structure-articles

rex_article

rex_article represents a single article (page) in the structure tree. Articles live inside categories and inherit from a category template unless they override it.

Each article exists once per language: rex_article::get($id, $clang) returns a different instance for each clang, but they share the structural metadata (parent, priority, name).

Fetching

// Current article (the one being rendered)
$article = rex_article::getCurrent();

// By ID (uses current clang)
$article = rex_article::get($id);

// By ID + specific language
$article = rex_article::get($id, $clangId);

// Special articles
$start    = rex_article::getSiteStartArticleId();    // home
$notFound = rex_article::getNotfoundArticleId();     // 404

Always check for null:

$article = rex_article::get($id);
if (!$article) {
    rex_logger::factory()->log('warning', "Article $id not found");
    return;
}

Common getters

$article->getId();             // int
$article->getName();           // article name (editor-facing)
$article->getCategoryId();     // parent category ID
$article->getStatus();         // 1 = online, 0 = offline
$article->getTemplateId();     // assigned template
$article->getCreateDate();     // unix timestamp
$article->getUpdateDate();     // unix timestamp
$article->getCreateUser();     // username string
$article->getUpdateUser();     // username string
$article->getValue('art_yrewrite_title'); // any meta field
$article->getUrl();            // resolves through yrewrite if installed
$article->getPath();           // category path string (e.g. "|2|7|")
$article->isOnline();          // true if status == 1
$article->isStartArticle();    // true if this is the category's start article
$article->isSiteStartArticle();// true if this is the homepage
$article->isNotFoundArticle(); // true for the 404 page

Listing articles in a category

$categoryId = 5;
$onlyOnline = true;
$articles = rex_article::getArticlesOfCategory($categoryId, $onlyOnline);

foreach ($articles as $article) {
    echo '<li><a href="' . $article->getUrl() . '">'
       . rex_escape($article->getName()) . '</a></li>';
}

To include offline articles (e.g. in admin tools), pass false. The result is already sorted by priority.

Listing across categories – use rex_sql

For more complex filters (date range, custom meta field, cross-category), drop down to SQL:

$sql = rex_sql::factory();
$sql->setQuery(
    'SELECT id FROM ' . rex::getTable('article') . '
     WHERE clang_id = :clang
       AND status = 1
       AND createdate >= :since
     ORDER BY createdate DESC
     LIMIT 10',
    ['clang' => rex_clang::getCurrentId(), 'since' => '2026-01-01']
);

$articles = [];
foreach ($sql as $row) {
    if ($a = rex_article::get((int) $row->getValue('id'))) {
        $articles[] = $a;
    }
}

Article in a different language

$article = rex_article::getCurrent();
$en = rex_article::get($article->getId(), 1);  // 1 = clang_id for English
if ($en && $en->isOnline()) {
    echo 'EN version: ' . $en->getUrl();
}

This is how language switchers know whether the current page even has a translation.

Programmatically creating / updating articles

Use rex_article_service, not direct SQL inserts. It handles path, priority, slug generation, and triggers ART_ADDED / ART_UPDATED extension points so other addons (yrewrite, search) get notified.

$data = [
    'name'         => 'New article',
    'category_id'  => 5,
    'priority'     => 1,
    'template_id'  => 1,
    'clang'        => rex_clang::getCurrentId(),
];

$articleId = rex_article_service::addArticle($data);

Editing:

rex_article_service::editArticle($articleId, rex_clang::getCurrentId(), [
    'name'        => 'Renamed',
    'template_id' => 2,
]);

Deleting (removes all language variants):

rex_article_service::deleteArticle($articleId);

Common pitfalls

• Caching a rex_article instance and using it after a different language's request – mix-up between clangs. Always re-fetch with the right clang.
• Iterating thousands of articles via rex_article::get() in a loop – each call does a lookup. For bulk reads, use SQL and rex_article::get() only for items you actually display.
• Modifying rex_article table directly via SQL – breaks the cache. Always go through rex_article_service.
• Forgetting that getValue('field') only returns metadata (from meta_info-managed columns), not slice content. Slice content is fetched via rex_article_content (see structure-content skill).