October 19, 2016

WordPress REST API (Version 2) Plugin

Access your site's data through an easy-to-use HTTP REST API. (Version 2)

WordPress is moving towards becoming a fully-fledged application framework, and we need new APIs. This project was born to create an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand and well-tested framework for creating these APIs, plus creating APIs for core.

This plugin provides an easy to use REST API, available via HTTP. Grab your site’s data in simple JSON format, including users, posts, taxonomies and more. Retrieving or updating data is as simple as sending a HTTP request.

Want to get your site’s posts? Simply send a GET request to /wp-json/wp/v2/posts. Update user with ID 4? Send a PUT request to /wp-json/wp/v2/users/4. Get all posts with the search term “awesome”? GET /wp-json/wp/v2/posts?filter[s]=awesome. It’s that easy.

The WordPress REST API exposes a simple yet easy interface to WP Query, the posts API, post meta API, users API, revisions API and many more. Chances are, if you can do it with WordPress, the API will let you do it.

The REST API also includes an easy-to-use JavaScript API based on Backbone models, allowing plugin and theme developers to get up and running without needing to know anything about the details of getting connected.

Check out our documentation for information on what’s available in the API and how to use it. We’ve also got documentation on extending the API with extra data for plugin and theme developers!

All tickets for the project are being tracked on GitHub. You can also take a look at the recent updates for the project.

Installation

Install the WP REST API via the plugin directory, or by uploading the files manually to your server.

For full-flavoured API support, you’ll need to be using pretty permalinks to use the plugin, as it uses custom rewrite rules to power the API.

Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, check out the documentation for details on your newly available endpoints.

FAQ

Installation Instructions

Install the WP REST API via the plugin directory, or by uploading the files manually to your server.

For full-flavoured API support, you’ll need to be using pretty permalinks to use the plugin, as it uses custom rewrite rules to power the API.

Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, check out the documentation for details on your newly available endpoints.

Changelog

2.0 Beta 15.0 (October 07, 2016)

Introduce support for Post Meta, Term Meta, User Meta, and Comment Meta in
their parent endpoints.
For your meta fields to be exposed in the REST API, you need to register
them. WordPress includes a register_meta() function which is not usually
required to get/set fields, but is required for API support.
To register your field, simply call register_meta and set the show_in_rest
flag to true. Note: register_meta must be called separately for each meta
key.
(props @rmccue, @danielbachhuber, @kjbenk, @duncanjbrown, #2765)
Introduce Settings endpoint.
Expose options to the REST API with the register_setting() function, by
passing $args = array( 'show_in_rest' => true ). Note: WordPress 4.7 is
required. See changeset [38635][https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/38635].
(props @joehoyle, @fjarrett, @danielbachhuber, @jonathanbardo,
@greatislander, #2739)
Attachments controller, change permissions check to match core.
Check for the upload_files capability when creating an attachment.
(props @nullvariable, @adamsilverstein, #2743)
Add ?{taxonomy}_exclude= query parameter
This mirrors our existing support for ?{taxonomy}= filtering in the posts
controller (which allows querying for only records with are associated with
any of the provided term IDs for the specified taxonomy) by adding an
equivalent _exclude variant to list IDs of terms for which associated posts
should NOT be returned.
(props @kadamwhite, #2756)
Use get_comment_type() when comparing updating comment status.
Comments having a empty comment_type within WordPress bites us again.
Fixes a bug where comments could not be updated because of bad comparison
logic.
(props @joehoyle, #2753)

