Using WordPress ‘get_taxonomy()’ PHP function

The get_taxonomy() WordPress PHP function retrieves the taxonomy object of a given taxonomy.

Usage

get_taxonomy( $taxonomy );

Example:

Input:

$my_taxonomy = get_taxonomy( 'category' );

print_r( $my_taxonomy );

Output:

stdClass Object (
    [hierarchical] => 1
    [update_count_callback] => _update_post_term_count
    [rewrite] => Array (
        [slug] => category
        [with_front] => 1
    )
    [query_var] => category
    [public] => 1
    ...
)

Parameters

  • $taxonomy (string) – Required. Name of the taxonomy object to return.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: get_taxonomy

Examples

Display Taxonomy Labels

Display the labels of a custom taxonomy called ‘genre’:

$genre_taxonomy = get_taxonomy( 'genre' );
echo 'Taxonomy labels: ';
echo implode(', ', (array) $genre_taxonomy->labels);

Check if Taxonomy is Hierarchical

Determine if a taxonomy called ‘location’ is hierarchical:

$location_taxonomy = get_taxonomy( 'location' );
if ( $location_taxonomy->hierarchical ) {
    echo 'The location taxonomy is hierarchical.';
} else {
    echo 'The location taxonomy is not hierarchical.';
}

Get Taxonomy Rewrite Rules

Retrieve the rewrite rules for a taxonomy called ‘platform’:

$platform_taxonomy = get_taxonomy( 'platform' );
echo 'Rewrite rules: ';
print_r( $platform_taxonomy->rewrite );

Get Taxonomy Capabilities

Display the capabilities associated with a custom taxonomy called ‘skill’:

$skill_taxonomy = get_taxonomy( 'skill' );
echo 'Capabilities: ';
print_r( $skill_taxonomy->cap );

Check if Taxonomy is Public

Determine if a taxonomy called ‘department’ is public:

$department_taxonomy = get_taxonomy( 'department' );
if ( $department_taxonomy->public ) {
    echo 'The department taxonomy is public.';
} else {
    echo 'The department taxonomy is not public.';
}