Public PHP functions provided by Benecaster core. These functions are safe to call from add-ons and custom code — they are stable, versioned contracts.
All functions listed here are Free unless otherwise noted.
Episode Access
| Function |
Signature |
Description |
benecaster_user_can_access_episode() |
( int $episode_id, int $show_id, int $user_id = 0 ): bool |
Returns true if the given user can access the episode at their current tier. Pass $user_id = 0 (or omit) to check the currently logged-in user. Returns true for public episodes regardless of user. Free. |
benecaster_get_user_tier_for_show() |
( int $show_id, int $user_id = 0 ): string|null |
Returns the Benecaster internal tier slug for the given user’s active subscription on the show, or null if the user has no active token. Pass $user_id = 0 (or omit) to check the currently logged-in user. Free. |
Note on argument order: Both functions place the object-specific ID first ($episode_id or $show_id) and $user_id last with a default of 0. Earlier planning documents showed a different order — the implemented signatures above are the canonical ones.
License
| Function |
Signature |
Description |
benecaster_is_premium() |
(): bool |
Returns true when the site has an active paid license. Premium features should gate behind this function rather than checking license status directly. |
benecaster_get_license_plan() |
(): string|null |
Returns the current plan slug ('launch', 'starter', 'growth', 'pro', 'multi-show', 'studio') or null when no license is active. |
benecaster_addon_is_active() |
( string $addon_slug ): bool |
Returns true when the specified add-on is installed, active, and licensed (or when the site is on Studio plan, which includes all add-ons). |
benecaster_is_upgrade_required() |
(): bool |
Returns true when the site is on the Launch plan and has reached the 10-subscriber cap. Safe to call on every request — reads from the local benecaster_license_upgrade_required option, no HTTP call. |
benecaster_get_next_renewal_date() |
(): string|null |
Returns the ISO 8601 renewal date from the last validation response, or null for Launch/Free plans and before the first validation run. |
benecaster_get_plan_label() |
( string $slug ): string |
Returns the human-readable display name for a plan slug (e.g. 'growth' → 'Growth'). Falls back to titlecasing the slug on catalog cache miss. |
benecaster_get_addon_label() |
( string $slug ): string |
Returns the human-readable display name for an add-on slug (e.g. 'email-editor' → 'Email Editor'). Falls back to titlecasing the slug on catalog cache miss. |
benecaster_get_referral_code() |
(): string|null |
Returns the current customer’s referral code, or null when the license server has not yet supplied one. |
benecaster_get_referral_link() |
(): string|null |
Returns the full referral URL (e.g. https://benecaster.com/ref/XXXXXX), or null when no referral code is available. |
benecaster_get_referral_credit_cents() |
(): int |
Returns the pending referral credit balance in cents (0 when no credit is pending). |
Content
| Function |
Signature |
Description |
benecaster_get_show_description() |
( int $show_id, string $type = 'short' ): string |
Returns the show description. $type = 'short' returns the Short description field (_benecaster_show_description_short), falling back to truncated post_content (tags stripped, 4,000 char limit) when empty. $type = 'full' returns the raw post_content. Filterable via [benecaster_show_description](/docs/benecaster_show_description/). Free. |
benecaster_get_episode_description() |
( int $episode_id ): string |
Returns the episode description (post_excerpt when set, otherwise post_content). Filterable via [benecaster_episode_description](/docs/benecaster_episode_description/). Free. |
benecaster_get_latest_episode_id() |
( int $show_id ): int|null |
Returns the ID of the most recently published episode for the given show, or null when the show has no published episodes. Free. |
Custom Fields
| Function |
Signature |
Description |
benecaster_register_field_cpt() |
( string $cpt_slug, string $label ): void |
Register a custom post type with Benecaster’s field system so it can host field groups |
benecaster_get_field() |
( int $field_id, int $object_id ): mixed |
Get the stored value for a single custom field on an object |
benecaster_get_fields() |
( int $object_id, string $cpt_slug ): array |
Get all custom field values for an object |
