Using WordPress ‘is_active_sidebar’ PHP filter

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The is_active_sidebar WordPress PHP Filter checks if a dynamic sidebar is considered “active” by determining if it contains any widgets.

Usage

add_filter('is_active_sidebar', 'your_custom_function', 10, 2);

function your_custom_function($is_active_sidebar, $index) {
    // your custom code here
    return $is_active_sidebar;
}

Parameters

  • $is_active_sidebar (bool) – Indicates whether the sidebar should be considered “active” (i.e., if it contains any widgets).
  • $index (int|string) – The index, name, or ID of the dynamic sidebar.

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: is_active_sidebar

Examples

Hide sidebar on a specific page

Hide the sidebar on a page with the ID of 42:

add_filter('is_active_sidebar', 'hide_sidebar_on_specific_page', 10, 2);

function hide_sidebar_on_specific_page($is_active_sidebar, $index) {
    if (is_page(42)) {
        return false;
    }
    return $is_active_sidebar;
}

Display sidebar only on single posts

Show the sidebar only on single post pages:

add_filter('is_active_sidebar', 'display_sidebar_on_single_posts', 10, 2);

function display_sidebar_on_single_posts($is_active_sidebar, $index) {
    if (!is_single()) {
        return false;
    }
    return $is_active_sidebar;
}

Disable sidebar on mobile devices

Disable the sidebar when viewed on mobile devices:

add_filter('is_active_sidebar', 'disable_sidebar_on_mobile', 10, 2);

function disable_sidebar_on_mobile($is_active_sidebar, $index) {
    if (wp_is_mobile()) {
        return false;
    }
    return $is_active_sidebar;
}

Show the sidebar only on a specific category

Display the sidebar only for posts in the “News” category:

add_filter('is_active_sidebar', 'show_sidebar_on_news_category', 10, 2);

function show_sidebar_on_news_category($is_active_sidebar, $index) {
    if (!is_category('News')) {
        return false;
    }
    return $is_active_sidebar;
}

Show the sidebar only for logged-in users

Display the sidebar only for logged-in users:

add_filter('is_active_sidebar', 'show_sidebar_for_logged_in_users', 10, 2);

function show_sidebar_for_logged_in_users($is_active_sidebar, $index) {
    if (!is_user_logged_in()) {
        return false;
    }
    return $is_active_sidebar;
}