Cannot override hooks.php

Question

I building a child theme for 'Responsive Theme' from Cyberchimps. I would like to change one hook. So I guess I need hooks.php file in my child theme. So I copied it from the parent. I made the same hierarchy (I guess this is the right approach).

wp-content/[my_child_theme]/core/includes/hooks.php

Copying file to theme root didn't help.

I also tried to just recreate this critical hook. I put the code in my child functions.php file, but It's also not working, because hooks happen after the theme stuff (just my asumtion).

So the question is simple: how to override parent theme's hook.php file?

Answer 1

hooks.php is not a file that belongs to any native WordPress convention. While copying files from parent theme is often mentioned as a technique it only applies to template files, which are part of template hierarchy (native or properly customized one).

Your guess that this is issue of timing is probably accurate. It's a little counter-intuitive but child theme is loaded before parent theme. So running code on child theme load is too early to affect anything that hadn't yet happened.

You need to create a function that will run that code and find a good timing for it to be hooked to. after_setup_theme hook might fit, but really specifics completely depend on timing of what parent theme is doing.