Meta Keys Reference

Meta Keys Reference

Every custom post type in Tickets Please stores structured data in WordPress post meta. This reference lists every meta key, its expected type, default value, and usage notes.

Use get_post_meta( $post_id, $key, true ) to read any of these values. All meta values are stored as strings in the database — cast to the appropriate PHP type in your code.

Events (tribe_events)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_tribe_event_start_date	string	—	Format: Y-m-d H:i:s. Required.
_tribe_event_end_date	string	—	Format: Y-m-d H:i:s. Required.
_tribe_event_cost	string	''	Display cost string (e.g., “$25”, “Free”). Not used for calculations.
_tribe_event_website	string	''	External event URL.
_tribe_event_status	string	''	Event status: scheduled, cancelled, postponed, or empty for default.
_tribe_event_status_reason	string	''	Human-readable reason for status change (e.g., “Cancelled due to weather”).
_tribe_event_venue_id	string	''	Post ID of the linked tribe_venue. Stored as string, cast to int when reading.
_tribe_event_organizer_ids	string	''	Comma-separated post IDs of linked tribe_organizer posts. Use explode( ',', $value ) to get an array.
_tribe_event_all_day	string	''	'1' for all-day events, empty otherwise.
_tribe_event_hide_from_listings	string	''	'1' to hide from archive pages, empty to show. Event is still accessible by direct URL.
_tribe_event_sticky_in_month	string	''	'1' to pin the event to the top of its day cell in month view.
_tribe_event_featured	string	''	'1' for featured events, empty otherwise. Featured events may receive special styling.
_tribe_event_timezone	string	''	IANA timezone identifier (e.g., America/New_York). Used only in per-event timezone mode. Falls back to site timezone when empty.
_tribe_event_shared_capacity	string	''	Total shared capacity across all tickets for the event. Used when tickets share a capacity pool.

Venues (tribe_venue)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_tribe_venue_address	string	''	Street address.
_tribe_venue_city	string	''	City name.
_tribe_venue_state	string	''	State or province.
_tribe_venue_zip	string	''	Postal/ZIP code.
_tribe_venue_country	string	''	Country name.
_tribe_venue_phone	string	''	Contact phone number.
_tribe_venue_website	string	''	Venue website URL.
_tribe_venue_latitude	string	''	Decimal latitude. Set by geocoding or manual entry.
_tribe_venue_longitude	string	''	Decimal longitude. Set by geocoding or manual entry.
_tribe_venue_video_url	string	''	Video URL for virtual venue (e.g., Zoom link, YouTube stream).
_tribe_venue_show_map	string	'1'	'1' to show map embed on this venue, empty to hide.

Organizers (tribe_organizer)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_tribe_organizer_phone	string	''	Contact phone number.
_tribe_organizer_website	string	''	Organizer website URL.
_tribe_organizer_email	string	''	Contact email address.

Tickets (tec_tc_ticket)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_ticket_description	string	''	Ticket description displayed to buyers.
_ticket_start_sale_date	string	''	Format: Y-m-d H:i:s. Ticket sales open at this time. Empty means immediately available.
_ticket_end_sale_date	string	''	Format: Y-m-d H:i:s. Ticket sales close at this time. Empty means no end date.
_ticket_sku	string	''	Unique SKU identifier.
_ticket_type	string	'paid'	Ticket type: paid, rsvp, or free.
_tec_ticket_visibility	string	'public'	Visibility: public or admin_only. Admin-only tickets are not shown to front-end visitors.
_tec_ticket_access_token	string	''	Unique token for guest access to ticket details. Auto-generated.
_ticket_price	string	'0'	Base price as a decimal string (e.g., '25.00'). Cast to float for calculations.
_ticket_sale_price	string	''	Discounted sale price. When set and active, overrides _ticket_price for display.
_ticket_capacity	string	'-1'	Total ticket capacity. '-1' means unlimited. Cast to int for comparisons.
_ticket_event_id	string	''	Post ID of the parent tribe_events post.
_ticket_rsvp_max_per_submission	string	''	Max attendees per RSVP submission. Applies only to rsvp type tickets.
_ticket_show_description	string	'1'	'1' to display description on front end, empty to hide.
_ticket_rsvp_require_login	string	''	'1' to require login for RSVP, empty to allow guest RSVP.
_ticket_rsvp_guest_list	string	''	'1' to show the RSVP guest list publicly.
_ticket_rsvp_going_not_going	string	''	'1' to enable “Not Going” option alongside “Going” for RSVP.
_ticket_capacity_type	string	'individual'	Capacity type: individual (own capacity), shared (shares event capacity), unlimited.
_ticket_sell_up_to	string	''	Maximum number of this ticket to sell, independent of total capacity. Used for shared capacity scenarios.

