Show last 12 uploaded images on home page, but only from posts

Question

I want to show the last 12 images that were published with articles on my front page. This is the code to get the latest 12 uploaded images, but i want to show only the ones attached to a post (single). Any idea?

<?php

    $args = array(
        'post_type' => 'attachment',
        'numberposts' => 12,
        'post_status' => inherit,
    );

    $attachments = get_posts( $args );
    if ( $attachments ) {
        foreach ( $attachments as $attachment ) {
        echo '<li>';
        echo wp_get_attachment_image( $attachment->ID, array('90', '90') );
        echo '</li>';
        }
    }

?>

Answer 1

I haven't tested this but logically... ;)

Images attached to posts should have post_parent greater than zero, with the most recent posts (post parents) having the highest ID, though longstanding draft posts might throw this off a bit. So, if you order by the post_parent descending you should have the top 12 attachments associated with your posts.

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'attachment',
    'posts_per_page' => 12, // numberposts is long since deprecated in WP_Query
    'post_status' => inherit,
    'orderby' => 'post_parent',
    'order' => 'DESC'
);

Now, if you are getting attachments from pages and CPTs you will need a more complicated solution and will have to query your posts for IDs,then pull attachments.

Any idea how to get the link of the parent post/page? I tried "get_permalink( $post->post_parent )" but it gives me only the latest post. (From a comment below)

The way your code is written, the $post global isn't going to be set. What you need is $attachment->post_parent. Or, my preference, skip the get_posts() wrapper and use WP_Query itself:

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'attachment',
    'posts_per_page' => 12, // numberposts is long since deprecated in WP_Query
    'post_status' => 'inherit',
    'orderby' => 'post_parent',
    'order' => 'DESC'
);
$attachments = new WP_Query( $args );
if ( $attachments->have_posts() ) {
    while ( $attachments->have_posts() ) {
      $attachments->the_post();
      var_dump($post->post_parent); // now it is set
      echo '<li>';
      echo wp_get_attachment_image( $post->ID, array('90', '90') );
      echo '</li>';
    }
}