user_can

The timeline below displays how wordpress function user_can has changed across different WordPress versions. If a version is not listed, refer to the next available version below.

WordPress Version: 5.8

/**
 * Returns whether a particular user has the specified capability.
 *
 * This function also accepts an ID of an object to check against if the capability is a meta capability. Meta
 * capabilities such as `edit_post` and `edit_user` are capabilities used by the `map_meta_cap()` function to
 * map to primitive capabilities that a user or role has, such as `edit_posts` and `edit_others_posts`.
 *
 * Example usage:
 *
 *     user_can( $user->ID, 'edit_posts' );
 *     user_can( $user->ID, 'edit_post', $post->ID );
 *     user_can( $user->ID, 'edit_post_meta', $post->ID, $meta_key );
 *
 * @since 3.1.0
 * @since 5.3.0 Formalized the existing and already documented `...$args` parameter
 *              by adding it to the function signature.
 *
 * @param int|WP_User $user       User ID or object.
 * @param string      $capability Capability name.
 * @param mixed       ...$args    Optional further parameters, typically starting with an object ID.
 * @return bool Whether the user has the given capability.
 */
function user_can($user, $capability, ...$args)
{
    if (!is_object($user)) {
        $user = get_userdata($user);
    }
    if (empty($user)) {
        // User is logged out, create anonymous user object.
        $user = new WP_User(0);
        $user->init(new stdClass());
    }
    return $user->has_cap($capability, ...$args);
}

WordPress Version: 5.3

/**
 * Returns whether a particular user has the specified capability.
 *
 * This function also accepts an ID of an object to check against if the capability is a meta capability. Meta
 * capabilities such as `edit_post` and `edit_user` are capabilities used by the `map_meta_cap()` function to
 * map to primitive capabilities that a user or role has, such as `edit_posts` and `edit_others_posts`.
 *
 * Example usage:
 *
 *     user_can( $user->ID, 'edit_posts' );
 *     user_can( $user->ID, 'edit_post', $post->ID );
 *     user_can( $user->ID, 'edit_post_meta', $post->ID, $meta_key );
 *
 * @since 3.1.0
 * @since 5.3.0 Formalized the existing and already documented `...$args` parameter
 *              by adding it to the function signature.
 *
 * @param int|WP_User $user       User ID or object.
 * @param string      $capability Capability name.
 * @param mixed       ...$args    Optional further parameters, typically starting with an object ID.
 * @return bool Whether the user has the given capability.
 */
function user_can($user, $capability, ...$args)
{
    if (!is_object($user)) {
        $user = get_userdata($user);
    }
    if (!$user || !$user->exists()) {
        return false;
    }
    return $user->has_cap($capability, ...$args);
}

WordPress Version: 4.9

/**
 * Whether a particular user has a specific capability.
 *
 * @since 3.1.0
 *
 * @param int|WP_User $user       User ID or object.
 * @param string      $capability Capability name.
 * @return bool Whether the user has the given capability.
 */
function user_can($user, $capability)
{
    if (!is_object($user)) {
        $user = get_userdata($user);
    }
    if (!$user || !$user->exists()) {
        return false;
    }
    $args = array_slice(func_get_args(), 2);
    $args = array_merge(array($capability), $args);
    return call_user_func_array(array($user, 'has_cap'), $args);
}

WordPress Version: 3.7

/**
 * Whether a particular user has capability or role.
 *
 * @since 3.1.0
 *
 * @param int|object $user User ID or object.
 * @param string $capability Capability or role name.
 * @return bool
 */
function user_can($user, $capability)
{
    if (!is_object($user)) {
        $user = get_userdata($user);
    }
    if (!$user || !$user->exists()) {
        return false;
    }
    $args = array_slice(func_get_args(), 2);
    $args = array_merge(array($capability), $args);
    return call_user_func_array(array($user, 'has_cap'), $args);
}