2.0 Beta 13.0 (March 29, 2016)

BREAKING CHANGE: Fix Content-Disposition header parsing.
Allows regular form submissions from HTML forms, as well as properly formatted HTTP requests from clients. Note: this breaks backwards compatibility, as previously, the header parsing was completely wrong.
(props @rmccue, #2239)
BREAKING CHANGE: Use compact links for embedded responses if they are available.
Introduces curies for sites running WordPress 4.5 or greater; no changes for those running WordPress 4.4.
(props @joehoyle, #2412)
JavaScript client updates:
- Support lodash, plus older and newer underscore: add an alias for _.contains
- Add args and options on the model/collection prototypes
- Rework category/tag mixins to support new API structure
- Add workaround for the null/empty values returned by the API when creating a new post * these values are not accepted for subsequent updates/saves, so explicitly excluding them. See https://github.com/WP-API/WP-API/pull/2393
- Better handling of the (special) me endpoint
- Schema parsing cleanup
- Introduce wp.api.loadPromise so developers can ensure api load complete before using
(props @adamsilverstein, #2403)
Only adds alternate link header for publicly viewable CPTs.
(props @bradyvercher, #2387)
Adds roles param for GET /wp/v2/users.
(props @BE-Webdesign, #2372)
Declares password in user schema, but never displays it.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2386)
Permits edit context for requests which can edit the user.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2383)
Adds rest_pre_insert_{$taxonomy} filter for terms.
(props @kjbenk, #2377)
Supports taxonomy collection args on posts endpoint.
(props @joehoyle, #2287)
Removes post meta link from post response.
(props @joehoyle, #2288)
Registers description attribute when registering args from schema.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2362)
Uses $comment from the database with rest_insert_comment action.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2349)
Removes unnecessary global variables from users controller.
(props @claudiosmweb, #2335)
Ensures GET /wp/v2/categories with out of bounds offset doesn’t return results.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2313)
Adds top-level support for date queries on posts and comments.
(props @BE-Webdesign, #2266, #2291)
Respects show_avatars setting for comments.
(props @BE-Webdesign, #2271)
Uses cached get_the_terms() for terms-for-post for better performance.
(props @rmccue, #2257)
Ensures comments search is an empty string.
(props @rmccue, #2256)
If no title is provided in create attachment request or file metadata, falls back to filename.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2254)
Removes unused $img_url_basename variable in attachments controller.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2250)

2.0 Beta 12.0 (February 9, 2016)

BREAKING CHANGE: Removes meta endpoints from primary plugin.
If your project depends on post meta endpoints, please install WP REST API Meta Endpoints. For the gory history of meta, read #1425 and linked issues. At this time, we recommend using register_rest_field() to expose meta (docs).
(props @danielbachhuber, #2172)
BREAKING CHANGE: Returns original resource when deleting PTCU.
Now that all resources require the force param, we don’t need to wrap delete responses with the trash state.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2163)
BREAKING CHANGE: Uses roles rather than role in the Users controller.
Building the REST API gives us the opportunity to standardize on roles, instead of having both roles and role.
(props @joehoyle, #2177)
BREAKING CHANGES: Moves to consistent use of context throughout controllers.
Contexts limit the data present in the response. Here’s how to think of them: embed correlates with sidebar representation, view represents the primary public view, and edit is the data expected for an editor.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2205, #2204, #2203, #2218, #2216, #2230, #2184, #2235)
BREAKING CHANGE: Removes post_* query param support for GET /wp/v2/comments.
The proper pattern is to use GET /wp/v2/posts to fetch the post IDs to limit the request to.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2165)
BREAKING CHANGE: Introduces rest_validate_request_arg()/rest_sanitize_request_arg().
Dedicated functions means we can use them for validating / sanitizing query args too. Removes WP_REST_Controller::validate_schema_property() and WP_REST_Controller::sanitize_schema_property().
(props @danielbachhuber, #2166, #2213)
Requires minimum value of 1 for page param.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2241)
Introduces media_type and mime_type params for GET /wp/v2/media.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2231)
Uses the term cache for post data.
(props @rmccue, #2234)
Supports for querying comments where post=0.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1865)
Exposes taxonomy and post type capabilities in context=edit.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2216)
Errors early when user can’t GET types or taxonomies when context=edit.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2218)
Passes original $request context to prepare_items_query.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2211)
Adds parent and parent_exclude params to GET Comments.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2206)
Enforces minimum 1 and maximum 100 values for per_page parameter.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2209)
Adds author and author_exclude params to GET Posts and Comments.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2200, #2200)
Adds menu_order param for GET Pages; support menu_order orderby.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2193)
Only calls sanitize_text_field() when sanitizing type=string,format=email.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2185)
Validates GET /wp/v2/comments private query params.
Returns an error when user doesn’t have permission to use them, instead of silently discarding.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2178)
Explicitly prevents uploading attachments to other attachments or revisions.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2180)
Permits user urls to be edited through the API.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2182)
Marks all Status, Type and Taxonomy fields as readonly.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2181)
Adds validation callbacks to collection query params.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2170, #2171, #2176, #2174, #2175)
Links taxonomy terms to the post type collections they support.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2167)
Returns error when making a GET request with invalid context.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2169)
Adds trash status to GET /wp/v2/statuses.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2158)
Indicates when fields have HTML in schema.
(props @joehoyle, #2159)
Permits viewing of User who has published any Public posts.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2155)
Respects show_avatars option when adding avatars to Users.
(props @nullvariable, #2151)
Controllers use $namespace and $rest_base class variables for easier subclassing.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2119, #2130, #2131, #2132, #2133, #2134, #2139, #2141, #2142)

