Metadata
in package
Attaches a name/value metadata entry to a code-API element.
(class, class property, method parameter, method parameter, or enum case).
Metadata entries are harvested by ApiBuilder and emitted into the generated
schema, where they can be queried at runtime through the top-level
_apiMetadata GraphQL field. The mechanism is intentionally open: subclass
this attribute to ship a category of metadata (e.g. {@see} for
marking elements as for WooCommerce internal use). Tooling discovers metadata
by name; the value is scalar-only so it can flow through GraphQL without
additional encoding.
Two metadata entries with the same name on the same element produce a build-time error, see ApiBuilder for the duplicate-name detection. Multiple distinct names on one element are allowed.
Table of Contents
- __construct() : mixed
- Constructor.
- get_name() : string
- The entry's name (e.g. `internal`, `beta`, `owner`).
- get_value() : bool|int|float|string|null
- The entry's scalar value.
- shows_in_metadata_query() : bool
- Whether the element carrying this attribute should appear in the `_apiMetadata` discovery query.
Methods
__construct()
Constructor.
public
__construct(string $name, bool|int|float|string|null $value) : mixed
Parameters
- $name : string
-
Identifier for this entry. Must be unique per element across all Metadata subclasses applied to it.
- $value : bool|int|float|string|null
-
Scalar payload exposed to clients via
_apiMetadata.
Return values
mixed —get_name()
The entry's name (e.g. `internal`, `beta`, `owner`).
public
get_name() : string
Return values
string —get_value()
The entry's scalar value.
public
get_value() : bool|int|float|string|null
Return values
bool|int|float|string|null —shows_in_metadata_query()
Whether the element carrying this attribute should appear in the `_apiMetadata` discovery query.
public
shows_in_metadata_query() : bool
Returning false removes the element's row entirely from
_apiMetadata — neither this metadata entry nor any other
descriptor on the same target surfaces. The runtime gates and any
description transforms are unaffected. Useful for plugins that
attach internal routing or feature hints they prefer not to
broadcast through the discovery channel.
Despite the colloquial naming around it, this has nothing to do
with native GraphQL introspection (__schema / __type); those
queries continue to expose the schema's shape as usual.
Because this is an instance method, subclasses can decide conditionally based on their own constructor arguments.