Introduction

Custom Post Types (CPTs) are a powerful WordPress feature that allows you to create different content types beyond the standard posts and pages. PureDevs Any Meta Inspector automatically works with all custom post types in your WordPress installation, displaying their metadata in the same convenient way.

Whether you’re using CPTs for portfolios, products, testimonials, or any custom content type created by plugins or themes, the inspector makes it easy to view and debug their metadata.

Understanding Custom Post Types

Custom Post Types extend WordPress beyond blog posts and pages. Common examples include:

  • WooCommerce: Products, Orders, Coupons
  • Portfolio Plugins: Portfolio items, Projects
  • Event Plugins: Events, Venues, Organizers
  • Real Estate: Properties, Listings
  • Testimonials: Client testimonials, Reviews
  • Custom Solutions: Any content type you or developers have created
Automatic Detection

PureDevs Any Meta Inspector automatically detects all registered custom post types and adds the metadata metabox to their edit screens. No configuration is required.

Accessing Custom Post Type Metadata

To inspect metadata for any custom post type:

  1. Navigate to your custom post type in the WordPress admin menu (e.g., Products, Portfolio, Events)
  2. Click on any item to edit it
  3. Scroll down on the edit screen
  4. Find the metadata metabox (usually labeled with the post type name + “Metadata”)
  5. All meta keys and unserialized values will be displayed

Example: WooCommerce Products

If you have WooCommerce installed:

  1. Go to Products → All Products
  2. Edit any product
  3. Look for the metadata metabox
  4. You’ll see product-specific metadata like pricing, SKU, stock status, and more

Common Custom Post Type Metadata

Different custom post types store different types of metadata. Here are some examples:

WooCommerce Products

  • _price – Product price
  • _regular_price – Regular price before discounts
  • _sale_price – Sale price if on sale
  • _sku – Stock Keeping Unit
  • _stock – Current stock quantity
  • _stock_status – In stock, out of stock status
  • _product_attributes – Product attributes (serialized array)

Event Management Plugins

  • Event start and end dates
  • Venue information
  • Ticket pricing and availability
  • Organizer details
  • RSVP settings

Portfolio/Project CPTs

  • Client name
  • Project completion date
  • Project URL
  • Gallery images (array of attachment IDs)
  • Technologies used

Real Estate Listings

  • Property price
  • Square footage
  • Number of bedrooms/bathrooms
  • Property address and coordinates
  • MLS listing number

Practical Use Cases

1. Debugging Plugin Functionality

When a plugin’s custom post type isn’t working as expected:

  • Verify the plugin is saving metadata correctly
  • Check if metadata keys match what the plugin documentation specifies
  • Identify missing or incorrect data
  • See exactly how complex data structures are being stored

2. Custom Development

When developing custom functionality for CPTs:

  • Test that your custom meta boxes are saving data correctly
  • Verify the data format matches your frontend code expectations
  • Debug serialization and array structures
  • Understand how third-party plugins store their data

3. Data Migration

When migrating between plugins or themes:

  • Identify all metadata fields that need to be migrated
  • Understand the data structure for mapping to new fields
  • Verify data integrity after migration
  • Plan data transformation strategies

4. Performance Optimization

Identify performance issues by:

  • Finding excessive or redundant metadata
  • Identifying large serialized arrays that could be optimized
  • Spotting metadata that could be moved to taxonomies

Working with Complex Metadata

Serialized Arrays

Many plugins store complex data as serialized arrays. PureDevs Any Meta Inspector automatically unserializes these for easy viewing:

  • Product variations and attributes
  • Repeater field data from custom field plugins
  • Gallery image collections
  • Multi-select option values

Nested Data Structures

The inspector handles nested arrays and objects, displaying them in a readable hierarchy so you can understand complex data relationships.

Pro Tip

When working with WooCommerce or other e-commerce plugins, inspecting product metadata is invaluable for debugging pricing issues, inventory problems, or attribute display errors.

Tips for Custom Post Types

Multiple Custom Post Types

If you have many custom post types, the inspector works independently on each:

  • Each CPT gets its own metadata metabox
  • Metadata is specific to each post type
  • No cross-contamination between different CPTs

Plugin-Generated vs. Custom Metadata

Differentiate between metadata sources:

  • Plugin metadata often uses prefixed keys (e.g., _wc_ for WooCommerce)
  • Custom fields usually have descriptive names
  • System metadata starts with underscore (_)

Hidden Metadata

WordPress hides some metadata by default (fields starting with underscore). PureDevs Any Meta Inspector shows all metadata, including hidden fields, giving you complete visibility.

Important

Always exercise caution when working with metadata. The inspector is read-only, but if you manually edit database values based on what you see, ensure you understand the data structure to avoid breaking functionality.

Troubleshooting

Metabox not appearing on custom post type

  • Check if the custom post type is publicly accessible
  • Verify the CPT is registered correctly
  • Check Screen Options to enable the metabox
  • Try deactivating and reactivating the plugin

Some custom post types show metadata, others don’t

  • This is normal – not all posts have metadata
  • CPTs with no custom fields will show empty or minimal metadata
  • Try viewing different items of that post type

Metadata appears garbled or incomplete

  • The data may be corrupted in the database
  • Check the source plugin or theme for issues
  • The inspector displays exactly what’s in the database