External WP_Query call from PHP crashed after version update

Question

I have an external script that does some DB maintenance through WP_Query and similar functions. It used to work great, but now after a PHP version update (from 7 to 8) it stopped working.

The necessary WP header files are included, but the script crashes at first WP function call without an error message. I tried to call various WP functions. What can be the problem?

Here is the script:

<?php
define( 'WP_USE_THEMES', false );

require __DIR__ . '/wp-blog-header.php';

    // The Query
    $args = array(
        'post_type' => 'post',
        "posts_per_page" => "1",
        'order' => 'DESC',
        'orderby' => 'ID'
    );

    $the_query = new WP_Query( $args );
?>

UPDATE: I succeeded to get the error message finally:

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Class "WP_Query" not found in /home/zrksvcvh/public_html/videos_update.php:46 Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown in /home/[...]/public_html/videos_update.php on line 46

Answer 1

The problem is that you're trying to do your work in a stand alone PHP, this will always be fragile, and it poses a security risk!

Use a Cron Job Instead

This will trigger your code to run hourly:

add_action( 'init', function() {
    // If the cron job hasn't been scheduled
    if ( ! wp_next_scheduled ( 'binyomins_cron_job' )) {
        // schedule it to fire an event every hour
        wp_schedule_event( time(), 'hourly', 'binyomins_cron_job' );
    }

    // Run the video update function every time the cron event happens.
    add_action( 'binyomins_cron_job', 'binyomin_video_update' );
});

function binyomin_video_update(): void {
    // .... your code goes here
    // The Query
    $args = array(
        'post_type' => 'post',
        "posts_per_page" => 1,
....... etc
}

You can change it to run daily, or even register your own schedule.

You could also swap out the scheduled cron with a single event if you chose, running it via cron tools such as WP CLI or the WP Crontrol plugin.

Where Does That Code Go?

Anywhere hooks and filters usually go, a plugin, a functions.php, etc