Codex

Codex Resources

Template Tags/get the category

Contents

Description

Returns an array of objects, one object for each category assigned to the post. This tag must be used within The Loop.

Usage

This function does not display anything; you should access the objects and then echo or otherwise use the desired member variables.

The following example displays the category name of each category assigned to the post (this is like using the_category(), but without linking each category to the category view, and using spaces instead of commas): 

<?php
foreach((get_the_category()) as $category) { 
    echo $category->cat_name . ' '; 
} 
?>

Examples

Show Category Images

This outputs category images named after the cat_ID with the alt attribute set to cat_name. You can also use any of the other member variables instead. 

<?php 
foreach((get_the_category()) as $category) { 
    echo '<img src="http://example.com/images/' . $category->cat_ID . '.jpg" alt="' . $category->cat_name . '" />'; 
} 
?>

Show the First Category Name Only

<?php
$category = get_the_category(); 
echo $category[0]->cat_name;
?>

(Echoes the first array ([0]) of $category.)

Member Variables

cat_ID 
the category id (also stored as 'term_id')
cat_name 
the category name (also stored as 'name')
category_nicename 
a slug generated from the category name (also stored as 'slug')
category_description 
the category description (also stored as 'description')
category_parent 
the category id of the current category's parent. '0' for no parents. (also stored as 'parent')
category_count 
the number of uses of this category (also stored as 'count')

Related

the_category, the_category_rss, single_cat_title, category_description, wp_dropdown_categories, wp_list_categories, in_category, get_category_parents, get_the_category get_category_link,

How to pass parameters to tags with query-string-style parameters

Go to Template Tag index

Retrieved from "http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Tags/get_the_category"