How to Get Plugin Directory Path in WordPress (+Example)

When it comes to including multiple files inside a plugin, the plugin_dir_path function becomes super helpful.

It’s popular for WordPress developers to use the plugin_dir_path function for including PHP files into each other.

Get Plugin Directory Path Using plugin_dir_path Function

The plugin_dir_path function in WordPress is available if you need a complete path to your plugin’s directory.

plugin_dir_path function syntax

The function syntax is pretty easy:

plugin_dir_path($file)

$file parameter’s value must be a string.

I saw lots of developers using the dirname(__FILE__) value for $file in the main file of their plugins.

Keep reading; We’ll try the most common usage of plugin_dir_path function in an example:

Using plugin_dir_path function to get the plugin directory path

Using this code inside your custom plugin is useful.

To make it possible for us to use our main plugin directory in a variable everywhere, we can define It with PHP:

define('MY_CUSTOM_PLUGIN_DIR', plugin_dir_path(dirname( __FILE__ )));

Remember that this code works in the main file of a plugin.

For future usage of defining MY_CUSTOM_PLUGIN_DIR, I have an example for you:

$cssUrl = MY_CUSTOM_PLUGIN_DIR . '/css/plugin-style.css';

You can use the defined variable everywhere you want inside your plugin.

Also, you can get the path to the WordPress root directory with the get_home_path function if needed (or ABSPATH constant). Sometimes it’s a better option to use instead of plugin_dir_path function.

If you are not familiar with the process of creating a WordPress plugin, you better read my tutorial:

How to create a Hello World plugin for WordPress in 3 Steps

To keep more into it, you can read the plugin_dir_path function code reference on the WordPress official website for developers.