---
title: "The get_post() WordPress function"
description: "The get_post() WordPress function is one of the most important functions within WordPress. It allows you to get the post content or other information regarding the post easily. In this article, we..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/get-post-wordpress-function/
date: 2014-07-01
modified: 2021-05-27
author: "Jeff Matson"
categories: ["WordPress Hosting", "WordPress Tutorials"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# The get_post() WordPress function

The *get_post()* WordPress function is one of the most important functions within WordPress. It allows you to get the post content or other information regarding the post easily. In this article, we will introduce you to how you can use the *get_post()* function to display post data in your plugin or theme.

If you would like more information on creating WordPress plugins, see our tutorial series on [creating your first WordPress plugin](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/create-a-wordpress-plugin/).

## Basic usage

<?php get_post( $id, $output, $filter ); ?>

### Parameters

**$id**: This optional parameter allows you to define the ID of the post that you would like to gather information from. By default, it will get the current post.

**$output**: By default, it will return a WP_Post object. If you would like an associative or numeric array of field values instead, you may define either *ARRAY_A* or *ARRAY_N*.

**$filter**: Here, you can optionally sanitize the post fields. This parameter defaults to *raw* which will not filter the content at all. Optional values are *raw*, *edit*, *db*, *display*, *attribute* or *js*.

## What is returned?

The *get_post()* function returns a WP_Post object. The variables that can be defined are the following:

- ID
- post_author
- post_name
- post_type
- post_title
- post_date
- post_date_gmt
- post_content
- post_excerpt
- post_status
- comment_status
- ping_status
- post_password
- post_parent
- post_modified
- post_modified_gmt
- comment_count
- menu_order

For example, we could use the *get_post()* function to get the author of the post and display it in the following code:

<?php

$post_author = get_post();

echo $post_author->post_author;

?>

## Resources

You may find more information on the *get_post()* function on the [*get_post* WordPress Codex page](https://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/get_post).