2.0 Beta 11.0 (January 25, 2016)

BREAKING CHANGE: Moves Post->Term relations to the Post Resource
Previously, a client would fetch a Post’s Tags with GET /wp/v2/posts/<id>/tags.
In Beta 11, an array of term ids is included on the Post resource.
The collection of terms for a Post can be fetched with GET /wp/v2/tags?post=<id>.
The WP_REST_Posts_Terms_Controller class no longer exists.
(props @joehoyle, #2063)
BREAKING CHANGE: Adds latest JS client including a minified version.
See pull request for a summarized changelog.
(props @adamsilverstein, #1981)
BREAKING CHANGE: Changes featured_image attribute on Posts to featured_media.
While featuring other attachment types isn’t yet officially supported, this makes it easier for us to introduce the possibility in the future.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2044)
BREAKING CHANGE: Uses discrete schema title for categories and tags.
If you’ve used register_rest_field( 'term' ), you’ll need to change 'term' to 'tag' and/or 'category'.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2005)
BREAKING CHANGE: Makes many filters dynamic based on the controller type.
If you were using the rest_prepare_term filter, you’ll need to change it to rest_prepare_post_tag or rest_prepare_category.
If you were using rest_post_query or rest_terms_query, you’ll need update your use to rest_page_query, etc.
If you were using rest_post_trashable, rest_insert_post or rest_delete_post, they are now dynamic based on the post type slug.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2008, #2010, #2057, #2058)
Renames GET /wp/v2/commentsuser param to author to match resource attribute.
Not a breaking change, because it didn’t work in the first place.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2105)
Adds support for GET /wp/v2/pages parent=1,2,3.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2101)
Persists image metadata title and caption when not present in the request.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2079)
Add parent_exclude param to GET /wp/v2/posts.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2077)
Adds slug param support for collections of Posts, Users, and Taxonomy Terms.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2071, #2072, #2103)
When a comment is already trashed, returns 410:rest_already_trashed.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2069)
Filter the responses by context after processing additional fields.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2067)
Adds offset param support for collections of Posts, Users, Comments, and Taxonomy Terms.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2061, #2062, #2064, #2076)
Adds rest_insert_{$taxonomy} and rest_delete_{$taxonomy} actions.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2060)
Provides more helpful error message/code on Post Create/Update fail.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2053)
Forces GET /wp/v2/media to be limited to 'status' => [ inherit, private, trash ]
(props @danielbachhuber, #2026)
Uses more correct error code for Comment::delete permission check.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2054)
Calls prepare_item_for_response() directly in create and update methods.
This lets us pass the original request through, giving the method and its filter genuine context, and avoids an
unnecessary call to get_item().
(props @danielbachhuber, #2038, #2040, #2041, #2043, #2042)
Moves permission check methods across controllers.
Placing them above the method they’re supposed to check makes the code more readable.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2030, #2029, #2034, #2036, #2037, #2035, #2039)
Requires force argument for DELETE /wp/v2/<taxonomy>/<id>.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2028)
Conditionally requires and defines REST API classes and functions.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2023, #2024)
Avoid a duplicate query for the comment count.
(props @rmccue, #2015)
Parses $date if available in prepare_date_response()
(props @adamsilverstein, #1951)
Abstracts POST /wp/v2/media permissions check.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2003)
Adds exclude param to getting collections of Posts, Users, Comments, and Taxonomy Terms.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1998, #1999, #2000, #2002)
Adds rest_comment_query for filtering GET /wp/v2/comments.
(props @danielbachhuber, #2007)
Uses HTTP status code 500 for db_update_error when creating an attachment.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1993)
Adds helpful description to force param across all DELETE registrations
(props @danielbachhuber, #2004, #2027)
In GET /wp/v2/<taxonomy>, drops support for orderby=>term_id.
Only one id is exposed through the REST API.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1990)

