How do I programmatically set default role for new users?

Question

I would like new users of the blog to have custom role, rather then Subscriber. How do I set this programmatically? I know that it can be changed from the backend.

Answer 1

This allows plugins to easily hijack the default role while they're active.

// Hijack the option, the role will follow!
add_filter('pre_option_default_role', function($default_role){
    // You can also add conditional tags here and return whatever
    return 'subscriber'; // This is changed
    return $default_role; // This allows default
});

I use it to make sure some plugins that need subscriber roles get it regardless of Administrator attempts to change :)

Regards.

Answer 2

When a new user is created through the wp_insert_user() function, the role is set with the set_role() method of the User class and is set to the default user role.

The default user role is retrieved from the database get_option('default_role') and can be set via the Admin Dashboard by going to Settings > General > New User Default Role.

If you've registered your new role (using add_role(), it should be available there to choose from.

Alternatively, for more control you can hook into the user_register or profile_update actions to then set_role on them conditionally, or however else you like.

Answer 3

After you created the user using

$user_id = wp_create_user( $user_login, $pas1, $user_email );

Create the user object

$user = new WP_User($user_id);

Then set the role

$user->set_role('editor');

You can replace the 'editor' role with any of the following: Administrator,Editor,Author,Contributor,Subscriber