WP_Widget Class Generator

<?php
/**
 * The "Recent Items" widget.
 */

defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;

/**
 * A classic widget. Since WordPress 5.8 it also appears in the block widget
 * screen through the legacy widget block, so it keeps working either way.
 */
class My_Plugin_Recent_Widget extends WP_Widget {

	/**
	 * Registers the widget with its ID base, name and description.
	 */
	public function __construct() {
		parent::__construct(
			'my_plugin_recent',
			__( 'Recent Items', 'my-plugin' ),
			array(
				'description' => __( 'A short list of the most recent items.', 'my-plugin' ),
				'classname'   => 'my_plugin_recent',
			)
		);
	}

	/**
	 * The defaults, used before the widget has been saved once.
	 *
	 * @return array
	 */
	protected function defaults() {
		return array(
			'title' => 'Recent Items',
			'count' => '5',
		);
	}

	/**
	 * The form in the widgets screen.
	 *
	 * @param array $instance Saved settings.
	 */
	public function form( $instance ) {
		$instance = wp_parse_args( (array) $instance, $this->defaults() );

		printf(
			'<p><label for="%1$s">%2$s</label>',
			esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'title' ) ),
			esc_html__( 'Title', 'my-plugin' )
		);
		printf(
			'<input class="widefat" type="text" id="%1$s" name="%2$s" value="%3$s" /></p>',
			esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'title' ) ),
			esc_attr( $this->get_field_name( 'title' ) ),
			esc_attr( $instance['title'] )
		);

		printf(
			'<p><label for="%1$s">%2$s</label>',
			esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'count' ) ),
			esc_html__( 'How many', 'my-plugin' )
		);
		printf(
			'<input class="tiny-text" type="number" step="1" min="0" id="%1$s" name="%2$s" value="%3$s" /></p>',
			esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'count' ) ),
			esc_attr( $this->get_field_name( 'count' ) ),
			esc_attr( $instance['count'] )
		);
	}

	/**
	 * Cleans the submitted settings.
	 *
	 * Starting from the defaults means a key you never declared cannot be
	 * saved, whatever the form posts.
	 *
	 * @param array $new_instance Submitted values.
	 * @param array $old_instance Previously saved values.
	 * @return array
	 */
	public function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) {
		$instance = $this->defaults();

		$instance['title'] = isset( $new_instance['title'] )
			? sanitize_text_field( $new_instance['title'] )
			: '';

		$instance['count'] = isset( $new_instance['count'] )
			? (string) absint( $new_instance['count'] )
			: '';

		return $instance;
	}

	/**
	 * Renders the widget on the front end.
	 *
	 * @param array $args     Sidebar markup from register_sidebar().
	 * @param array $instance Saved settings.
	 */
	public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
		$instance = wp_parse_args( (array) $instance, $this->defaults() );

		echo wp_kses_post( $args['before_widget'] );

		$title = apply_filters( 'widget_title', $instance['title'], $instance, $this->id_base );

		if ( $title ) {
			echo wp_kses_post( $args['before_title'] ) . esc_html( $title ) . wp_kses_post( $args['after_title'] );
		}

		$items = get_posts(
			array(
				'post_type'      => 'post',
				'posts_per_page' => absint( $instance['count'] ),
				'post_status'    => 'publish',
				'no_found_rows'  => true,
			)
		);

		if ( $items ) {
			echo '<ul>';

			foreach ( $items as $item ) {
				printf(
					'<li><a href="%1$s">%2$s</a></li>',
					esc_url( get_permalink( $item ) ),
					esc_html( get_the_title( $item ) )
				);
			}

			echo '</ul>';
		} else {
			echo '<p>' . esc_html__( 'Nothing to show yet.', 'my-plugin' ) . '</p>';
		}

		echo wp_kses_post( $args['after_widget'] );
	}
}

/**
 * Registers the widget.
 */
function my_plugin_register_widget() {
	register_widget( 'My_Plugin_Recent_Widget' );
}
add_action( 'widgets_init', 'my_plugin_register_widget' );