2.0 Beta 10.0 (January 11, 2016)

SECURITY: Ensure media of private posts are private too.
Reported by @danielbachhuber on 2016-01-08.
BREAKING CHANGE: Removes compatibility repo for WordPress 4.3.
WordPress 4.4 is now the minimum supported WordPress version.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1848)
BREAKING CHANGE: Changes link relation for types and taxonomies.
In Beta 9, this link relation was introduced as item, which isn’t correct. The relation has been changed to https://api.w.org/items.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1853)
BREAKING CHANGE: Introduces edit context for wp/v2/types and wp/v2/taxonomies.
Some fields have moved into this context, which require edit_posts and manage_terms, respectively.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1894, #1864)
BREAKING CHANGE: Removes post_format as a term _link for Posts.
Post formats aren’t a custom taxonomy in the eyes of the REST API.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1854)
Declares parent query param for Pages.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1975)
Permits logged-in users to query for media.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1973)
Removes duplicated query params from Terms controller.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1963)
Adds include param to /wp/v2/posts, /wp/v2/users, /wp/v2/<taxonomy> and /wp/v2/comments.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1961, #1964, #1968, #1971)
Ensures GET /wp/v2/posts respects order and orderby params.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1962)
Fixes fatal by loading wp-admin/includes/user.php to expose wp_delete_user().
(props @danielbachhuber, #1958)
Permits making a post sticky when also supplying an empty password.
(props @westonruter, #1949)
Uses WP_REST_Request internally across controllers.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1933, #1939, #1934, #1938)
Cleans up permissions checks in WP_REST_Terms_Controller.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1941)
Uses show_in_rest to determine publicness for post types.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1942)
Makes description strings available for translation.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1944)
Checks assign_terms cap for taxonomy when managing post terms.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1940)
Defer to edit_posts of the custom post type when accessing private query vars.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1886)
Allows Terms collection params to be filtered.
(props @rachelbaker, #1882)
Renames post terms create/delete permissions callback.
(props @wpsmith, #1923)
Fixes invalid use of ‘uri’ as schema type.
(props @wpsmith, #1913)
Casts integer with (int) over intval for speed.
(props @wpsmith, #1907)
Fixes PHP Doc typo for validate_schema_property and sanitize_schema_property.
(props @wpsmith, @danielbachhuber, #1909, #1910)
Adds a helpful description to the filter argument.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1885)
Changes order of Users response to match schema order.
(props @rachelbaker, #1879)
Adjusts Posts pagination headers for filter params.
(props @rachelbaker, #1878)
Uses proper status code when failing to get comments of private post.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1866)
Fixes invalid capability for comments get items permissions callback.
manage_comments doesn’t exist; moderate_comments does.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1866)
Permits creating comments without an assigned post.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1857)
Prevents error notice when show_in_rest isn’t set for a post type.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1852)

