get_users is expecting unserialized meta_value

Question

I'm trying to get all users assigned to a custom usermeta. I know that get_users() is supposed to work; however, it doesn't seem to be working. What I have is a usermeta storing a category ID and I'm trying to use 'meta_value' => $cat_id to query the database. So this is the code I have:

$args = array( 'meta_key' => 'custom-usermeta', 'meta_value' => $cat_id ); $users = get_users( $args );

and here is how I'm saving it:

update_user_meta( $user_id,'custom-usermeta',$cat_id);

$cat_id is an array.

But this isn't working. What I've figured out so far is that the meta_value expects an unserialized value. How can I get that to work? I tried the 'meta_compare' => 'LIKE' but then that just about grabs everything (because of the way Wordpress serializes the values). Is there anything else I can do to fix this?

Chip Bennett · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-31 15:13:37Z

In your original code, you're not passing an operator to meta_compare. Note that get_users() does not define a default operator. Try using '=':

$args = array( 'meta_key' => 'custom-usermeta', 'meta_value' => $cat_id, 'meta_compare' => '=' ); $users = get_users( $args );

As a diagnostic, you might make sure that the problem isn't the saving/querying by your custom user metadata. Replace the meta_key and meta_value with one of the default WP user meta keys, just to see if anything is returned. (Easiest might be the user role?)

And this one is a long-shot, but: even though the get_users() Codex documentation says otherwise, from what I can gather from source, the meta_query for WP_user_query should be the same as the meta_query for WP_query - in which case, have you tried putting your meta query in an array? e.g.:

$args = array( array( 'meta_key' => 'custom-usermeta', 'meta_value' => $cat_id ) ); $users = get_users( $args );

Cf. WP_Query usage of meta_query.

Thanks for helping Chip! I tested to see if I was getting the same error with other user_meta as you suggested and I tried wp_capabilities since it was serialized the way my data is and it wouldn't grab that info either. Maybe wordpress can't use the = operator on serialized data? I also tried putting the query in an array, but that just pulled all wp_capabilities, ignoring my query as far as meta-value. — john
– john, Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 13:32

kaiser · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-31 15:06:10Z

You could try to user a "direct" WP_User_Query.

$user_search = new WP_User_Query( array( 'orderby' => 'display_name', 'fields' => 'all_with_meta', 'meta_key' => 'CAT OR WHATEVER KEY NAME', 'meta_value' => $cat_id, 'meta_compare' => '=' ) ); $users = $user_search->get_results();

Not tested, but it should work.

Update

As far as I can see, the $meta_value inside update_metadata() (the function that gets wrapped by update_user_meta()), takes a single value. The only way it can get serialized is maybe_serialize();, which only serializes on demand. So the problem must be on your side and the $cat_ID meta value.

You can recheck close before the maybe_serialize() with the following filter:

apply_filters( "update_{$meta_type}_metadata", null, $object_id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $prev_value )

{$meta_type} would be user in this case. Just drop your $cat_ID inside some test function to see what's happening.

I appreciate the answer, but I've tried using the = operator and it didn't work since it's expecting a serialized response. I just tried using the "direct" WP_User_Query too, and unfortunately that didn't work either. — john
– john, Commented Jan 30, 2012 at 13:53
Thanks for still helping. I'm not running through in serialization process. I'm just grabbing the POST data, which is an array, and then calling the update_user_meta function. Wordpress does the serializing own its own. — john
– john, Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 13:37
@john Have you checked using the provided filter in the update? — kaiser
– kaiser, Commented Feb 3, 2012 at 5:12

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