posts_per_page: WordPress Core Option

01 · Ownership

Who writes `posts_per_page`?

WordPress Core is the tested owner for posts_per_page under the WordPress 7.0–7.1 ConfigOps adapter contract. This is a source-backed adapter claim, not a guess based on naming.

Component type: WordPress
Component entry point: wp-includes/version.php
Adapter ID: wordpress-core
Adapter schema: 1
Visible setting: Settings → Reading
Classification: Configuration

02 · Stored value

Scalar option value.

Mapped paths1

Secret paths0

Field kinds1

Exact fields mapped by ConfigOps adapter schema 1
Path	Visible meaning	Kind	Why it matters
`/`	Posts per pageContent lists	portable	The maximum number of posts shown on blog and archive pages.

03 · Technical state & secrets

What belongs beside the setting—but not inside the decision?

Core caches, update state, rewrite rules, cron, locks, and migration markers are treated as generated or technical state rather than user intent.

No option-specific neighboring value is asserted.

The adapter-wide technical boundary still applies; absence here is not proof that a save has no runtime side effects.

Known secret paths

No secret field is declared inside this exact option schema. ConfigOps still applies its conservative global secret detector.

04 · ConfigOps recovery

Adapter-backed, not Smart Undo.

ConfigOps adapterYes · wordpress-core

Schema 1; tested against WordPress 7.0–7.1.

Adapter-aware UndoConditionally supported

Supported values can use adapter-aware, conflict-checked Undo when evidence is complete and the current value still matches.

Smart Undo eligibilityNo

No. Smart Undo is only for ordinary associative options that no adapter claims. This option is adapter-owned.

History boundary: ConfigOps records only saves it observes while active. It cannot tell you what changed this row before installation.

05 · WP-CLI read commands

Inspect without writing.

Run these on the intended environment. The commands read current state; they do not reconstruct history.

Read the current value

wp option get posts_per_page

Inspect matching storage and autoload metadata

wp option list --search=posts_per_page --fields=option_name,autoload --format=table

06 · Save autopsies

1 option-specific proof.

integrationReal WordPress runtime capture

The exact adapter integration writes posts_per_page and verifies adapter identity, schema, and classification.

tests/adapters-integration.php:L302

07 · Direct answers

Questions developers ask mid-incident.

What plugin writes posts_per_page?

WordPress Core is the tested owner in the ConfigOps WordPress 7.0–7.1 adapter contract. The assignment is verified, not inferred from the option prefix.

What is stored in the posts_per_page WordPress option?

Scalar option value. posts_per_page contains 1 mapped field in this adapter schema.

Can ConfigOps track and undo changes to posts_per_page?

ConfigOps can attribute and record supported Options API writes while active. Supported values can use adapter-aware, conflict-checked Undo when evidence is complete and the current value still matches. No. Smart Undo is only for ordinary associative options that no adapter claims. This option is adapter-owned.

Does WordPress keep a history of posts_per_page?

WordPress normally exposes the current option value, not a universal before-and-after history. ConfigOps must observe the original save to create local evidence; it cannot reconstruct older changes retroactively.

08 · Provenance

Why this page exists.

This record was generated from pinned ConfigOps source commit e319f502ff677bd76e53b7034650f9ee2afead72. The exact option name passed the publication allowlist; arbitrary searches do not.

Who writes posts_per_page?