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WP_Query Integration

ThemeRuby Multi Authors extends WordPress's WP_Query to support querying posts by multiple authors.

Overview​

The plugin modifies WP_Query to make standard author parameters work with multiple authors:

// Standard WordPress query - now works with multi-authors!
new WP_Query( array(
    'author' => 5,  // Posts where user 5 is any author (primary or co-author)
) );

Enabling WP_Query Support​

Ensure these settings are enabled (default: enabled):

Settings > ThemeRuby Multi Authors
☑ Enable WP_Query author parameter support
☑ Enable WP_Query author__in parameter support
☑ Enable WP_Query author__not_in parameter support
☑ Enable WP_Query author_name parameter support

Supported Parameters​

author​

Query posts by a single author ID.

Syntax​

array(
    'author' => int,  // User ID
)

Example​

// Get posts by user ID 5 (as primary or co-author)
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'         => 5,
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

if ( $query->have_posts() ) {
    while ( $query->have_posts() ) {
        $query->the_post();
        the_title( '<h2>', '</h2>' );
    }
    wp_reset_postdata();
}

Real-world use case:

// Author archive page
$author_id = get_queried_object_id();

$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'         => $author_id,
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
    'paged'          => get_query_var( 'paged' ),
) );

author__in​

Query posts by multiple authors (OR condition).

Syntax​

array(
    'author__in' => array,  // Array of user IDs
)

Example​

// Get posts by users 1, 5, or 8
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author__in'     => array( 1, 5, 8 ),
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

Real-world use case - Team posts:

// Get all posts by editorial team
$team_members = array( 12, 15, 23, 45 );

$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author__in'     => $team_members,
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
    'orderby'        => 'date',
    'order'          => 'DESC',
) );

author__not_in​

Exclude posts by specific authors.

Syntax​

array(
    'author__not_in' => array,  // Array of user IDs to exclude
)

Example​

// Get all posts EXCEPT those by users 3 and 6
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author__not_in' => array( 3, 6 ),
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

Real-world use case:

// Exclude guest authors from main loop
$guest_author_ids = array( 100, 101, 102 );

$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'post_type'      => 'post',
    'author__not_in' => $guest_author_ids,
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

author_name​

Query posts by author username (nicename).

Syntax​

array(
    'author_name' => string,  // User nicename
)

Example​

// Get posts by user with nicename 'john-doe'
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author_name'    => 'john-doe',
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

Real-world use case:

// Custom author page by username
$username = get_query_var( 'author_name' );

if ( $username ) {
    $query = new WP_Query( array(
        'author_name'    => $username,
        'posts_per_page' => 20,
    ) );
}

Combined Queries​

Author + Category​

// Posts by user 5 in 'news' category
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'        => 5,
    'category_name' => 'news',
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

Multiple Authors + Post Type​

// Get WooCommerce products by specific authors
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'post_type'      => 'product',
    'author__in'     => array( 1, 5, 8 ),
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
) );

Author + Date Range​

// Posts by user 5 from last 30 days
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'      => 5,
    'date_query'  => array(
        array(
            'after' => '30 days ago',
        ),
    ),
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

Author + Meta Query​

// Featured posts by specific authors
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author__in'  => array( 1, 5, 8 ),
    'meta_query'  => array(
        array(
            'key'   => 'featured',
            'value' => 'yes',
        ),
    ),
    'posts_per_page' => 5,
) );

Author + Tag​

// Posts by user 5 tagged 'tutorial'
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author' => 5,
    'tag'    => 'tutorial',
    'posts_per_page' => 10,
) );

Co-Authored Posts​

/**
 * Get posts co-authored by two specific users
 */
function get_coauthored_posts( $author1_id, $author2_id ) {
    // Get posts by author 1
    $posts1 = new WP_Query( array(
        'author'         => $author1_id,
        'posts_per_page' => -1,
        'fields'         => 'ids',
    ) );

    // Get posts by author 2
    $posts2 = new WP_Query( array(
        'author'         => $author2_id,
        'posts_per_page' => -1,
        'fields'         => 'ids',
    ) );

    // Find intersection (posts by both)
    $shared_post_ids = array_intersect(
        $posts1->posts,
        $posts2->posts
    );

    // Query the shared posts
    if ( ! empty( $shared_post_ids ) ) {
        return new WP_Query( array(
            'post__in'       => $shared_post_ids,
            'posts_per_page' => -1,
        ) );
    }

    return new WP_Query( array( 'post__in' => array( 0 ) ) ); // Empty query
}

// Usage
$coauthored = get_coauthored_posts( 5, 8 );

Author Posts Widget​

/**
 * Display recent posts by current author
 */
function my_author_posts_widget() {
    if ( ! is_single() ) {
        return;
    }

    $authors = tmauthors_get_post_authors( get_the_ID() );
    if ( empty( $authors ) ) {
        return;
    }

    $first_author = $authors[0];

    $query = new WP_Query( array(
        'author'         => $first_author->ID,
        'posts_per_page' => 5,
        'post__not_in'   => array( get_the_ID() ), // Exclude current post
    ) );

    if ( $query->have_posts() ) {
        echo '<div class="author-recent-posts">';
        echo '<h3>More from ' . esc_html( $first_author->display_name ) . '</h3>';
        echo '<ul>';

        while ( $query->have_posts() ) {
            $query->the_post();
            echo '<li><a href="' . get_permalink() . '">' . get_the_title() . '</a></li>';
        }

        echo '</ul>';
        echo '</div>';

        wp_reset_postdata();
    }
}

Team Archive Page​

/**
 * Custom template for team archive page
 * Template Name: Team Posts Archive
 */
function team_archive_template() {
    // Get team member IDs (from custom meta or hardcoded)
    $team_ids = get_option( 'team_member_ids', array() );

