Navigation menu add sticky and latest posts as menu items

Adds sticky and latest posts as menu items to a navigation menu by title and a parent menu item by title.

add_filter( 'wp_get_nav_menu_items', function( $items, $menu ) {

	// Settings
	$menu_name = 'MENU NAME HERE';
	$parent_title = 'PARENT MENU ITEM TITLE HERE';

	// Select Menu
	if( $menu->name != $menu_name ) {
		return $items;
	}

	// Loop Menu Items
	$menu_children = [];
	$menu_order = 0;
	foreach( $items as $i => $item ) {

		// Match Parent Item
		if( $item->post_title != $parent_title ) {
			if( $menu_order ) {
				$item->menu_order = ++ $menu_order;
			}
			continue;
		}
		$menu_order = $item->menu_order;

		// Query Sticky Posts
		$args = [
			'posts_per_page' => 10,
			'orderby' => 'date',
			'order' => 'DESC',
			'include' => implode( ',', get_option( 'sticky_posts' ) )
		];
		$posts = get_posts( $args );

		// Query Latest Posts
		$args = [
			'posts_per_page' => 10,
			'orderby' => 'date',
			'order' => 'DESC',
			'exclude' => implode( ',', get_option( 'sticky_posts' ) )
		];
		$posts = array_merge( $posts, get_posts( $args ) );

		// Pad To Ten
		$posts = array_slice( $posts, 0, 10 );

		// Loop Posts To Add
		foreach( $posts as $post ) {
			$post->menu_item_parent = $item->ID;
			$post->post_type = 'nav_menu_item';
			$post->object = 'custom';
			$post->type = 'custom';
			$post->menu_order = ++ $menu_order;
			$post->title = $post->post_title;
			$post->url = get_permalink( $post->ID );
			$post->target = '';
			$post->attr_title = '';
			$post->description = '';
			$post->classes = [];
			$post->xfn = '';
			$menu_children[] = $post;
		}
	}

	// Return New Menu
	return array_merge( $items, $menu_children );

}, 10, 2 );

Instructions for Navigation menu add sticky and latest posts as menu items

  1. Log into a staging or locally hosted clone of your site.
  2. Install and activate Code Snippets plugin.
  3. WP Admin > Snippets > Add New
  4. Copy and paste the code from the section above.
  5. Check to ensure formatting came over properly.
  6. Customize the code as desired.
  7. Add a meaningful title.
  8. Select whether to run on front-end or back-end (or both).
  9. Click “Save and Activate”.
  10. Test your site to ensure it works.
  11. Disable if any problems, or recover.
  12. Repeat for live environment.

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License

All code snippets are licensed GPLv2 (or later) matching WordPress licensing.

Except when otherwise stated in writing the copyright holders and/or other parties provide the program as-is without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

Disclaimer of warranty