Skip to content
geekerhub

How to Fetch the Current Taxonomy Term ID in WordPress

By ali 4 min read

How to get the current taxonomy term ID in WordPress using PHP

When working with custom taxonomies in WordPress, you may need to retrieve the ID of the currently queried term. This is useful when displaying term-specific content, fetching related posts, building custom taxonomy templates, or applying conditional logic based on a taxonomy term.

One common mistake is using get_query_var() when you actually need the term ID. The taxonomy query variables identify the taxonomy and term slug, but they do not directly return the term ID.

WordPress provides a simple function called get_queried_object() that makes it easy to access the current taxonomy term object and its properties.

1. Get the Current Taxonomy Term ID

If you are working inside a taxonomy archive template, such as taxonomy.php or a taxonomy-specific template, you can use get_queried_object() to retrieve the current queried term.

Use the following code:

$term = get_queried_object();

if ( $term instanceof WP_Term ) {
    echo $term->term_id;
}

The get_queried_object() function returns the queried object. On a taxonomy archive page, this object is normally a WP_Term instance.

You can access different properties of the term, including:

  • term_id: The ID of the taxonomy term.
  • name: The term name.
  • slug: The term slug.
  • taxonomy: The taxonomy name.
  • description: The term description.

2. Get the Current Taxonomy Term Name and Description

You can use the same queried term object to retrieve the current term name and description.

$term = get_queried_object();

if ( $term instanceof WP_Term ) {

    echo esc_html( $term->name );

    echo '<br>';

    echo esc_html( $term->description );
}

This example checks that the queried object is a taxonomy term before accessing its properties. The output is also escaped before being displayed.

3. Get the Current Term ID Using get_queried_object_id()

WordPress also provides the get_queried_object_id() function. It returns the ID of the currently queried object.

On a taxonomy archive page, it returns the current term ID:

$term_id = get_queried_object_id();

echo absint( $term_id );

This is a shorter option when you only need the ID and do not need other term properties.

4. Get All Terms Assigned to a WordPress Post

Sometimes you may need to retrieve taxonomy terms assigned to a particular post rather than the term currently being queried.

You can use the wp_get_post_terms() function for this purpose. It accepts a post ID, taxonomy name, and optional arguments.

$post_id = get_the_ID();
$taxonomy = 'your-taxonomy';

$terms = wp_get_post_terms(
    $post_id,
    $taxonomy,
    array(
        'orderby' => 'name',
        'order'   => 'ASC',
    )
);

if ( ! is_wp_error( $terms ) && ! empty( $terms ) ) {

    foreach ( $terms as $term ) {
        echo esc_html( $term->name );
        echo ' - ';
        echo absint( $term->term_id );
        echo '<br>';
    }
}

Replace your-taxonomy with the registered taxonomy name. This example retrieves all terms assigned to the current post and displays each term’s name and ID.

5. Get Taxonomy Terms Using get_the_terms()

Another option is the get_the_terms() function. It retrieves the terms assigned to a specific post for a particular taxonomy.

$post_id = get_the_ID();

$terms = get_the_terms(
    $post_id,
    'your-taxonomy'
);

if ( ! is_wp_error( $terms ) && ! empty( $terms ) ) {

    foreach ( $terms as $term ) {
        echo esc_html( $term->slug );
        echo ' - ';
        echo absint( $term->term_id );
        echo '<br>';
    }
}

If you only need the first assigned term, you can use reset() to retrieve it:

$terms = get_the_terms(
    get_the_ID(),
    'your-taxonomy'
);

if ( ! is_wp_error( $terms ) && ! empty( $terms ) ) {

    $term = reset( $terms );

    echo absint( $term->term_id );
    echo esc_html( $term->slug );
}

Keep in mind that a post can have more than one term assigned to the same taxonomy. If you need all assigned terms, use a loop instead of retrieving only the first one.

6. Difference Between get_query_var() and get_queried_object()

When working with taxonomy archive pages, it is important to understand the difference between these functions.

  • get_query_var( ‘taxonomy’ ): Retrieves the taxonomy query variable, which identifies the taxonomy being queried.
  • get_query_var( ‘term’ ): Retrieves the queried term slug in a standard taxonomy archive query.
  • get_queried_object(): Returns the queried object. On a taxonomy archive, this is the current term object.
  • get_queried_object_id(): Returns the ID of the queried object, which is the term ID on a taxonomy archive.

Therefore, if you need the current taxonomy term ID, use get_queried_object_id() or retrieve the term object with get_queried_object().

You can read more about these functions in the official WordPress documentation for get_queried_object(), get_queried_object_id(), and wp_get_post_terms().

Conclusion

Fetching the current taxonomy term ID in WordPress is simple once you know which function to use. The get_queried_object() function gives you access to the complete term object, while get_queried_object_id() returns the ID directly.

If you need terms assigned to a post, use get_the_terms() or wp_get_post_terms() instead. Choose the function based on whether you need the current archive term or the terms associated with an individual post.

Related guides