


How do I get the number of arguments passed to a PHP function?
Jul 05, 2025 am 02:09 AMIn PHP, to get the number of parameters passed to the function, 1. You can use the func_num_args() function to directly obtain the number; 2. Combining func_get_args() to obtain the parameter value and quantity at the same time; 3. Modern PHP recommends using the...$arguments operator to handle it more clearly. These methods are suitable for different scenarios: func_num_args() is suitable for counting only, func_get_args() is suitable for situations where all parameter values ??need to be accessed, and...$arguments provides better readability and type safety, especially for PHP 5.6 and above.
In PHP, if you want to find out how many arguments were passed to a function, there's a straightforward way to do it using built-in functions designed for variable-length argument handling.

Using func_num_args()
The simplest and most direct method is to use the func_num_args()
function inside your function. This function returns the number of arguments that were passed when the function was called.

function exampleFunction() { echo "Number of arguments: " . func_num_args(); } exampleFunction(1, 2, 3); // Outputs: Number of arguments: 3
It works regardless of whether your function explicitly defines any parameters or not. Just keep in mind that this function should only be used inside a user-defined function.
Accessing the Arguments with func_get_args()
If you also need to access the actual values ??of the arguments (not just the count), you can pair func_num_args()
with func_get_args()
. The latter returns an array containing all the arguments passed to the function.

function exampleFunction() { $args = func_get_args(); echo "Number of arguments: " . count($args) . "\n"; foreach ($args as $index => $value) { echo "Argument " . ($index 1) . ": $value\n"; } } exampleFunction('apple', 42, true);
This will output:
Number of arguments: 3 Argument 1: apple Argument 2: 42 Argument 3: 1
You can use this combination when you're building flexible functions that handle different numbers of inputs.
Modern Approach with ...$arguments
(PHP 5.6)
Starting from PHP 5.6, you can use the splat operator ( ...
) to capture all arguments into an array directly. This is often cleaner and more readable than using func_get_args()
.
function exampleFunction(...$arguments) { echo "Number of arguments: " . count($arguments) . "\n"; foreach ($arguments as $index => $value) { echo "Argument " . ($index 1) . ": $value\n"; } } exampleFunction('apple', 42, true);
- You can still define some named parameters before the
...$arguments
. - It's generally preferred in modern code due to better readability and type safety.
For example:
function exampleFunction($name, ...$rest) { echo "Name: $name\n"; echo "Other arguments count: " . count($rest) . "\n"; }
So depending on your PHP version and needs:
- Use
func_num_args()
for quick checks. - Combine
func_get_args()
when you need both count and values. - Prefer
...$arguments
in modern PHP for clarity and flexibility.
Basically that's it.
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