1. Get the comment depth by using global variables

I’m sure you know about wp_list_comments() function — it prints the comments on a website page.

Why this functions is cool?

  • First, this function runs a comment loop and sets global variable which contain the depth level of a current comment in the loop.
  • Second, wp_list_comments allows you to specify your own comment template by using callback parameter.
wp_list_comments('callback=my_custom_comment_template');

In my_custom_comment_template() global variables $comment_depth and $GLOBALS['comment_depth'] will be set.

2. Get the comment depth by comment ID

Okay, but how can I get a comment depth level, if global variable $comment_depth is unavailable? If everything we have is comment ID for example.

I think this simple function can help you with that:

function rudr_get_comment_depth( $my_comment_id ) {
	$depth_level = 0;
	while( $my_comment_id > 0  ) { // if you have ideas how we can do it without a loop, please, share it with us in comments
		$my_comment = get_comment( $my_comment_id );
		$my_comment_id = $my_comment->comment_parent;
		$depth_level++;
	}
	return $depth_level;
}

Then:

echo rudr_get_comment_depth( 784 ); // print the depth level of comment 784
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