tax_query not working properly with get_posts

This is strange and should not happen by default. get_posts uses WP_Query. If you look at the source code of get_posts, all the parameters passed to get_posts is passed unchanged to WP_Query except parameters like category which is changed to cat, the include and exclude parameters to include or exclude certain posts which is changed to post__in and post__not_in respectively and numberposts which is changed to posts_per_page.

1839    function get_posts( $args = null ) {
1840            $defaults = array(
1841                    'numberposts' => 5, 'offset' => 0,
1842                    'category' => 0, 'orderby' => 'date',
1843                    'order' => 'DESC', 'include' => array(),
1844                    'exclude' => array(), 'meta_key' => '',
1845                    'meta_value' =>'', 'post_type' => 'post',
1846                    'suppress_filters' => true
1847            );
1848    
1849            $r = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );
1850            if ( empty( $r['post_status'] ) )
1851                    $r['post_status'] = ( 'attachment' == $r['post_type'] ) ? 'inherit' : 'publish';
1852            if ( ! empty($r['numberposts']) && empty($r['posts_per_page']) )
1853                    $r['posts_per_page'] = $r['numberposts'];
1854            if ( ! empty($r['category']) )
1855                    $r['cat'] = $r['category'];
1856            if ( ! empty($r['include']) ) {
1857                    $incposts = wp_parse_id_list( $r['include'] );
1858                    $r['posts_per_page'] = count($incposts);  // only the number of posts included
1859                    $r['post__in'] = $incposts;
1860            } elseif ( ! empty($r['exclude']) )
1861                    $r['post__not_in'] = wp_parse_id_list( $r['exclude'] );
1862    
1863            $r['ignore_sticky_posts'] = true;
1864            $r['no_found_rows'] = true;
1865    
1866            $get_posts = new WP_Query;
1867            return $get_posts->query($r);
1868    
1869    }

The only noticeable differences are the following two lines

1846     'suppress_filters' => true 
1864     $r['no_found_rows'] = true;

where line 1846 is the most important. By default, get_posts are not altered or interfered with by any filters which act on WP_Query because this is muted by line 1846. WP_Query by default is altered by any external filter that used on it, this goes for the main query and any custom query using WP_Query. That is why it is important to use conditionals like is_main_query() to target the main query specifically.

It is also very very important to know that any poorly written query that is not reset can and will interfere with both WP_Query and get_posts and thus the output from them. query_posts also breaks many functionalities on a page

To debug this, you will need to look for any filters that acts on WP_Query or the main query, also look out for any instance of pre_get_posts. Look for any custom query, and make sure that all instances of WP_Query has been reset with wp_reset_postdata(). If you have used setup_postdata( $post ) with get_posts, then you need to reset that as well. Remove any use of query_posts.

If this does not work, switch to a default theme and test this again. Don’t forget to clear browser and plugin caches first. Lastly, deactivate each plugin one by one and test after each one. This will show you which plugin is causing this if it is plugin related

Related Posts:

