WC_Product Class

Complete reference for the WC_Product class and product management.

Overview

The WC_Product class is the foundation for all product types in WooCommerce. It provides methods to get and set product data, manage inventory, handle pricing, and more.

Always use wc_get_product() to instantiate products rather than creating WC_Product objects directly.

Getting a Product

// Get product by ID
$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Check if product exists
if ( ! $product ) {
    return;
}

// Get product type
$type = $product->get_type(); // 'simple', 'variable', 'grouped', etc.

Product Data Structure

The WC_Product class stores product data in a protected $data array:

Basic Information

name · string

Product name/title

slug · string

Product URL slug

status · string

Product status: publish, draft, pending, private

featured · boolean

Whether product is featured

catalog_visibility · string

Catalog visibility: visible, catalog, search, hidden

description · string

Full product description (HTML allowed)

short_description · string

Short product description

sku · string

Stock keeping unit (unique identifier)

Pricing

price · string

Active price (regular or sale price)

regular_price · string

Regular price

sale_price · string

Sale price (if on sale)

date_on_sale_from · WC_DateTime|null

Sale start date

date_on_sale_to · WC_DateTime|null

Sale end date

Inventory

manage_stock · boolean

Whether stock is managed at product level

stock_quantity · int|null

Current stock quantity

stock_status · string

Stock status: instock, outofstock, onbackorder

backorders · string

Backorder setting: no, notify, yes

sold_individually · boolean

Whether only one can be purchased per order

Physical Properties

weight · string

Product weight

length · string

Product length

width · string

Product width

height · string

Product height

virtual · boolean

Whether product is virtual (no shipping)

downloadable · boolean

Whether product is downloadable

Common Methods

Getting Product Data

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Basic info
$name = $product->get_name();
$sku = $product->get_sku();
$description = $product->get_description();
$short_desc = $product->get_short_description();

// Pricing
$price = $product->get_price(); // Active price
$regular_price = $product->get_regular_price();
$sale_price = $product->get_sale_price();
$is_on_sale = $product->is_on_sale();

// Inventory
$stock = $product->get_stock_quantity();
$in_stock = $product->is_in_stock();
$manage_stock = $product->get_manage_stock();
$stock_status = $product->get_stock_status();

// Images
$image_id = $product->get_image_id();
$gallery_ids = $product->get_gallery_image_ids();
$image_url = wp_get_attachment_url( $image_id );

// Categories and tags
$category_ids = $product->get_category_ids();
$tag_ids = $product->get_tag_ids();

// Dates
$date_created = $product->get_date_created(); // WC_DateTime object
$date_modified = $product->get_date_modified();

Setting Product Data

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Set basic info
$product->set_name( 'New Product Name' );
$product->set_description( 'Full product description' );
$product->set_short_description( 'Short description' );

// Set pricing
$product->set_regular_price( '29.99' );
$product->set_sale_price( '19.99' );

// Set inventory
$product->set_stock_quantity( 100 );
$product->set_manage_stock( true );
$product->set_stock_status( 'instock' );

// Set attributes
$product->set_sku( 'PROD-123' );
$product->set_weight( '1.5' );
$product->set_virtual( false );

// Save changes
$product->save();

Always call $product->save() after making changes to persist them to the database.

Creating a New Product

// Create a new simple product
$product = new WC_Product_Simple();

$product->set_name( 'My New Product' );
$product->set_status( 'publish' );
$product->set_catalog_visibility( 'visible' );
$product->set_description( 'This is the full description' );
$product->set_short_description( 'This is the short description' );
$product->set_sku( 'PRODUCT-SKU' );
$product->set_regular_price( '29.99' );
$product->set_manage_stock( true );
$product->set_stock_quantity( 100 );
$product->set_stock_status( 'instock' );

// Save and get ID
$product_id = $product->save();

Product Types

WooCommerce supports multiple product types:

Simple Product

$product = new WC_Product_Simple();
$product->set_name( 'Simple Product' );
$product->set_regular_price( '19.99' );
$product->save();

