_bar->remove_node( 'wp-logo' );

// Remove updates notification
$wp_admin_bar->remove_node( 'updates' );

// Remove search
$wp_admin_bar->remove_node( 'search' );

Note: Removing a parent node does NOT remove its children. Children become orphaned and attach to root.

remove_menu()

Alias for remove_node().

public function remove_menu( string $id ): void

get_node()

Gets a node by ID.

final public function get_node( string $id ): object|void

Parameters:

  • $id (string) – Node ID to retrieve

Returns: Cloned node object or void if not found

Usage:

$node = $wp_admin_bar->get_node( 'site-name' );
if ( $node ) {
    echo $node->title;
    echo $node->href;
}

Important: Returns a clone to prevent direct modification. Use add_node() to update.

Timing: Returns void after _bind() is called (during render).

get_nodes()

Gets all nodes.

final public function get_nodes(): array|void

Returns: Array of cloned node objects or void

Usage:

$nodes = $wp_admin_bar->get_nodes();
foreach ( $nodes as $node ) {
    error_log( 'Node: ' . $node->id );
}

Timing: Returns void after _bind() is called.

render()

Renders the admin bar HTML.

public function render(): void

Process:

  1. Calls _bind() to build tree
  2. Calls _render() to output HTML

Output Structure:

<div id="wpadminbar" class="nojq nojs">
    <a class="screen-reader-shortcut" href="#wp-toolbar">Skip to toolbar</a>
    <div class="quicklinks" id="wp-toolbar" role="navigation" aria-label="Toolbar">
        <!-- Menu groups and items -->
    </div>
</div>

recursive_render() (deprecated)

public function recursive_render( string $id, object $node ): void

Deprecated: Since 3.3.0. Use render() or _render_item() instead.

Protected Methods

_set_node()

Internal method to set a node.

final protected function _set_node( array $args ): void

_get_node()

Internal method to get a node without cloning.

final protected function _get_node( string $id ): object|void

_get_nodes()

Internal method to get all nodes without cloning.

final protected function _get_nodes(): array|void

_unset_node()

Internal method to remove a node.

final protected function _unset_node( string $id ): void

_bind()

Binds nodes into a hierarchical tree.

final protected function _bind(): object|void

Process:

  1. Adds ‘root’ node
  2. Sets children array and type property on all nodes
  3. Orphaned items (no parent) attach to root
  4. Wraps nested items in default groups
  5. Wraps nested groups in containers
  6. Sets $this->bound = true

Returns: Root node object

_render()

Outputs the admin bar HTML.

final protected function _render( object $root ): void

_render_container()

Renders a container node (for nested groups).

final protected function _render_container( object $node ): void

Output:

<div id="wp-admin-bar-{container-id}" class="ab-group-container">
    <!-- Nested groups -->
</div>

_render_group()

Renders a group node as a <ul>.

final protected function _render_group( object $node, string|bool $menu_title = false ): void

Output:

<ul role="menu" id="wp-admin-bar-{group-id}" class="{classes}" aria-label="{menu_title}">
    <!-- Child items -->
</ul>

_render_item()

Renders an item node as an <li>.

final protected function _render_item( object $node ): void

Output (with link):

<li role="group" id="wp-admin-bar-{item-id}" class="menupop {classes}">
    <a class="ab-item" role="menuitem" href="{url}" aria-expanded="false">
        <span class="wp-admin-bar-arrow" aria-hidden="true"></span>
        {title}
    </a>
    <div class="ab-sub-wrapper">
        <!-- Child groups -->
    </div>
    {meta.html}
</li>

Output (without link):

<li role="group" id="wp-admin-bar-{item-id}">
    <div class="ab-item ab-empty-item" role="menuitem">
        {title}
    </div>
</li>

Extending WP_Admin_Bar

You can use a custom admin bar class:

add_filter( 'wp_admin_bar_class', 'my_custom_admin_bar_class' );

function my_custom_admin_bar_class( $class ) {
    return 'My_Custom_Admin_Bar';
}

class My_Custom_Admin_Bar extends WP_Admin_Bar {
    
    public function render() {
        // Custom rendering logic
        parent::render();
    }
    
    public function add_node( $args ) {
        // Modify all nodes before adding
        $args['title'] = '🚀 ' . $args['title'];
        parent::add_node( $args );
    }
}

Common Patterns

Add Icon to Node

$wp_admin_bar->add_node( array(
    'id'    => 'my-item',
    'title' => '<span class="ab-icon dashicons-admin-settings"></span>' .
               '<span class="ab-label">Settings</span>',
    'href'  => admin_url( 'options.php' ),
) );

Add Separator Group

$wp_admin_bar->add_group( array(
    'parent' => 'my-menu',
    'id'     => 'my-menu-secondary',
    'meta'   => array(
        'class' => 'ab-sub-secondary', // Adds visual separator
    ),
) );

Conditional Nodes

if ( current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
    $wp_admin_bar->add_node( array(
        'id'    => 'admin-only-item',
        'title' => 'Admin Only',
        'href'  => admin_url(),
    ) );
}

Node with Custom HTML

$wp_admin_bar->add_node( array(
    'id'    => 'custom-html',
    'title' => 'Custom',
    'meta'  => array(
        'html' => '<div class="my-custom-popup">
                      <p>Custom content here</p>
                   </div>',
    ),
) );

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