Attendees (tec_tc_attendee)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_attendee_full_name	string	''	Attendee’s full name.
_attendee_email	string	''	Attendee’s email address.
_attendee_status	string	'pending'	Status: pending, confirmed, cancelled, refunded, checked_in.
_attendee_security_code	string	''	Unique alphanumeric code for check-in verification. Auto-generated.
_attendee_ticket_id	string	''	Post ID of the purchased tec_tc_ticket.
_attendee_event_id	string	''	Post ID of the parent tribe_events post.
_attendee_user_id	string	'0'	WordPress user ID of the attendee. '0' for guest attendees.
_attendee_checked_in	string	''	'1' when the attendee has been checked in, empty otherwise.
_attendee_checkin_time	string	''	Format: Y-m-d H:i:s. Timestamp of check-in. Empty if not checked in.

Orders (tec_tc_order)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_tec_order_total	string	'0'	Order total as decimal string (e.g., '75.00').
_tec_order_status	string	'pending'	Status: pending, completed, refunded, failed, cancelled.
_tec_order_gateway	string	''	Payment gateway identifier: stripe, paypal, woocommerce, free.
_tec_order_gateway_charge_id	string	''	Transaction/charge ID from the payment gateway.
_tec_order_buyer_email	string	''	Buyer’s email address.
_tec_order_buyer_name	string	''	Buyer’s full name.
_tec_order_attendee_ids	string	''	Comma-separated attendee post IDs associated with this order.
_tec_order_event_id	string	''	Post ID of the event (for single-event orders).
_tec_order_refund_amount	string	'0'	Total amount refunded on this order.
_tec_order_currency	string	'USD'	3-letter ISO 4217 currency code.

Refund Requests (tec_refund_request)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_refund_attendee_id	string	''	Post ID of the attendee requesting the refund.
_refund_event_id	string	''	Post ID of the event.
_refund_ticket_id	string	''	Post ID of the ticket type.
_refund_order_id	string	''	Post ID of the original order.
_refund_amount	string	'0'	Requested refund amount.
_refund_reason	string	''	Buyer-submitted reason for the refund request.
_refund_status	string	'pending'	Status: pending, approved, denied, processed.
_refund_admin_notes	string	''	Admin notes on the refund decision.
_refund_buyer_email	string	''	Buyer’s email for refund communication.
_refund_buyer_name	string	''	Buyer’s full name.

Series (tec_tc_series)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_tribe_series_pattern_type	string	''	Recurrence pattern: daily, weekly, monthly, custom.
_tribe_series_pattern_interval	string	'1'	Interval between occurrences (e.g., every 2 weeks).
_tribe_series_pattern_days	string	''	Comma-separated day numbers (0=Sun, 6=Sat) for weekly patterns.
_tribe_series_start_date	string	''	Format: Y-m-d. Series start date.
_tribe_series_end_date	string	''	Format: Y-m-d. Series end date. Empty for indefinite.
_tribe_series_count	string	''	Number of occurrences. Alternative to end date.

Event Categories (tec_event_category)

Meta Key	Type	Default	Notes
_category_color	string	''	Hex color code (e.g., #3366cc). Used for category badges and month view highlighting. Stored as term meta, not post meta. Access with get_term_meta( $term_id, '_category_color', true ).

Common Questions

Why are all values stored as strings? WordPress post_meta stores everything as longtext in the database. Always cast to the appropriate type in PHP: (int) for IDs and capacities, (float) for prices, (bool) for checkbox values.

Can I add custom meta keys to these post types? Yes. Use standard update_post_meta() and get_post_meta() with your own keys. Prefix custom keys with your project namespace to avoid conflicts (e.g., _myprefix_special_field).

Why do some keys use _tribe_ prefix and others use _ticket_ or _tec_? Historical naming conventions. Event, venue, and organizer meta uses _tribe_ prefixes for compatibility. Ticket and attendee meta uses _ticket_ and _attendee_ prefixes. Order meta uses _tec_ prefix. The specific prefix for each key is documented above — always use the exact key shown.

How do I query events by meta value? Use WP_Query with meta_query:

$events = new WP_Query( array(
    'post_type'  => 'tribe_events',
    'meta_query' => array(
        array(
            'key'     => '_tribe_event_featured',
            'value'   => '1',
            'compare' => '=',
        ),
    ),
) );

Are meta keys registered with register_meta()? Yes. Tickets Please registers meta keys for its post types, which enables them in the REST API and provides type declarations for the block editor.

What happens to meta data when I delete an event? WordPress automatically deletes all post meta associated with a post when the post is permanently deleted (not just trashed).

Next Steps

• Hooks Reference — Use hooks to react when meta values change.
• REST API Reference — Meta values are included in API responses.
• Import & Export — CSV columns map to these meta keys during import.