The get_real_file_to_edit() WordPress PHP function retrieves the real filesystem path to a file within the admin area that is to be edited.
Usage
get_real_file_to_edit( $file );
Custom Example:
Input:
$file_path = get_real_file_to_edit( 'themes/my-theme/style.css' ); echo $file_path;
Output:
/home/user/public_html/wp-content/themes/my-theme/style.css
Parameters
$file(string) – Required. Filesystem path relative to the wp-content directory.
More information
See WordPress Developer Resources: get_real_file_to_edit()
Examples
Get the real path to a plugin file
Get the path to the main plugin file.
$plugin_file = 'plugins/my-plugin/my-plugin.php'; $real_path = get_real_file_to_edit( $plugin_file ); echo $real_path; // Outputs the real path to the plugin file
Retrieve the path to a theme’s functions.php
Get the path to the functions.php file of the current theme.
$current_theme = get_stylesheet_directory() . '/functions.php'; $real_path = get_real_file_to_edit( $current_theme ); echo $real_path; // Outputs the path to the theme's functions.php
Obtain the path to an uploaded image
Get the path to an uploaded image file.
$uploaded_image = 'uploads/2023/05/my-image.jpg'; $real_path = get_real_file_to_edit( $uploaded_image ); echo $real_path; // Outputs the real path to the uploaded image
Find the path to a custom file in the uploads directory
Get the real path to a custom file within the uploads directory.
$custom_file = 'uploads/custom-folder/my-custom-file.txt'; $real_path = get_real_file_to_edit( $custom_file ); echo $real_path; // Outputs the real path to the custom file
Access the path to a stylesheet in a child theme
Get the path to the style.css file in a child theme.
$child_theme = get_stylesheet_directory() . '/style.css'; $real_path = get_real_file_to_edit( $child_theme ); echo $real_path; // Outputs the path to the child theme's style.css