2.0 Beta 9.0 (December 11, 2015)

BREAKING CHANGE: Move tags and categories to top-level endpoints.
Tags are now accessible at /wp/v2/tags, and categories accessible at /wp/v2/categories. Post terms reside at /wp/v2/posts/<id>/tags and /wp/v2/<id>/categories.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1802)
BREAKING CHANGE: Return object for requests to /wp/v2/taxonomies.
This is consistent with /wp/v2/types and /wp/v2/statuses.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1825)
BREAKING CHANGE: Remove rest_get_timezone().
json_get_timezone() was only ever used in v1. This function causes fatals, and shouldn’t be used.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1823)
BREAKING CHANGE: Rename register_api_field() to register_rest_field().
Introduces a register_api_field() function for backwards compat, which calls _doing_it_wrong(). However, register_api_field() won’t ever be committed to WordPress core, so you should update your function calls.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1824)
BREAKING CHANGE: Change taxonomies’ post_type argument to type.
It’s consistent with how we’re exposing post types in the API.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1824)
Sync infrastructure with shipped in WordPress 4.4.
- wp-includes/rest-api/rest-functions.php is removed, and its functions moved into wp-includes/rest-api.php.
- Send nocache headers for REST requests. #34832
- Fix handling of HEAD requests. #34837
- Mark WP_REST_Server::get_raw_data() as static. #34768
- Unabbreviate error string. #34818
Change terms endpoints to use term_id not tt_id.
(props @joehoyle, #1837)
Standardize declaration of context param for GET requests across controllers.
However, we’re still inconsistent in which controllers expose which params. Follow #1845 for further discussion.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1795, #1835, #1838)
Link types / taxonomies to their collections, and vice versa.
Collections link to their type / taxonomy with the about relation; types / taxonomies link to their colletion with the item relation, which is imperfect and may change in the future.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1814, #1817, #1829. #1846)
Add missing ‘wp/v2’ in Location Response header when creating new Post Meta.
(props @johanmynhardt, #1790)
Expose Post collection query params, including author, order, orderby and status.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1793)
Ignore sticky posts by default.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1801)
Include full image size in attachment sizes attribute.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1806)
In text strings, use id instead of ID.
ID is an implementation artifact. Our Resources use id.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1803)
Ensure attachment.sizes[] use mime_type instead of mime-type.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1809)
Introduce rest_authorization_required_code().
Many controllers returned incorrect HTTP codes, which this also fixes.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1808)
Respect core’s comment_registration setting.
If it’s enabled, require users to be logged in to comment.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1826)
Default to wildcard when searching users.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1827)
Bring the wp-api.js library up to date for v2 of the REST API.
(props @adamsilverstein, #1828)
Add rest_prepare_status filter.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1830)
Make prepare_* filters more consistent.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1831)
Add rest_prepare_post_type filter for post types.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1833)

2.0 Beta 8.0 (December 1, 2015)

Prevent fatals when uploading attachment by including admin utilities.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1756)
Return 201 status code when creating a term.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1753)
Don’t permit requesting terms cross routes.
Clients should only be able to request categories from the category route, and tags from the tag route.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1764)
Set fields=>id when using WP_User_Query to fix large memory usage
(props @joehoyle, #1770)
Fix Post _link to attached attachments.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1777)
Add support for getting a post with a custom public status.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1765)
Ensure post content doesn’t get double-slashed on update.
(props @joehoyle, #1772)
Change ‘int’ to ‘integer’ for WP_REST_Controller::validate_schema_property()
(props @wpsmith, #1759)

2.0 Beta 7.0 (November 17, 2015)

Sync infrastructure from WordPress core as of r35691.
- Remove register_api_field() because it’s conceptually tied to WP_REST_Controller#34730
- Update the REST API header links to use api.w.org #34303
- Require the $namespace argument in register_rest_route()#34416
- Include enum and description in help data #34543
- Save preg_match iterations in WP_REST_Server#34488
- Don’t return route URL in WP_REST_Request:get_params()#34647
Restore register_api_field() within the plugin.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1748)
Require admin functions for use of wp_handle_upload(), fixing fatal.
(props @joehoyle, #1746)
Properly handle requesting terms where parent=0 and 0 is a string.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1739)
Prevent PHP error notice when &filter isn’t an array.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1734)
Change link relations to use api.w.org.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1726)