    $paged = get_query_var( 'paged' ) ? get_query_var( 'paged' ) : 1;

    $query = new WP_Query( array(
        'author__in'     => $team_ids,
        'posts_per_page' => 20,
        'paged'          => $paged,
        'orderby'        => 'date',
        'order'          => 'DESC',
    ) );

    if ( $query->have_posts() ) {
        while ( $query->have_posts() ) {
            $query->the_post();
            get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', get_post_type() );
        }

        // Pagination
        the_posts_pagination( array(
            'total' => $query->max_num_pages,
        ) );

        wp_reset_postdata();
    }
}

Performance Optimization​

Caching Author Queries​

function get_cached_author_posts( $author_id, $limit = 10 ) {
    $cache_key = 'author_posts_' . $author_id . '_' . $limit;
    $posts = wp_cache_get( $cache_key, 'author_queries' );

    if ( false === $posts ) {
        $query = new WP_Query( array(
            'author'         => $author_id,
            'posts_per_page' => $limit,
        ) );

        $posts = $query->posts;

        // Cache for 1 hour
        wp_cache_set( $cache_key, $posts, 'author_queries', 3600 );
    }

    return $posts;
}

Using Fields Parameter​

// Get only post IDs for better performance
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author__in' => array( 1, 5, 8 ),
    'fields'     => 'ids',  // Only return IDs
) );

// Get only specific fields
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'         => 5,
    'fields'         => array( 'ID', 'post_title', 'post_date' ),
    'posts_per_page' => 100,
) );

Modifying Main Query​

In functions.php​

/**
 * Modify main author archive query
 */
add_action( 'pre_get_posts', 'modify_author_archive' );

function modify_author_archive( $query ) {
    // Only modify main query on author archives
    if ( ! is_admin() && $query->is_main_query() && $query->is_author() ) {
        // Show more posts
        $query->set( 'posts_per_page', 30 );

        // Exclude specific categories
        $query->set( 'category__not_in', array( 5, 10 ) );

        // Order by title instead of date
        $query->set( 'orderby', 'title' );
        $query->set( 'order', 'ASC' );
    }
}

REST API Integration​

Custom Endpoint​

/**
 * Add custom REST endpoint for author posts
 */
add_action( 'rest_api_init', function() {
    register_rest_route( 'myapp/v1', '/author/(?P<id>\d+)/posts', array(
        'methods'  => 'GET',
        'callback' => 'get_author_posts_rest',
    ) );
} );

function get_author_posts_rest( $request ) {
    $author_id = $request['id'];

    $query = new WP_Query( array(
        'author'         => $author_id,
        'posts_per_page' => 10,
    ) );

    $posts = array();

    if ( $query->have_posts() ) {
        while ( $query->have_posts() ) {
            $query->the_post();

            $posts[] = array(
                'id'      => get_the_ID(),
                'title'   => get_the_title(),
                'excerpt' => get_the_excerpt(),
                'link'    => get_permalink(),
            );
        }
        wp_reset_postdata();
    }

    return rest_ensure_response( $posts );
}

Troubleshooting​

Query Not Working?​

Check settings:

Settings > ThemeRuby Multi Authors
Ensure WP_Query support is enabled

Clear cache:

// Clear object cache
wp_cache_flush();

// Clear transients
delete_transient( 'my_transient_key' );

Test with simple query:

// Debug query
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author' => 5,
) );

// Check SQL
echo $query->request;

Performance Issues?​

Use pagination:

// Bad - loads all posts
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'         => 5,
    'posts_per_page' => -1,  // Avoid this!
) );

// Good - uses pagination
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author'         => 5,
    'posts_per_page' => 20,
    'paged'          => $paged,
) );

Use fields parameter:

// Only get IDs for faster queries
$query = new WP_Query( array(
    'author' => 5,
    'fields' => 'ids',
) );

Complete Example: Author Filter Widget​

/**
 * Widget to filter posts by multiple authors
 */
class Multi_Author_Filter_Widget extends WP_Widget {

    public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
        $selected_authors = isset( $_GET['filter_authors'] ) ? $_GET['filter_authors'] : array();

        // Display author checkboxes
        $authors = tmauthors_get_assignable_authors();

        echo '<form method="get">';
        echo '<h4>Filter by Authors</h4>';

        foreach ( $authors as $author ) {
            $checked = in_array( $author->ID, $selected_authors ) ? 'checked' : '';
            echo '<label>';
            echo '<input type="checkbox" name="filter_authors[]" value="' . $author->ID . '" ' . $checked . '>';
            echo esc_html( $author->display_name );
            echo '</label><br>';
        }

        echo '<button type="submit">Filter</button>';
        echo '</form>';

        // Display filtered posts
        if ( ! empty( $selected_authors ) ) {
            $query = new WP_Query( array(
                'author__in'     => $selected_authors,
                'posts_per_page' => 10,
            ) );

            if ( $query->have_posts() ) {
                echo '<h4>Results:</h4>';
                while ( $query->have_posts() ) {
                    $query->the_post();
                    echo '<div>' . get_the_title() . '</div>';
                }
                wp_reset_postdata();
            }
        }
    }
}

Next Steps​