How to use comments_open filter in WordPress

comments_open filter

Filters whether the current post is open for comments.

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

At WePlugins, we 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 weplugins_modify_comments_open_defaults which takes 2 parameters and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter comments_open is the name of the hook, The second parameter weplugins_modify_comments_open_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 comments_open filter.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook.

• $open: (bool) Whether the current post is open for comments.
• $post_id: (int) The post ID.

Live Example

Example 1: Basic Usage

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

function weplugins_modify_comments_open_defaults($open, $post_id) { 
    // Update the $open variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. 
    // You can modify the $open variable conditionally too if you want.
    return $open; 
}
// add the filter
add_filter("comments_open", "weplugins_modify_comments_open_defaults", 10, 2);

Example 2: Conditional Comments Open

Here’s an example where comments are closed for posts from a specific category.

function weplugins_modify_comments_open_conditions($open, $post_id) {
    if (in_category('no-comments', $post_id)) {
        $open = false;
    }
    return $open;
}
add_filter("comments_open", "weplugins_modify_comments_open_conditions", 10, 2);

Example 3: Removing the Hook

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

remove_filter("comments_open", "weplugins_modify_comments_open_defaults", 10, 2);

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

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.