2.0 Beta 6.0 (November 12, 2015)

Remove global inclusion of wp-admin/includes/admin.php
For a long time, the REST API loaded wp-admin/includes/admin.php to make use of specific admin utilities. Now, it only loads those admin utilities when it needs them.
If your custom endpoints make use of admin utilities, you’ll need to make sure to load wp-admin/includes/admin.php before you use them.
(props @joehoyle, #1696)
Link directly to the featured image in a Post’s links.
(props @rmccue, #1563, #1711)
Provide object type as callback argument for custom API fields.
(props @jtsternberg, #1714)
Change users schema order to be order of importance instead of alpha.
(props @rachelbaker, #1708)
Clarify documentation for date and modified attributes.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1715)
Update the wp-api.js client from the client-js repo.
(props @rachelbaker, #1709)
Fix the format enum to be an array of strings.
(props @joehoyle, #1707)
Run revisions for collection through prepare_response_for_collection().
(props @danielbachhuber, @rachelbaker, #1671)
Expose date_gmt for view context of Posts and Comments.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1690)
Fix PHP and JS docblock formatting.
(props @ahmadawais, #1699, #1699, #1701, #1700, #1702, #1703)
Include media_details attribute for attachments in embed context.
For image attachments, media_details includes a sizes array of image sizes, which is useful for templating.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1667)
Make WP_REST_Controller error messages more helpful by specifying method to subclass.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1670)
Expose slug in embed context for Users.
user_nicename is a public attribute, used in user URLs, so this is safe data to present.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1666)
Handle falsy value from wp_count_terms(), fixing fatal.
(props @joehoyle, #1641)
Correct methods in WP_REST_SERVER::EDITABLE description.
(props @rachelbaker, #1601)
Add the embed context to Users collection query params.
(props @rachelbaker, #1591)
Add Terms Controller collection args details.
(props @rachelbaker, #1603)
Set comment author details from current user.
(props @rmccue, #1580)
More hook documentation.
(props @adamsilverstein, #1556, #1560)
Return the trashed status of deleted posts/comments.
When a post or a comment is deleted, returns a flag to say whether it’s been trashed or properly deleted.
(props @pento, #1499)
In WP_REST_Posts_Controller::update_item(), check the post ID based on the proper post type.
(props @rachelbaker, #1497)

2.0 Beta 5.0 (October 23, 2015)

Load api-core as a compatibility library
Now api-core has been merged into WordPress trunk (for 4.4) we should no longer load the infrastructure code when it’s already available. This also fixes a fatal error for users who were on trunk.
(props @rmccue)
Switch to new mysql_to_rfc3339
(props @rmccue)
Double-check term taxonomy
(props @rmccue)
Load admin functions
This was removed from the latest beta of WordPress in the REST API infrastructure, a more long term fix is planned.
(props @joehoyle)
Add Add compat shim for renamed rest_mysql_to_rfc3339()
(props @danielbachhuber)
Compat shim for wp_is_numeric_array()
(props @danielbachhuber)
Revert Switch to register_post_type_args filter
(props @joehoyle)