  1. Display posts the match taxonomy term linked from wp_list_categoies?
  2. Post loop for all taxonomy terms
  3. Custom taxonomy.php not working
  4. How to get posts by category and by choosing a taxonomy term?
  5. WP_Query vs get_posts
  6. Show posts without term
  7. display posts with same taxonomy term
  8. get_template_part in for loop
  9. How-to exclude terms from the main query the most performant way?
  10. Move posts to top of WP_Query if in certain Taxonomy?
  11. get_posts() seemingly ignoring post_type
  12. Filter and list posts of a custom taxonomy
  13. How to Modify Taxonomy Archive Page with Search Parameter?
  14. Display link to taxonomy archive only if it has posts with certain custom field values
  15. WP_Query, tax_query and term_meta: How to?
  16. Order taxonomy terms in alphabetical order
  17. Get posts for last working week in WP_Query
  18. Function get_queried_object() return NULL in custom taxonomy
  19. Getting Taxonomy inside WP_Query Loop
  20. Return Taxonomy/Term Information with Posts (WP_Query/get_posts)
  21. How to Filter Posts by Custom Fields?
  22. How do I exclude the lowest level terms in a taxonomy?
  23. WordPress query with items from more than one selfdefined taxonomy as `term` argument
  24. Search form not working with custom query?
  25. Conflict with get_posts and the_content
  26. wp_query args adding muitiple tax_querys
  27. Best choice for multiple loop in page?
  28. WP_Query for a taxonomy with different taxonomy types
  29. Using custom taxonomies in a query
  30. get_posts output always same post
  31. How to add custom meta to ‘pre_get_terms’?
  32. WP Job Manager plugin – Listing only the twelve job categories on frontpage order by jobs they have
  33. Loop posts based on permalink term
  34. Check if a post has term inside loop
  35. Query Taxonomy By Page Title
  36. How to access $wp_query object from array of posts given by get_posts?
  37. Function using get_posts() with tax_query not working when called from functions.php
  38. Get posts by category name
  39. relation OR instead of AND – Filtered term ID’s in loop
  40. Magazine style frontpage with multiple categories/loops and no duplicate posts
  41. get_the_terms has strange result since version 6.0
  42. display ACF repater field in archive page
  43. Populate select list with meta values from all posts of a Custom Post Type
  44. How do I stop the same post showing multiple times in a archive?
  45. Related posts queries
  46. WordPress – Form does not filter the results of taxonomies
  47. Show one post of each custom taxonomy
  48. Taxonomy archive, categorised by other taxonomy, not hiding empty taxonomies
  49. pages shortcode filtering by category
  50. How to define a custom hierarchy for terms?
  51. Taxonomy Terms That Don’t Exist Display Results
  52. I cannot get tax_query in get_posts() to work with custom taxonomy
  53. How can I get all the posts that are related with a specific taxonomy term?
  54. Ordering Posts by parent category, name ascending
  55. Custom loop – Isolating post meta output depending on current query taxonomy terms
  56. Both WP_Query and get_posts returning 1 post
  57. Custom query for certain post type OR another post type with a certain category
  58. Display products from specific category in shop page
  59. Query two taxonomies via URL or link?
  60. Sort posts by custom taxonomy name
  61. Looping Through Custom Tax Terms and Displaying All Posts For Each
  62. WP Query post meta value
  63. Display featured products through custom loop in WooCommerce 3 [closed]
  64. meta_query on a date range using an array of values
  65. Filtering posts by custom field value not working
  66. Multiple WP_Query loops with Pagination Not Working
  67. WooCommerce Only OnSale Products Loop Snippet [closed]
  68. Apply CSS class to every second database record [closed]
  69. How to prevent writing duplicate loops?
  70. Taxonomy search/filter with multiple taxonomies and multiple taxonomy terms
  71. Querying on multiple taxonomies pulled from $_GET checkbox array not working?
  72. Custom Search Not Consistent with Results
  73. Display both standard posts in a specific category along with a custom post type in a single loop?
  74. Orderby is working with one query but not with other
  75. Weird orderby => post__in issue
  76. Two loops on archive page
  77. How to order posts by title after they have already been sorted by category
  78. Running main loop 2 times with conditional statement
  79. Array as ‘key’ in WP_Query
  80. Adding a html class based on post count
  81. How I can change the condition or compare operator for WP_Query in pre_get_posts
  82. WP_User_Query and user posts
  83. Hiding carousel indicators if there’s only one post
  84. Custom Taxonomy Breaks Pages
  85. WP Query get only 1 post (sticky, not sticky etc)
  86. WP_Query not returning correct result with meta_query parameter
  87. Exclude post with taxonomy and from the terms (taxonomy & tag) posts count
  88. Get posts with any value in attribute
  89. WP_Query doesn’t works inside loop
  90. Rewrite rule pagination on different url levels
  91. 2 Loops on one page – pagination of 2nd loop ignore array of excluded posts
  92. Select posts wich has no relationship in custom taxonomy
  93. No content found on page 2 of pagination with 1 post per page
  94. Custom Taxonomy + JQuery Tabs
  95. Weird query with get_posts and WP_Query
  96. WP_Query and DES sort for Custom Taxonomy based upon a meta field?
  97. Help with showing text when something is entered in my search bar
  98. orderby and order filter in get_posts or WP_query function in wordpress not working
  99. Print post data inside loop using theme content template
  100. Query All Posts: Either Display Most Recent or One with Particular ACF Value Chosen
tech