WooCommerce Memberships: access and discounts

Use this when an integration needs to decide whether a user can access content/products, alter restriction behavior, adjust drip-content timing, grant access from products, or work with member prices. This is where generic WooCommerce or WordPress assumptions most often produce subtle bugs.

Misconception this skill corrects

"Membership access is a simple active-status check, and member discounts are just a product price filter."

Memberships combines plan rules, user membership status, access start time, delayed/dripped access, product/category restrictions, purchase restrictions, product grants, and price-adjustment filters. Use the public capability/discount APIs and the Memberships filters at the rule layer.

When to use this skill

Trigger when ANY of the following is true:

• The user asks "can this member view/buy/access", "hide protected product", "drip content", "scheduled access", "member discount", "membership price", "grant access product", or "original price before discount".
• Code contains wc_memberships_user_can(), wc_memberships_is_post_content_restricted(), wc_memberships_is_product_viewing_restricted(), wc_memberships_access_from_time, wc_memberships_user_object_access_start_time, wc_memberships_user_has_member_discount(), wc_memberships_get_member_product_discount(), or wc_memberships_get_discounted_price.
• You are writing WooCommerce price filters in a store that uses Memberships.

Access checks

Prefer wc_memberships_user_can() for final "can this user do this" decisions:

if ( wc_memberships_user_can( $user_id, 'view', array( 'post' => $post_id ) ) ) {
    myplugin_show_content();
}

if ( wc_memberships_user_can( $user_id, 'purchase', array( 'product' => $product_id ) ) ) {
    myplugin_allow_purchase();
}

Useful public helpers:

Need	API	Notes
Post content restricted?	wc_memberships_is_post_content_restricted( $post_id )	Tells whether Memberships restricts the object, not whether a specific user has access.
Term restricted?	wc_memberships_is_term_restricted( $term_id, $taxonomy )	Useful for category archives/custom taxonomies.
Product viewing restricted?	wc_memberships_is_product_viewing_restricted( $product_id )	Product-level viewing rules.
Product purchasing restricted?	wc_memberships_is_product_purchasing_restricted( $product_id )	Use if available in installed version for purchase-only rules.
User active member?	wc_memberships_is_user_active_member( $user_id, $plan )	Membership status check, not rule/object access.
User active or delayed member?	wc_memberships_is_user_active_or_delayed_member( $user_id, $plan )	Useful for drip UX where membership exists but access is not yet open.

Do not replace wc_memberships_user_can() with a raw membership status check when the target object matters.

Restriction and drip hooks

Need	Hook	Type	Args	Use
Change rule access start timestamp	wc_memberships_access_from_time	filter	int $from_time, WC_Memberships_Membership_Plan_Rule $rule, WC_Memberships_User_Membership $membership	Main drip-content timing extension point. Return a Unix timestamp.
Override object access start time	wc_memberships_user_object_access_start_time	filter	int $access_time, array $args	Override calculated access start time for a target object/rule args.
Force content public	wc_memberships_is_post_public	filter	bool $public, int $post_id, string $post_type	Bypass restrictions for selected content.
Public-content cache TTL	wc_memberships_public_content_cache_expiration	filter	int $expiration	Adjust cache lifetime for public-content lookups.
Products granting access	wc_memberships_products_that_grant_access	filter	array $product_ids, int $object_id, string $rule_type, array $args, array $unfiltered	Change product IDs shown as granting access to protected objects.
Products granting access to term query args	wc_membership_get_products_that_grant_access_to_term_args	filter	array $args	Note singular wc_membership. Adjust lookup query.
Feed restriction	wc_memberships_is_feed_restricted	filter	bool $restricted	Control restricted feed output.
Restrictable comment types	wc_memberships_restrictable_comment_types	filter	string[] $types	Include/exclude comment types from restriction behavior.
Rule object IDs	wc_memberships_rule_object_ids	filter	array $ids, WC_Memberships_Membership_Plan_Rule $rule	Adjust objects a rule applies to.
Rule priority	wc_memberships_rule_priority	filter	int $priority, $rule	Resolve conflicts between rules.
Rule access time	wc_memberships_rule_access_start_time	filter	int $access_time, int $from_time, WC_Memberships_Membership_Plan_Rule $rule	Lower-level rule access timing.

