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I need to use file_get_contents() in my theme to include an SVG file. As far as I know, an obvious way to do this would be the following:

file_get_contents("https://example.com/wp-content/themes/theme_name/file.svg");

However, if I do that, my server has to call itself and chokes up if there’s many visitors at the same time. When I edit the code in the following way, it gets much better, as the server fetches the file locally, without calling itself from outside:

file_get_contents("wp-content/themes/theme_name/file.svg");

There is a function that returns the path to the theme directory, get_template_directory_uri(). But it also returns the hostname — https://example.com — which I don’t need. I guess I could use WP constants listed in the WP Codex, but it specifically says “these [the constants] should not be used directly by plugins or themes”.

Is there a similar function that doesn’t include the hostname in what it returns?

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  • note that file_get_contents used on a URL won't work on many servers due to security protections, and the WP Codex was deprecated in favor of the developer hub and code reference several years ago at developer.wordpress.org Commented Jul 8, 2024 at 15:34
  • try this : developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/… Commented Jul 8, 2024 at 15:35
  • @mmm, sorry, but that’s not it — see my comment to Tom J Nowell’s answer. Commented Jul 8, 2024 at 16:29

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Yes get_template_directory:

get_template_directory(): string

Retrieves template directory path for the active theme. Returns an absolute server path (eg: /home/user/public_html/wp-content/themes/my_theme), not a URI.

In the case a child theme is being used, the absolute path to the parent theme directory will be returned. Use get_stylesheet_directory() to get the absolute path to the child theme directory.

To retrieve the URI of the stylesheet directory use get_stylesheet_directory_uri() instead.

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/get_template_directory/

There's also get_stylesheet_directory which refers to the current theme, whereas get_template_directory always refers to the parent theme ( if there is no child theme then they will return the same value )

$svg = file_get_contents( get_template_directory() . '/file.svg' );
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  • Sorry, but that’s not it. I don’t need /home/user/public_html/wp-content/themes/my_theme, I need wp-content/themes/my_theme, specifically this part. Commented Jul 8, 2024 at 16:25
  • 1 : you can parse the output of the function to have the part you want. 2 : why do you need only the last part ? in your question you want to read a file then you can do that with the whole path. Commented Jul 8, 2024 at 18:42
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    if you're passing it into file_get_contents then it will still work, and would even be more reliable than using a relative path, unless this was an example and there are hidden requirements. Remember I can only answer the question as it was written. See my latest edit for an example of using it to grab an SVG file Commented Jul 8, 2024 at 20:59

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