2.0 Beta 4.0 (August 14, 2015)

Show public user information through the user controller.
In WordPress as of r32683 (scheduled for 4.3), WP_User_Query now has support for getting users with published posts.
To match current behaviour in WordPress themes and feeds, we now expose this public user information. This includes the avatar, description, user ID, custom URL, display name, and URL, for users who have published at least one post on the site. This information is available to all clients; other fields and data for all users are still only available when authenticated.
(props @joehoyle, @rmccue, @Shelob9, #1397, #839, #1435)
Send schema in OPTIONS requests and index.
Rather than using separate /schema endpoints, the schema for items is now available through an OPTIONS request to the route. This means that full documentation is now available for endpoints through an OPTIONS request; this includes available methods, what data you can pass to the endpoint, and the data you’ll get back.
This data is now also available in the main index and namespace indexes. Simply request the index with context=help to get full schema data. Warning: this response will be huge. The schema for single endpoints is also available in the collection’s OPTIONS response.
⚠️ This breaks backwards compatibility for clients relying on schemas being at their own routes. These clients should instead send OPTIONS requests.
Custom endpoints can register their own schema via the schema option on the route. This option should live side-by-side with the endpoints (similar to relation in WP’s meta queries), so your registration call will look something like:
`php
register_rest_route( ‘test-ns’, ‘/test’, array(
array(
‘methods’ => ‘GET’,
‘callback’ => ‘my_test_callback’,
),
‘schema’ => ‘my_schema_callback’,
) );
`
(props @rmccue, #1415, #1222, #1305)
Update JavaScript API for version 2.
Our fantastic JavaScript API from version 1 is now available for version 2, refreshed with the latest and greatest changes.
As a refresher: if you want to use it, simply make your script depend on wp-api when you enqueue it. If you want to enqueue the script manually, add wp_enqueue_script( 'wp-api' ) to a callback on wp_enqueue_scripts.
(props @tlovett1, @kadamwhite, @nathanrice, #1374, #1320)
Embed links inside items in a collection.
Previously when fetching a collection of items, you only received the items themselves. To fetch the links as well via embedding, you needed to make a request to the single item with _embed set.
No longer! You can now request a collection with embeds enabled (try /wp/v2/posts?_embed). This will embed links inside each item, allowing you to build interface items much easier (for example, post archive pages can get featured image data at the same time).
This also applies to custom endpoints. Any endpoint that returns a list of objects will automatically have the embedding applied to objects inside the list.
(props @rmccue, #1459, #865)
Fix potential XSS vulnerability.
Requests from other origins could potentially run code on the API domain, allowing cross-origin access to authentication cookies or similar.
Reported by @xknown on 2015-07-23.
Move /postsWP_Query vars back to filter param.
In version 1, we had internal WP_Query vars available via filter (e.g. filter[s]=search+term). For our first betas of version 2, we tried something different and exposed these directly on the endpoint. The experiment has now concluded; we didn’t like this that much, so filter is back.
We plan on adding nicer looking arguments to collections in future releases, with a view towards being consistent across different collections. We also plan on opening up the underlying query vars via filter for users, comments, and terms as well.
⚠️ This breaks backwards compatibility for users using WP Query vars. Simply change your x=y parameter to filter[x]=y.
(props @WP-API, #1420)
Respect rest_base for taxonomies.
⚠️ This breaks backwards compatibility by changing the /wp/v2/posts/{id}/terms/post_tag endpoint to /wp/v2/posts/{id}/tag.
(props @joehoyle, #1466)
Add permission check for retrieving the posts collection in edit context.
By extension of the fact that getting any individual post yields a forbidden context error when the context=edit and the user is not authorized, the user should also not be permitted to list any post items when unauthorized.
(props @danielpunkass, #1412)
Ensure the REST API URL always has a trailing slash.
Previously, when pretty permalinks were enabled, the API URL during autodiscovery looked like /wp-json, whereas the non-pretty permalink URL looked like ?rest_route=/. These are now consistent, and always end with a slash character to simplify client URL building.
(props @danielpunkass, @rmccue, #1426, #1442, #1455, #1467)
Use wp_json_encode instead of json_encode
Since WordPress 4.1, wp_json_encode has been available to ensure encoded values are sane, and that non-UTF8 encodings are supported. We now use this function rather than doing the encode ourselves.
(props @rmccue, @pento, #1417)
Add role to schema for users.
The available roles you can assign to a user are now available in the schema as an enum.
(props @joehoyle, #1400)
Use the schema for validation inside the comments controller.
Previously, the schema was merely a decorative element for documentation inside the comments controller. To bring it inline with our other controllers, the schema is now used internally for validation.
(props @joehoyle, #1422)
Don’t set the Location header in update responses.
Previously, the Location header was sent when updating resources due to some inadvertent copypasta. This header should only be sent when creating to direct clients to the new resource, and isn’t required when you’re already on the correct resource.
(props @rachelbaker, #1441)
Re-enable the rest_insert_post action hook for WP_REST_Posts_Controller
This was disabled during 2.0 development to avoid breaking lots of plugins on the json_insert_post action. Now that we’ve changed namespaces and are Mostly Stable ™, we can re-enable the action.
(props @jaredcobb, #1427, #1424)
Fix post taxonomy terms link URLs.
When moving the routes in a previous beta, we forgot to correct the links on post objects to the new correct route. Sorry!
(props @rachelbaker, @joehoyle, #1447, #1383)
Use wp_get_attachment_image_src() on the image sizes in attachments.
Since the first versions of the API, we’ve been building attachment URLs via str_replace. Who knows why we were doing this, but it caused problems with custom attachment URLs (such as CDN-hosted images). This now correctly uses the internal functions and filters.
(props @joehoyle, #1462)
Make the embed context a default, not forced.
If you want embeds to bring in full data rather than with context=edit, you can now change the link to specify context=view explicitly.
(props @rmccue, #1464)
Ensure we always use the term_taxonomy_id and never expose term_id publicly.
Previously, term_id was inadvertently exposed in some error responses.
(props @jdolan, #1430)
Fix adding alt text to attachments on creation.
Previously, this could only be set when updating an attachment, not when creating one.
(props @joehoyle, #1398)
Throw an error when registering routes without a namespace.
Namespaces should always be provided when registering routes. We now throw a doing_it_wrong error when attempting to register one. (Previously, this caused a warning, or an invalid internal route.)
If you really need to register namespaceless routes (e.g. to replicate an existing API), call WP_REST_Server::register_route directly rather than using the convenience function.
(props @joehoyle, @rmccue, #1355)
Show links on embeds.
Previously, links were accidentally stripped from embedded response data.
(props @rmccue, #1472)
Clarify insufficient permisssion error when editing posts.
(props @danielpunkass, #1411)
Improve @return inline docs for rest_ensure_response()
(props @Shelob9, #1328)
Check taxonomies exist before trying to set properties.
(props @joehoyle, @rachelbaker, #1354)
Update controllers to ensure we use sanitize_callback wherever possible.
(props @joehoyle, #1399)
Add more phpDoc documentation, and correct existing documentation.
(props @Shelob9, @rmccue, #1432, #1433, #1465)
Update testing infrastructure.
Travis now runs our coding standards tests in parallel, and now uses the new, faster container-based testing infrastructure.
(props @ntwb, @frozzare, #1449, #1457)