There is not a single universal wc_memberships_user_can result filter to "just allow access". Change the rule inputs, public-content decision, access start time, or membership status intentionally.

For editor/admin automation that reads or updates per-post content restriction rows, use wcm-abilities-api: Memberships 1.29.0 exposes post-restriction-rules-get and post-restriction-rules-update abilities plus /wc-memberships/v1/post-restriction-rules/{id} routes. Those are rule-configuration APIs; wc_memberships_user_can() remains the final runtime access decision for frontend rendering, REST output, AJAX fragments, and headless responses.

Boot-time safety

Do not call Memberships restriction APIs at file load or very early WordPress bootstrap just to decide whether to register your own plugin components. Memberships has hardened "translations loaded too early" paths during WP-Cron and WP-CLI; avoid reintroducing that pattern from integrations.

Safe timing:

• Register hooks/classes with a file-scope active check such as class_exists( 'WC_Memberships_Loader' ).
• Perform actual access checks inside request-time callbacks, REST/AJAX handlers, template rendering, WooCommerce price filters, or after normal WordPress initialization.
• Do not instantiate SkyVerge\WooCommerce\Memberships\Restrictions or read restriction mode only to decide whether your plugin should load.

Product grants

Need	Hook/API	Type	Use
Product in order grants plan access	wc_memberships_access_granting_purchased_product_id	filter	Choose parent/variation or multiple product IDs used for the grant.
Access granted from purchase	wc_memberships_grant_membership_access_from_purchase	action	React after purchase grants membership. Args include order/product/user/membership context.
Order grant metadata	wc_memberships_get_order_access_granted_memberships(), wc_memberships_has_order_granted_access(), wc_memberships_set_order_access_granted_membership()	API	Read or mark which memberships an order granted.
Force account at checkout	wc_memberships_force_checkout_registration	filter	Ensure a guest can become a user before access is granted.

When a variable product grants access, check whether the plan expects the parent product, variation, or both. The grant filter is also used by checkout registration logic, so return IDs that really grant the selected plan.

Member discount APIs

Need	API	Notes
Product has any member discount	wc_memberships_product_has_member_discount( $product )	Product-level rule availability.
User has discount for product	wc_memberships_user_has_member_discount( $product, $member )	Use for current-user eligibility. $member can be user/membership context.
Get discount amount/rule	wc_memberships_get_member_product_discount( $membership, $product, $formatted = false )	For display or external sync.
Badge HTML	wc_memberships_get_member_discount_badge( $product, $variation = false )	Use rather than recreating badge markup.

Member discount hooks

Need	Hook	Type	Args	Use
Stack discounts	wc_memberships_allow_cumulative_member_discounts	filter	bool $allow, int $user_id, WC_Product $product	Allow several plans/rules to cumulate.
User discount eligibility	wc_memberships_is_user_eligible_for_member_discounts	filter	bool $eligible, int $user_id	Global user-level discount gate.
Exclude product	wc_memberships_exclude_product_from_member_discounts	filter	bool $excluded, WC_Product $product	Product-level exclusion.
Discounted price	wc_memberships_get_discounted_price	filter	$price, $base_price, int $product_id, int $user_id, WC_Product $product	Final price extension point. Return numeric price-like value.
Rounding precision	wc_memberships_discount_rounding_precision	filter	int $precision	Match store/accounting needs.
Price filter priority	wc_memberships_price_adjustments_filter_priority	filter	int $priority	Coordinate with other dynamic pricing plugins.
Product discount rules for user	wc_memberships_product_purchasing_discount_rules_for_user	filter	array $rules, WP_User $user, WC_Product $product	Add/remove discount rules before price calculation.
Use discount format	wc_memberships_member_prices_use_discount_format	filter	bool $use_discount_format	Control sale/strike-through style.
Price HTML	wc_memberships_get_price_html, wc_memberships_get_discounted_price_html, wc_memberships_get_price_html_before_discount, wc_memberships_get_price_html_after_discount	filter	Customize displayed price HTML.
Sale price display	wc_memberships_member_prices_display_sale_price	filter	bool $display_sale_price	Control how sale price and member price interact.
Product sale state while discounted	wc_memberships_product_is_on_sale_before_discount_excluded_filters	filter	array $filters	Coordinate sale checks with price filters.
Badge HTML	wc_memberships_member_discount_badge, wc_memberships_variation_member_discount_badge	filter	Customize badge text/markup.

