Common Hooks

Last updated: February 12, 2026

Categorized reference of frequently-used WordPress action and filter hooks.

Initialization Actions

Core Bootstrap

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
muplugins_loaded After MU plugins load MU plugin initialization
plugins_loaded After all plugins load Plugin initialization, loading textdomains
setup_theme Before theme loads Theme prerequisites
after_setup_theme After theme loads Theme setup, add_theme_support()
init After WP fully loads, before headers Register CPTs, taxonomies, shortcodes
wp_loaded After WP and all plugins/themes load Late initialization
wp After WP query is parsed Query-dependent setup

Admin Initialization

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
admin_init First thing on admin pages Admin-only setup, option registration
admin_menu When admin menu is created Add menu/submenu pages
admin_bar_menu When admin bar is created Add admin bar items
current_screen After current screen is set Screen-specific setup

REST API

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
rest_api_init When REST API initializes Register REST routes

Request Lifecycle Actions

Frontend

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
template_redirect Before template loads Redirects, access control
wp_enqueue_scripts Frontend script/style enqueue point Enqueue CSS/JS
wp_head Inside <head> Meta tags, inline CSS
wp_body_open After <body> opens Skip links, tracking scripts
wp_footer Before </body> Deferred scripts, analytics
shutdown After response sent Cleanup, logging

Admin

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
admin_enqueue_scripts Admin script/style enqueue point Enqueue admin CSS/JS
admin_head Inside admin <head> Admin-specific styles
admin_footer Admin footer Admin scripts
admin_notices Top of admin pages Display notices

Content Actions

Posts

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
save_post Post is saved Custom meta, validation
save_post_{post_type} Specific post type saved Type-specific processing
wp_insert_post After post inserted/updated Post processing
before_delete_post Before post deleted Cleanup related data
delete_post Post is deleted Remove related data
trashed_post Post moved to trash Soft-delete handling
transition_post_status Post status changes Status change notifications

Comments

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
comment_post Comment is saved Comment processing
wp_insert_comment Comment inserted Comment notifications
delete_comment Comment deleted Cleanup
transition_comment_status Comment status changes Moderation handling

Terms & Taxonomies

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
create_term Term is created Term processing
edit_term Term is edited Term updates
delete_term Term is deleted Cleanup
set_object_terms Terms assigned to object Relationship handling

User Actions

Authentication

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
wp_login User logs in Login tracking, redirects
wp_logout User logs out Cleanup
wp_login_failed Login attempt fails Security logging
auth_cookie_valid Auth cookie validated Session management

User Management

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
user_register New user created Welcome emails, defaults
profile_update User profile updated Profile processing
delete_user User deleted Cleanup user data
set_user_role User role changes Role-based setup

Media Actions

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
add_attachment Attachment uploaded Post-upload processing
edit_attachment Attachment edited Attachment updates
delete_attachment Attachment deleted Cleanup
wp_handle_upload File uploaded Custom upload handling

Widget & Block Actions

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
widgets_init Widget area registration Register sidebars/widgets
dynamic_sidebar Sidebar renders Sidebar customization
init Block registration point Register blocks (with register_block_type)

Cron Actions

Hook When it Fires Typical Use
wp_scheduled_delete Daily Trash cleanup
wp_update_plugins Twice daily Plugin update checks
wp_update_themes Twice daily Theme update checks
Custom hooks As scheduled Background tasks

Content Filters

Titles & Content

Hook What it Filters Return Type
the_title Post title string
the_content Post content string
the_excerpt Post excerpt string
get_the_excerpt Raw excerpt string
the_content_more_link "Read more" link string
wp_trim_excerpt Auto-generated excerpt string

Post Data

Hook What it Filters Return Type
the_permalink Post permalink string
post_link Post type permalink string
post_type_link CPT permalink string
the_author Author display name string
get_the_date Post date string
the_category Category list string
the_tags Tag list string

Query Filters

Pre-Query

Hook What it Filters Return Type
pre_get_posts WP_Query before execution void (modify $query)
query_vars Registered query vars array
request Request query vars array

SQL Modification

Hook What it Filters Return Type
posts_where WHERE clause string
posts_join JOIN clause string
posts_orderby ORDER BY clause string
posts_distinct DISTINCT clause string
posts_fields SELECT fields string
posts_clauses All clauses array
posts_request Complete SQL query string

Post-Query

Hook What it Filters Return Type
the_posts Query results WP_Post[]
found_posts Total found posts int

Template Filters

Classes

Hook What it Filters Return Type
body_class Body CSS classes array
post_class Post wrapper classes array
nav_menu_css_class Menu item classes array
comment_class Comment classes array

Template Selection

Hook What it Filters Return Type
template_include Template file path string
single_template Single post template string
archive_template Archive template string
search_template Search template string
404_template 404 template string

Navigation Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
wp_nav_menu Complete menu HTML string
wp_nav_menu_items Menu items HTML string
wp_nav_menu_objects Menu item objects array
nav_menu_link_attributes Menu link attributes array
walker_nav_menu_start_el Menu item element string

Media Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
upload_mimes Allowed MIME types array
wp_handle_upload_prefilter Upload before processing array
wp_generate_attachment_metadata Attachment metadata array
image_size_names_choose Image size options array
intermediate_image_sizes Image sizes to generate array
wp_get_attachment_image_attributes Image tag attributes array

Authentication Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
authenticate Authentication result WP_User|WP_Error
login_redirect Post-login redirect URL string
logout_redirect Post-logout redirect URL string
login_url Login page URL string
lostpassword_url Password reset URL string

Permission Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
user_has_cap User capabilities array
map_meta_cap Meta capability mapping array
editable_roles Roles user can assign array
show_admin_bar Admin bar visibility bool

REST API Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
rest_pre_dispatch Pre-dispatch (short-circuit) mixed
rest_request_before_callbacks Before route callbacks WP_REST_Response|WP_Error
rest_request_after_callbacks After route callbacks WP_REST_Response|WP_Error
rest_prepare_{post_type} Post response WP_REST_Response
rest_prepare_comment Comment response WP_REST_Response
rest_prepare_user User response WP_REST_Response

Email Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
wp_mail Email arguments array
wp_mail_from From address string
wp_mail_from_name From name string
wp_mail_content_type Content type string

Option Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
pre_option_{option} Before retrieving mixed (short-circuit)
option_{option} Retrieved value mixed
pre_update_option_{option} Before updating mixed
default_option_{option} Default value mixed

Script & Style Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
script_loader_tag Script tag HTML string
style_loader_tag Style tag HTML string
script_loader_src Script URL string
style_loader_src Style URL string

Cron Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
cron_schedules Available schedules array
pre_schedule_event Before scheduling null|bool
pre_unschedule_event Before unscheduling null|bool

Block Editor Filters

Hook What it Filters Return Type
allowed_block_types_all Allowed blocks array|bool
block_editor_settings_all Editor settings array
render_block Block output HTML string
render_block_{block_name} Specific block output string
block_categories_all Block categories array

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