How to use login_errors filter in WordPress

login_errors filter

Filters the error messages displayed above the login form.

To use the login_errors filter, you first 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.

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 weplugins_modify_login_errors_defaults which takes 1 parameter and we registered using add_filter. The first parameter login_errors is the name of the hook, the second parameter weplugins_modify_login_errors_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 login_errors filter.

Parameters

Below is the 1 parameter required to use this hook.

• $errors : (string) Login error message.

Live Example

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

    function weplugins_modify_login_errors_defaults($errors) { 
        // Update the $errors variable according to your website requirements and return this variable. You can modify the $errors variable conditionally too if you want.
        return $errors; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter( "login_errors", "weplugins_modify_login_errors_defaults", 10, 1 );
    

Example 1: Customizing Invalid Username Error Message

In this example, we customize the error message for an invalid username.

    add_filter( 'login_errors', function( $error ) {
        global $errors;
        $err_codes = $errors->get_error_codes();
        // Invalid username.
        if ( in_array( 'invalid_username', $err_codes ) ) {
            $error = '<strong>ERROR</strong>: Invalid username.';
        }
        return $error;
    });
    

Example 2: Removing the login_errors Hook

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

    remove_filter( "login_errors", "weplugins_modify_login_errors_defaults", 10, 1 );
    

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

Example 3: Custom Error Message for Empty Password

In this example, we customize the error message for an empty password.

    add_filter( 'login_errors', function( $error ) {
        global $errors;
        $err_codes = $errors->get_error_codes();
        // Empty password.
        if ( in_array( 'empty_password', $err_codes ) ) {
            $error = '<strong>ERROR</strong>: Please enter your password.';
        }
        return $error;
    });
    

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook, please contact our WordPress Development Team and we’d be happy to assist you.