Price adjustment recursion safety

Memberships adjusts WooCommerce product prices through filters. If your code needs the original WooCommerce price while Memberships discounts are active, disable Memberships adjustments only around that read and re-enable them immediately.

do_action( 'wc_memberships_discounts_disable_price_adjustments' );

$product = wc_get_product( $product_id );
$regular_price = $product ? $product->get_regular_price() : null;

do_action( 'wc_memberships_discounts_enable_price_adjustments' );

For price HTML only:

do_action( 'wc_memberships_discounts_disable_price_html_adjustments' );
$html = $product->get_price_html();
do_action( 'wc_memberships_discounts_enable_price_html_adjustments' );

Do not leave adjustments disabled across template rendering, cart calculation, REST responses, or async callbacks.

Common mistakes

// WRONG: active membership is not the same as access to this protected object.
if ( wc_memberships_is_user_active_member( $user_id, $plan_id ) ) {
    echo get_post_field( 'post_content', $post_id );
}

// RIGHT: ask Memberships for access to the target object.
if ( wc_memberships_user_can( $user_id, 'view', array( 'post' => $post_id ) ) ) {
    echo apply_filters( 'the_content', get_post_field( 'post_content', $post_id ) );
}

// WRONG: custom price filter can double-discount or recurse through Memberships.
add_filter( 'woocommerce_product_get_price', function ( $price, $product ) {
    return wc_memberships_get_member_product_discount( get_current_user_id(), $product );
}, 10, 2 );

// RIGHT: use Memberships discount filters or APIs at their intended layer.
add_filter( 'wc_memberships_get_discounted_price', function ( $price, $base_price, $product_id, $user_id, $product ) {
    if ( myplugin_should_cap_member_price( $product_id, $user_id ) ) {
        return min( $price, 99 );
    }

    return $price;
}, 10, 5 );

// WRONG: drip access by comparing post dates or membership start meta yourself.
$can_view = strtotime( get_post_meta( $membership_id, '_start_date', true ) ) < time();

// RIGHT: alter access start time or call the final access API.
add_filter( 'wc_memberships_access_from_time', function ( $from_time, $rule, $membership ) {
    if ( myplugin_rule_uses_external_unlock( $rule ) ) {
        return myplugin_get_unlock_timestamp( $membership->get_user_id(), $rule );
    }

    return $from_time;
}, 10, 3 );

Cross-references

• Use wcm-membership-hooks for creation, status transitions, profile fields, REST/webhooks, members area, CSV, admin, and Subscriptions-linked membership hooks.
• Use wcm-data-model-subscriptions-link when previous-purchase grant logic touches order storage; HPOS means raw shop_order post queries are unsafe.
• Use wc-variations-pricing-filters when combining Memberships discounts with custom variation price logic and cached variation price hashes.

References

• Verified source paths:
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/class-wc-memberships-capabilities.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/Restrictions.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/Restrictions/Posts.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/Restrictions/Products.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/class-wc-memberships-member-discounts.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/functions/wc-memberships-functions-restrictions.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/functions/wc-memberships-functions-member-discounts.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce-memberships/src/Posts/Abilities/