# Hide Unused Roles From Role Menus

> Removes roles you never use, such as Author or Contributor, from the role drop-downs when adding or editing users, so nobody picks them by mistake.

- Type: PHP
- Runs: Admin only
- Category: [Users](https://wpide.com/library/category/users/)
- Tags: roles, users, cleanup
- Author: WPIDE Team
- Installs: 0
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Page: https://wpide.com/library/hide-unused-roles-from-menus/

## Code

```php
// Roles to hide from the role menus.
$wpide_hidden_roles = array( 'author', 'contributor' );

add_filter( 'editable_roles', function ( $roles ) use ( $wpide_hidden_roles ) {
    // Keep the role of the user being edited, otherwise saving would change it.
    $editing = isset( $_GET['user_id'] ) ? get_userdata( absint( $_GET['user_id'] ) ) : null;
    $keep    = $editing ? (array) $editing->roles : array();

    foreach ( $wpide_hidden_roles as $role ) {
        if ( ! in_array( $role, $keep, true ) ) {
            unset( $roles[ $role ] );
        }
    }

    return $roles;
} );
```

## Notes

A user who already has a hidden role keeps seeing it on their own edit screen, so saving the profile never changes their role.

## How to use it

Install the free WPIDE plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpide/), find "Hide Unused Roles From Role Menus" in its snippet library and add it in one click; or create a new PHP snippet in WPIDE (or any code snippets plugin) and paste the code above. More snippets: https://wpide.com/library/