Meta Boxes

Meta boxes are declared on the post model and implemented as controllers. register() wires everything — rendering, nonce, capability checks and saving — automatically.

The controller

In the common case only on_action() (render) is needed — the inherited on_save() already loads request data into the model, validates it and saves, showing validation errors as an admin notice after the redirect:

use wpmvc\base\View;
use wpmvc\web\Meta_Box_Controller;

class Event_Options_Controller extends Meta_Box_Controller {

    public function on_action( $model ) {
        echo View::render( 'views/events/options', array(
            'model' => $model,
        ) );
    }

}

Override on_save( $model ) only when custom persistence logic is needed.

Declaring on the model

class Event extends \wpmvc\models\Post_Model {

    public $post_type = 'event';

    protected function meta_boxes() : array {
        return array(
            array( Event_Options_Controller::class, __( 'Options' ) ),
        );
    }

}

Each meta_boxes() item is array( Controller_Class::class, $title, $args ) — title and args are optional. When the title is omitted it is derived from the controller class name (Event_Options_Controller → “Event Options”).

With add_action( 'init', array( Event::class, 'register' ) ) in place, the post type and its meta boxes are fully wired.

Dynamic registration

For dynamic cases, meta boxes can still be added from the model's init():

$this->add_meta_box( $controller, $title, $args );

How saving works

Meta box IDs are deterministic (derived from the controller class name). The save handler runs on wp_after_insert_post because Post_Model::save() suppresses that hook — preventing recursion when the handler itself saves the model. Validation errors are stashed and shown as an admin notice after the post-save redirect.

The view

Meta box views typically use the Form helper so field names line up with $model->load():

<?php
/** @var \theme\models\Event $model */

echo \wpmvc\helpers\Form::field( $model, 'event_location' )->input_text();
echo \wpmvc\helpers\Form::field( $model, 'event_notes' )->textarea();