Add Last Login Column

Property	Value
description	Add a "Last login" column to the Users list table.
tags	lib, php, wp, oop
rating

Human: 3 - Mixed authorship

Roughly half AI, half human. Core content reviewed, but minor risk remains.

Overview

Track the timestamp of each user login and show it in the WordPress Users admin table.

The snippet stores the timestamp in user meta under mac_core_last_login, adds a "Last login" column, renders it with the site's WordPress date/time settings, and makes the column sortable.

Users without a stored timestamp display — until their first login after the snippet is installed.

Variants

Procedural

Add Macro

Add wp-add-last-login-column macro.

<?php
/**
 * Add a "Last login" column to the Users admin table.
 */

/**
 * Store last login timestamp.
 */
if ( ! function_exists( 'mac_store_last_login' ) ) {

    function mac_store_last_login( string $user_login, WP_User $user ): void {
        update_user_meta(
            $user->ID,
            'mac_core_last_login',
            (string) current_time( 'timestamp' )
        );
    }
}

add_action( 'wp_login', 'mac_store_last_login', 10, 2 );

/**
 * Add column.
 */
if ( ! function_exists( 'mac_add_last_login_column' ) ) {

    function mac_add_last_login_column( array $columns ): array {
        $columns['mac_core_last_login'] = 'Last login';
        return $columns;
    }
}

add_filter( 'manage_users_columns', 'mac_add_last_login_column' );

/**
 * Render column content.
 */
if ( ! function_exists( 'mac_render_last_login_column' ) ) {

    function mac_render_last_login_column( string $output, string $column_name, int $user_id ): string {

        if ( $column_name !== 'mac_core_last_login' ) {
            return $output;
        }

        $raw = get_user_meta( $user_id, 'mac_core_last_login', true );

        if ( ! is_numeric( $raw ) ) {
            return '—';
        }

        return esc_html(
            date_i18n(
                get_option( 'date_format' ) . ' ' . get_option( 'time_format' ),
                (int) $raw
            )
        );
    }
}

add_filter( 'manage_users_custom_column', 'mac_render_last_login_column', 10, 3 );

/**
 * Make column sortable.
 */
if ( ! function_exists( 'mac_sortable_last_login_column' ) ) {

    function mac_sortable_last_login_column( array $columns ): array {
        $columns['mac_core_last_login'] = 'mac_core_last_login';
        return $columns;
    }
}

add_filter( 'manage_users_sortable_columns', 'mac_sortable_last_login_column' );

/**
 * Handle sorting logic.
 */
if ( ! function_exists( 'mac_handle_last_login_sorting' ) ) {

    function mac_handle_last_login_sorting( WP_User_Query $query ): void {

        if ( ! is_admin() ) {
            return;
        }

        if ( $query->get( 'orderby' ) !== 'mac_core_last_login' ) {
            return;
        }

        $query->set( 'meta_key', 'mac_core_last_login' );
        $query->set( 'orderby', 'meta_value_num' );

        $order = strtoupper( (string) $query->get( 'order' ) );

        if ( $order !== 'ASC' && $order !== 'DESC' ) {
            $query->set( 'order', 'DESC' );
        }
    }
}

add_action( 'pre_get_users', 'mac_handle_last_login_sorting' );

OOP

Add Macro

Add wp-add-last-login-column--oop macro.

<?php
/**
 * Add a "Last login" column to the Users list table.
 *
 * @package mac-core
 */

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MacCore\Services\Core;

use MacCore\Contracts\Service;
use WP_User_Query;

final class AddLastLoginColumn implements Service
{
    private const META_KEY = 'mac_core_last_login';

    public function register(): void
    {
        // Store last login timestamp.
        \add_action(
            'wp_login',
            [$this, 'store_last_login'],
            10,
            2
        );

        // Add column.
        \add_filter(
            'manage_users_columns',
            [$this, 'add_column']
        );

        // Render column.
        \add_filter(
            'manage_users_custom_column',
            [$this, 'render_column'],
            10,
            3
        );

        // Make sortable.
        \add_filter(
            'manage_users_sortable_columns',
            [$this, 'make_sortable']
        );

        // Handle sorting.
        \add_action(
            'pre_get_users',
            [$this, 'handle_sorting']
        );
    }

    public function store_last_login( string $user_login, \WP_User $user ): void
    {
        \update_user_meta(
            $user->ID,
            self::META_KEY,
            (string) \current_time( 'timestamp' )
        );
    }

    public function add_column( array $columns ): array
    {
        $columns[self::META_KEY] = 'Last login';
        return $columns;
    }

    public function render_column( string $output, string $column_name, int $user_id ): string
    {
        if ( $column_name !== self::META_KEY ) {
            return $output;
        }

        $raw = \get_user_meta( $user_id, self::META_KEY, true );

        if ( ! \is_numeric( $raw ) ) {
            return '—';
        }

        return \esc_html(
            \date_i18n(
                \get_option( 'date_format' ) . ' ' . \get_option( 'time_format' ),
                (int) $raw
            )
        );
    }

    public function make_sortable( array $columns ): array
    {
        $columns[self::META_KEY] = self::META_KEY;
        return $columns;
    }

    public function handle_sorting( WP_User_Query $query ): void
    {
        if ( ! \is_admin() ) {
            return;
        }

        if ( $query->get( 'orderby' ) !== self::META_KEY ) {
            return;
        }

        $query->set( 'meta_key', self::META_KEY );
        $query->set( 'orderby', 'meta_value_num' );

        $order = \strtoupper( (string) $query->get( 'order' ) );
        if ( $order !== 'ASC' && $order !== 'DESC' ) {
            $query->set( 'order', 'DESC' );
        }
    }
}