How to use auth_cookie filter in WordPress

auth_cookie filter

Filters the authentication cookie.

To use the auth_cookie filter, first you have to register it using add_filter. You can write this code into functions.php of your activated theme or in a custom WordPress Plugin.

We at WePlugins always prefer to create a custom WordPress Plugin while using hooks so nothing breaks when you update your WordPress Theme in the future.

In the below live example, we have defined a function modify_auth_cookie_defaults which takes 5 parameters and we registered it using add_filter. The first parameter auth_cookie is the name of the hook, the second parameter modify_auth_cookie_defaults is the name of the function which needs to be called, the third parameter is the priority of calling the hook if the same hook is used multiple times and the last parameter is the number of arguments (if any) to be passed in the registered function.

Sometimes, you have to remove a registered hook so you can use remove_filter to remove the auth_cookie filter.

Parameters

Below are the 5 parameters required to use this hook.

• $cookie : (string) Authentication cookie.
• $user_id : (int) User ID.
• $expiration : (int) The time the cookie expires as a UNIX timestamp.
• $scheme : (string) Cookie scheme used. Accepts ‘auth’, ‘secure_auth’, or ‘logged_in’.
• $token : (string) User’s session token used.

Live Examples

Example 1: Basic Usage

Below is an example of how you can use this hook.

function weplugins_modify_auth_cookie_defaults($cookie, $user_id, $expiration, $scheme, $token) { 
    // Update the $cookie variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $cookie variable conditionally too if you want.
    return $cookie; 
}
// add the filter
add_filter("auth_cookie", "weplugins_modify_auth_cookie_defaults", 10, 5);

Example 2: Removing the Hook

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

remove_filter("auth_cookie", "weplugins_modify_auth_cookie_defaults", 10, 5);

Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

Example 3: Conditional Modification

In this example, we conditionally modify the authentication cookie based on the user ID.

function weplugins_modify_auth_cookie_conditional($cookie, $user_id, $expiration, $scheme, $token) { 
    if ($user_id === 1) {
        // Update the cookie for user ID 1
        $cookie = 'custom_cookie_for_user_1';
    }
    return $cookie; 
}
// add the filter
add_filter("auth_cookie", "weplugins_modify_auth_cookie_conditional", 10, 5);

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook or need customization, please contact us and we’d be happy to assist you.