Why does wpcf7_mail_sent not detect logged-in user context in WordPress?

The wpcf7_mail_sent hook in Contact Form 7 fires after the email has been successfully sent. The reason it might not reliably detect the logged-in user context is primarily due to how Contact Form 7 handles form submissions:

• AJAX Submissions: Contact Form 7 typically uses AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) for form submissions. When an AJAX request is made, the WordPress environment is loaded in a more limited context compared to a full page load. While the user is logged in, the full authentication and session handling might not be as robustly initialized for that specific AJAX endpoint, especially if the AJAX call is handled by a script that doesn’t fully bootstrap the WordPress environment for user authentication.
• Timing of the Hook: By the time wpcf7_mail_sent fires, the primary action (sending the email) has completed. If there were any issues with session handling or user context during the initial AJAX request processing, those might propagate to this hook.

How to get user context if you need it within wpcf7_mail_sent:

Use wp_get_current_user() or is_user_logged_in(): These functions should generally work, even in AJAX contexts, provided the WordPress environment has been sufficiently loaded to recognize the user’s session. If they are not working, it might indicate a more fundamental issue with how the AJAX request is being processed on your specific setup (e.g., a plugin conflict or a custom AJAX handler that bypasses standard WordPress loading).

Pass User Data as Hidden Fields: A more reliable method, if you absolutely need user data at the point of email sending, is to capture the user’s ID or other relevant information before the form is submitted (e.g., when the page loads) and insert it into a hidden field in the Contact Form 7 form.

You can use a snippet like this in your functions.php or a custom plugin to pre-fill a hidden field:

add_filter( 'wpcf7_form_tag_data_option', function( $data, $options, $args ) {
    if ( in_array( 'current_user_id', $options ) && is_user_logged_in() ) {
        $current_user = wp_get_current_user();
        return $current_user->ID;
    }
    return $data;
}, 10, 3 );

Then, in your Contact Form 7 form, add a hidden field like this:

[hidden user-id default:current_user_id]

Now, the user-id field will contain the logged-in user’s ID, which you can access within your wpcf7_mail_sent hook using $contact_form->posted_data[‘user-id’].

In summary, while wp_get_current_user() should ideally work, the AJAX nature of CF7 submissions and the specific timing of the wpcf7_mail_sent hook can sometimes lead to inconsistent user context detection. Passing data via hidden fields is a robust workaround.