Theme reference: variables and helpers

Asif Mughal October 13, 2026 5 min read

A quick-lookup page for theme authors. For the concepts, start with Theme development.

Variables every template gets

Variable	Contents
`$base`	URL prefix of the install: `''` at a domain root, `/blog` in a subfolder
`$site_title`, `$tagline`	From the Customizer (Site identity)
`$logo_url`, `$favicon_url`	Image URLs, or empty
`$footer_text`	Footer text from the Customizer, or empty
`$primary_menu`, `$footer_menu`	Menu trees for the `primary` and `footer` locations, ready for `menu_html()`
`$seo`	This page's `title`, `description` and so on, for showing (a breadcrumb, a share link). Core prints the tags itself
`$current_url`	The request path
`$custom_css`	The site's custom CSS (already printed by `bh_head()`)
`$is_home`	`true` on the front page
`$is_preview`	`true` when an editor is previewing a draft

Per template

Template	Variables
`index.php`	`$posts` (rows for this page), `$meta` (pagination)
`single.php`	`$post`, `$terms` (its categories and tags), `$comments` (approved), `$comments_count`, `$comments_open`
`page.php`	`$post`
`archive.php`	`$posts`, `$meta`, `$archive_type` (`category`, `tag` or `author`), `$term` (for categories and tags), `$author` (for authors), `$title`
`search.php`	`$posts`, `$meta`, `$query`

Note: On single.php and page.php, $page holds the same row as $post, not a page number. Read pagination from $meta['page'].

When the front page is set to a static page, core renders page.php for it with $is_home = true.

`$meta` (pagination)

['page' => 2, 'per_page' => 10, 'total' => 57, 'last_page' => 6]

A post row (`$post`, items of `$posts`)

Field	Notes
`id`, `uuid`, `slug`, `type`	`type` is `post` or `page`
`title`, `excerpt`	Plain text; escape when printing
`content`	Finished HTML on single and page templates. Print as is
`content_format`	`blocks`, `markdown` or `html`: how it was written, not how it arrives
`status`	`published`, or `draft`/`pending` in a preview
`published_at`, `created_at`, `updated_at`	UTC, `Y-m-d H:i:s`. Show with `bh_date()`
`author_id`, `author_name`, `author_avatar_url`	The author
`featured_url`, `featured_alt`, `featured_width`, `featured_height`, `featured_sizes`	Featured image; use `bh_post_image()`
`comment_status`	`open` or `closed`
`view_count`	Views counted by core

A term row (`$terms`, `$term`)

id, name, slug, description, parent_id, count, and on $terms also taxonomy_slug (category or tag). Link a term with:

<?php $prefix = $t['taxonomy_slug'] === 'tag' ? '/tag/' : '/category/'; ?>
<a href="<?= htmlspecialchars(link_to($prefix . $t['slug'])) ?>"><?= htmlspecialchars($t['name']) ?></a>

A comment row (`$comments`)

id, parent_id (empty for a top-level comment), author_name, author_url, content (plain text: escape it), created_at (UTC).

Page structure

Helper	Use
`bh_head()`	Echo inside `<head>`. Required
`bh_footer()`	Echo before `</body>`. Required
`bh_body_class($extra)`	Classes for `<body>`: `is-home` or `is-inner`, the theme slug, preview state, plus `$extra`
`bh_ajax_client()`	Load `Basehim.ajax` on the public site. Call before `bh_head()`
`bh_is_preview()`	`true` inside the Customizer's preview frame

Links and assets

Helper	Returns
`link_to($path)`	`$path` with the install's base path, e.g. `link_to('/search')`
`\App\Core\Helpers::postUrl($post)`	A post's or page's path under the current permalink setting (prefix with `$base`)
`theme_asset($file, $version = true)`	URL of a file in this theme's `assets/`, with `?v=`
`icon($name, $class)`	A Heroicon as inline SVG, e.g. `icon('magnifying-glass', 'w-4 h-4')`

Menus

Helper	Use
`menu_html($items, $opts)`	Nested `<ul>` with dropdowns to three levels. `$opts`: `class` (default `bh-menu`; keep `bh-menu` in it for the built-in styles), `aria`, `depth`
`menu_at($location)`	Items for any location declared in `theme.json`
`menu_has_children($items)`	Whether any item has children
`menu_assets()`	Dropdown CSS and behaviour; echo once in `<head>`

