Reading values in PHP

Every entity VX can hold fields for has a facade class with the same field() method:

$class    = \VxFramework\Post::get( get_the_ID() );
$style    = \VxFramework\Term::get( $term_id );
$user     = \VxFramework\User::get( get_current_user_id() );

Option pages have the same facade: \VxFramework\Option_Page::get( 'site_settings' ). So do comments: \VxFramework\Comment::get( $comment ) takes a comment or its id, such as the comment a wp_list_comments() callback receives. To collect comment fields on your comment form, see Comment forms.

field( $key ) returns a Field_Value, which you read in the shape you need:

echo esc_html( $class->field( 'tagline' )->string() );
$capacity = $class->field( 'capacity' )->int();
$is_free  = $class->field( 'free_entry' )->bool();

Reading a field that doesn't exist, or is empty, never throws. It returns an empty value, so ->string() gives '' and ->int() gives 0.

->int() drops decimals, and a Number or Stepper accepts them whatever its step. Read one with ->float(), or let ->value() return whichever of the two the stored value is.

if ( $class->field( 'tagline' )->filled() ) {
    echo '<p class="tagline">' . esc_html( $class->field( 'tagline' )->string() ) . '</p>';
}

The natural shape: value()

value() returns each field type's natural PHP shape, so you don't have to pick an accessor:

Field types	value() returns
Text, Textarea, Email, Phone, URL, Color, Rich text, dates and times	string
Number, Stepper, Slider	int, float or null
Switcher	bool
Select, Radio Buttons, Button Group	[ 'value' => …, 'label' => … ]
Multiselect, Checkboxes	a list of [ 'value', 'label' ]
List	string[]
Image, Video, Audio, SVG	a Media_Value, or null
Gallery	Media_Value[]
Select Post, Select User, Taxonomy	a facade, or a list of them
Group, Code, Date range, Range slider	an associative array
Repeater	a list of associative arrays
Files	Media_Value[]
Post Relation, User Relation	a facade, or a list of them
Location	an associative array
Field Table, Content sections, Recurring Date	a list of associative arrays
Password, layout fields	null

raw() gives the value exactly as stored, and the typed accessors below force a specific shape.

Choices

$class->field( 'price_range' )->option();        // 'mid'   (the stored value)
$class->field( 'price_range' )->option_label();  // '$$'    (the label)
$class->field( 'amenities' )->options();         // [ 'wifi', 'parking' ]
$class->field( 'amenities' )->option_labels();   // [ 'Wi-Fi', 'Parking' ]

Labels come from the field's choices, so they match what dynamic tags show.

Media

$logo = $class->field( 'logo' )->image();          // ?Media_Value
echo esc_url( $logo?->url( 'medium' ) );           // a size, falling back to full
echo esc_attr( $logo?->alt() );

foreach ( $class->field( 'photos' )->gallery() as $photo ) {
    echo wp_get_attachment_image( $photo->id(), 'large' );
}

A Media_Value has id(), url( $size ), alt(), title(), caption(), description(), mime() and path().

Dates

$opens = $class->field( 'class_date' )->date();  // ?Date_Value
echo esc_html( $opens?->format( 'j F Y' ) );
$opens?->datetime();                               // ?DateTimeImmutable
$opens?->timestamp();

A stored date is the calendar date the editor picked, so it is read in the site's timezone (Settings → General): 2026-03-01 prints as 1 March wherever the site is.

Posts, users and terms

foreach ( $class->field( 'instructors' )->posts() as $instructor ) {   // \VxFramework\Post[]
    echo esc_html( $instructor->get_title() );
    echo esc_html( $instructor->field( 'tagline' )->string() );
}

$manager = $class->field( 'organizer' )->user();   // ?\VxFramework\User
$ids     = $class->field( 'instructors' )->ids();     // int[]
$styles  = $class->field( 'style' )->terms();      // \VxFramework\Term[]

Groups and rows

// Group: one record
$address = $class->field( 'address' )->group();
echo esc_html( $address?->field( 'city' )->string() );

// Repeater: a collection of rows
foreach ( $class->field( 'opening_hours' )->rows() as $row ) {
    printf( '%s: %s–%s', esc_html( $row->field( 'day' )->string() ),
        esc_html( $row->field( 'opens' )->string() ), esc_html( $row->field( 'closes' )->string() ) );
}

$days = $class->field( 'opening_hours' )->rows()->map( fn( $row ) => $row->field( 'day' )->string() );

Collections also have first(), last(), count(), filter(), is_empty() and array access.

For Content sections, check each row's layout before reading its fields. A row's field() only sees its own layout's fields:

foreach ( $page->field( 'sections' )->rows() as $section ) {
    if ( $section->layout() === 'hero' ) {
        echo esc_html( $section->field( 'heading' )->string() );
    }
}

Formatting output

Escape values for where you print them, as with any WordPress data. For formatted fields, use the render helpers, which apply the same cleaning VX uses everywhere:

echo \VxFramework\render_rich_text( $class->field( 'description' )->string() );
echo \VxFramework\render_code( $class->field( 'embed' )->raw() );         // <pre><code>, escaped

\VxFramework\render_markdown() renders a Markdown field as HTML. It's defined on every site, so a theme can call it unguarded; where nothing renders Markdown, it prints the text escaped, as paragraphs.