Variable Product

$product = new WC_Product_Variable();
$product->set_name( 'Variable Product' );
$product->save();

// Add variations
$variation = new WC_Product_Variation();
$variation->set_parent_id( $product->get_id() );
$variation->set_attributes( array( 'size' => 'large' ) );
$variation->set_regular_price( '29.99' );
$variation->save();

Grouped Product

$product = new WC_Product_Grouped();
$product->set_name( 'Grouped Product' );
$product->set_children( array( 123, 456, 789 ) ); // Product IDs
$product->save();

External Product

$product = new WC_Product_External();
$product->set_name( 'External Product' );
$product->set_product_url( 'https://example.com/product' );
$product->set_button_text( 'Buy Now' );
$product->save();

Working with Metadata

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Get meta
$custom_value = $product->get_meta( 'custom_field' );

// Set meta
$product->update_meta_data( 'custom_field', 'custom_value' );
$product->save();

// Delete meta
$product->delete_meta_data( 'custom_field' );
$product->save();

// Get all meta
$all_meta = $product->get_meta_data();

Stock Management

Reducing Stock

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Reduce stock by quantity
$new_stock = wc_update_product_stock( $product, 5, 'decrease' );

// Or use product method
$product->set_stock_quantity( $product->get_stock_quantity() - 5 );
$product->save();

Increasing Stock

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Increase stock
$new_stock = wc_update_product_stock( $product, 10, 'increase' );

Stock Status

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Check stock
if ( $product->is_in_stock() ) {
    echo 'In stock';
}

if ( $product->managing_stock() ) {
    echo 'Stock managed: ' . $product->get_stock_quantity();
}

// Set out of stock
$product->set_stock_status( 'outofstock' );
$product->save();

Product Images

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Get main image
$image_id = $product->get_image_id();
$image_url = wp_get_attachment_url( $image_id );
$image_html = $product->get_image(); // HTML img tag

// Set main image
$product->set_image_id( $attachment_id );

// Get gallery images
$gallery_ids = $product->get_gallery_image_ids();

// Set gallery images
$product->set_gallery_image_ids( array( 456, 789, 101 ) );

$product->save();

Product Attributes

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );

// Get attributes
$attributes = $product->get_attributes();

foreach ( $attributes as $attribute ) {
    $name = $attribute->get_name();
    $options = $attribute->get_options();
    $visible = $attribute->get_visible();
}

// Set attributes
$attribute = new WC_Product_Attribute();
$attribute->set_name( 'pa_color' );
$attribute->set_options( array( 'red', 'blue', 'green' ) );
$attribute->set_visible( true );
$attribute->set_variation( true );

$product->set_attributes( array( $attribute ) );
$product->save();

Helper Functions

Get Product by SKU

$product_id = wc_get_product_id_by_sku( 'PRODUCT-SKU' );
$product = wc_get_product( $product_id );

Check if Product Exists

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );
if ( $product && $product->get_id() > 0 ) {
    // Product exists
}

Delete Product

$product = wc_get_product( 123 );
$product->delete( true ); // true = force delete, false = move to trash

Hooks

Product Save Hooks

// Before product is saved
add_action( 'woocommerce_before_product_object_save', function( $product, $data_store ) {
    // Modify product before save
}, 10, 2 );

// After product is saved
add_action( 'woocommerce_update_product', function( $product_id ) {
    $product = wc_get_product( $product_id );
    // Do something after product update
}, 10, 1 );

Product Data Filters

// Filter product price
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_get_price', function( $price, $product ) {
    // Modify price
    return $price * 1.1; // Add 10%
}, 10, 2 );

// Filter product name
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_get_name', function( $name, $product ) {
    return '[SALE] ' . $name;
}, 10, 2 );

Best Practices

Use wc_get_product()

Always use wc_get_product() to get products instead of directly instantiating.

Save Changes

Always call $product->save() after modifying product data.

Check Product Exists

Verify $product is not false before using it.

Use Setters/Getters

Use getter/setter methods instead of accessing $product->data directly.

Additional Resources

• WooCommerce Code Reference
• Product Data Store
• Abstract Product Class