<?= menu_html($primary_menu, ['class' => 'bh-menu site-nav', 'aria' => 'Primary']) ?>
<?= menu_html(menu_at('utility')) ?>

Widgets

Helper	Use
`widget_area($key)`	Rendered widgets of an area, or `''`
`has_widget_area($key)`	Whether the area has any widgets

<?php if (has_widget_area('sidebar')): ?>
    <aside><?= widget_area('sidebar') ?></aside>
<?php endif; ?>

Comments

Helper	Use
`bh_comment_form($post, $args)`	Core's comment form: CSRF token, honeypot, replies, no page reload. Returns the "closed" text when comments are off
`bh_comment_count($post)`	Approved comments on a post

Mark a count so the form updates it after a new comment:

<span data-bh-comment-count="<?= (int) $post['id'] ?>"><?= (int) $comments_count ?></span>

Any element with data-bh-reply data-id="…" data-name="…" turns the form into a reply to that comment. Style hooks and options (class, button_class, label_submit, styles => false…) are listed in Customizer, menus and widgets.

Authors

Helper	Returns
`bh_author_box($post, $args)`	The author box (avatar, name, bio, link). Empty when Settings → Reading → Author box on posts is off
`bh_author($post)`	Public profile: `display_name`, `bio`, `slug`, `url`, `avatar_url`, `post_count`
`bh_author_url($post)`	Path to the author's archive, or `''` when archives are off or the author has no posts
`bh_avatar($userOrPost, $size)`	An avatar `<img>`, or initials

Images

Helper	Returns
`bh_post_image($post, $size, $attrs)`	Responsive `<img>` of the featured image (`srcset`, width, height, lazy loading), or `''`
`bh_image_url($post, $size)`	One size's URL; falls back to the original
`bh_image_sizes($post)`	All sizes, smallest first: `name => [url, width, height]`

Sizes: thumbnail (square), medium, large, full (original).

Dates and times

Stored times are UTC. These show them in the site's timezone and formats:

Helper	Example output
`bh_date($t, $format = null)`	October 10, 2026
`bh_time($t, $format = null)`	1:32 pm
`bh_datetime($t, $format = null)`	October 10, 2026 1:32 pm
`bh_time_ago($t, $maxDays = 7)`	5 minutes ago
`bh_time_tag($t, $format = null, $relative = false)`	`<time datetime="2026-10-10T13:32:00+05:00">…</time>`
`bh_iso8601($t)`	2026-10-10T13:32:00+05:00
`bh_local_time($t)`	`DateTimeImmutable` in the site timezone
`bh_to_utc($local)`	A time typed in the site timezone, as UTC to store
`bh_now()`	Now, UTC, for storing
`bh_timezone()`	e.g. `Asia/Karachi`

Settings and options

Helper	Returns
`bh_theme_option($key, $default)`	A Customizer option of this theme, preview-aware
`bh_setting($group, $key, $default)`	A site setting, e.g. `bh_setting('reading', 'posts_per_page', 10)`

SEO

Helper	Use
`bh_seo()`	This page's SEO head: `set()`, `get()`, `addJsonLd()`, `disable()`, `handOff()`
`bh_seo_value($key)`	Read one value back, e.g. `bh_seo_value('title')`

See SEO, dates and images.

AI agents (WebMCP)

Helper	Use
`bh_webmcp_form($name, $description, $opts)`	Attributes that describe a form to in-browser agents
`bh_webmcp_param($description)`	Describes one form field

Both return '' while WebMCP is off, so they are safe to leave in. See AI discovery.

Keep building

More guides, or jump straight into the API reference.

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Theme reference: variables and helpers

Variables every template gets

Per template

A post row (`$post`, items of `$posts`)

A term row (`$terms`, `$term`)

A comment row (`$comments`)

Page structure

Links and assets

Menus

Widgets

Comments

Authors

Images

Dates and times

Settings and options

SEO

AI agents (WebMCP)

Keep building

Discussion

Leave a comment

Variables every template gets

Per template

$meta (pagination)

A post row ($post, items of $posts)

A term row ($terms, $term)

A comment row ($comments)

Page structure

Links and assets

Menus

Widgets

Comments

Authors

Images

Dates and times

Settings and options

SEO

AI agents (WebMCP)

Keep building

Discussion

Leave a comment

`$meta` (pagination)

A post row (`$post`, items of `$posts`)

A term row (`$terms`, `$term`)

A comment row (`$comments`)