Each accepts the field's config array as a second argument, to respect per-field settings.

For a Location, \VxFramework\geo_component( $value, 'locality' ) returns one part of the address, and \VxFramework\geo_format( $value, '{street} {street_number}, {postcode} {locality}' ) builds a formatted string, dropping separators around empty parts.

These two exist only where the Location field does. In a theme that may run on a site without it, check first:

if ( function_exists( '\VxFramework\geo_format' ) ) {
    echo esc_html( \VxFramework\geo_format( $class->field( 'venue' )->value(), '{locality}, {region_code}' ) );
}

Finding posts

\VxFramework\Post::query( $args ) accepts the same arguments as get_posts() and returns \VxFramework\Post objects:

foreach ( \VxFramework\Post::query( [ 'post_type' => 'class', 'posts_per_page' => 10 ] ) as $class ) {
    echo esc_html( $class->get_title() );
}

Reading many posts

In a loop, reading the same field on every post costs a database query per post. Pass the list to \VxFramework\Post::prime() first, and the reads in the loop come from the cache:

$classes = \VxFramework\Post::query( [ 'post_type' => 'class', 'posts_per_page' => 20 ] );
\VxFramework\Post::prime( $classes );

foreach ( $classes as $class ) {
    echo esc_html( $class->field( 'level' )->string() );
}

prime() takes \VxFramework\Post objects, WP_Post objects or post IDs, such as a WP_Query's posts.

It also loads Post Relation fields in both directions, with one query per relation for the whole list rather than one per post.

Long-running jobs

Every post you read stays in memory until the request ends. A page reads a few dozen, but a WP-CLI command, an import or an index build that reads every post in one process keeps all of them. Release each batch when you are done with it:

$page = 1;
do {
    $ids = get_posts( [ 'post_type' => 'class', 'fields' => 'ids', 'posts_per_page' => 500, 'paged' => $page++ ] );
    \VxFramework\Post::prime( $ids );

    foreach ( $ids as $id ) {
        $level = \VxFramework\Post::get( $id )->field( 'level' )->string();
        // ...
    }

    \VxFramework\Post::forget( $ids );
    wp_cache_flush_runtime();
} while ( $ids !== [] );

forget() takes the same list as prime(), and \VxFramework\Post::flush() releases every post at once. \VxFramework\Term and \VxFramework\User have both methods too. A released post reads as before: the next get() loads it again.

wp_cache_flush_runtime() empties WordPress's own in-memory cache, which holds the same posts and their meta. Without it, memory still grows with every batch.

Reading meta directly

Prefer the accessors. If you must read meta yourself: the field key is the meta key (no fieldset prefix); lists, groups, repeaters and media lists are stored as JSON strings; choice fields store values, not labels; and a Taxonomy field on a post is a normal term assignment, readable with get_the_terms().

Technical details for LLMs

• Facades: \VxFramework\Post, \VxFramework\Term, \VxFramework\User (get(), query(), field(), has_field(), fields(), field_keys(), get_fieldset_values(), save_fieldset_values(); Post also get_id(), get_title(), get_link(), get_status(), and static prime( $posts ), which fires vxframework/fields/prime with ( 'post_type', $ids )).
• Releasing: static forget( $entities ) and flush() on all three facades drop the cached facades and the field data loaded for them, then fire vxframework/fields/forget with ( $object_kind, $ids ): post_type, taxonomy or user, and null for flush(). Post::force_get( $id ) releases the post the same way before it reloads it.
• \VxFramework\Option_Page (get( $key ), field()) reads option page values.
• \VxFramework\Comment (get( $comment ), query( $get_comments_args ), field(), has_field(), fields(), field_keys(), get_fieldset_values(), save_fieldset_values(), static validate_new(), forget(), flush(); object kind comment_type). Server-side VX Script takes [ 'comment_id' => … ] for @comment(…).
• Field_Value: exists, key, type, label, config, raw, is_empty, filled, value, string, string_or_null, int, float, bool, url, option, option_label, options, option_labels, date, media, image, media_all, gallery, posts, post, users, user, terms, term, ids, group (→ Field_Row), rows (→ Field_Collection of Field_Row), count.
• value() shapes come from the same descriptor as dynamic data; a custom field type can override php_value( array $field, $raw ) (non-null wins).
• Content sections value() returns [ { id, layout, layout_label, fields } ] like REST.
• \VxFramework\get() / \VxFramework\set() read and write VX configuration (vxframework_<group> options, resolvable groups merged with code), not field values.
• Server-side VX Script: \VxFramework\Modules\Dynamic_Data\Expression::render( $expr, [ 'post_id' => … ] ) (string) and render_nullable().