View all changes

2.0 Beta 3.0 (July 1, 2015)

Add ability to declare sanitization and default options for schema fields.
The arg_options array can be used to declare the sanitization callback,
default value, or requirement of a field.
(props @joehoyle, #1345)
(props @joehoyle, #1346)
Expand supported parameters for creating and updating Comments.
(props @rachelbaker, #1245)
Declare collection parameters for Terms of a Post.
Define the available collection parameters in get_collection_params() and
allow Terms of a Post to be queried by term order.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1332)
Improve the Attachment error message for an invalid Content-Disposition
(props @danielbachhuber, #1317)
Return 200 status when updating Attachments, Comments, and Users.
(props @rachelbaker, #1348)
Remove unnecessary handle_format_param() method.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1331)
Add author_avatar_url field to the Comment response and schema.
(props @rachelbaker #1327)
Introduce rest_do_request() for making REST requests internally.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1333)
Remove unused DateTime class.
(props @rmccue, #1314)
Add inline documentation for $wp_rest_server global.
(props @Shelob9, #1324)
View all changes
2.0 Beta 2.0 (May 28, 2015)
Load the WP REST API before the main query runs.
The rest_api_loaded function now hooks into the parse_request action.
This change prevents the main query from being run on every request and
allows sites to set WP_USE_THEMES to false. Previously, the main query
was always being run (SELECT * FROM wp_posts LIMIT 10), even though the
result was never used and couldn’t be cached.
(props @rmccue, #1270)
Register a new field on an existing WordPress object type.
Introduces register_api_field() to add a field to an object and
its schema.
(props @joehoyle, @rachelbaker, #927)
(props @joehoyle, #1207)
(props @joehoyle, #1243)
Add endpoints for viewing, creating, updating, and deleting Terms for a Post.
The new WP_REST_Posts_Terms_Controller class controller supports routes for
Terms that belong to a Post.
(props @joehoyle, @danielbachhuber, #1216)
Add pagination headers for collection queries.
The X-WP-Total and X-WP-TotalPages are now present in terms, comments,
and users collection responses.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1182)
(props @danielbachhuber, #1191)
(props @danielbachhuber, @joehoyle, #1197)
List registered namespaces in the index for feature detection.
The index (/wp-json by default) now contains a list of the available
namespaces. This allows for simple feature detection. You can grab the index
and check namespaces for wp/v3 or pluginname/v2, which indicate the
supported endpoints on the site.
(props @rmccue,, #1283)
Standardize link property relations and support embedding for all resources.
Change link properties to use IANA-registered relations. Also adds embedding
support to Attachments, Comments and Terms.
(props @rmccue, @rachelbaker, #1284)
Add support for Composer dependency management.
Allows you to recursively install/update the WP REST API inside of WordPress
plugins or themes.
(props @QWp6t, #1157)
Return full objects in the delete response.
Instead of returning a random message when deleting a Post, Comment, Term, or
User provide the original resource data.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1253)
(props @danielbachhuber, #1254)
(props @danielbachhuber, #1255)
(props @danielbachhuber, #1256)
Return programmatically readable error messages for invalid or missing
required parameters.
(props @joehoyle, #1175)
Declare supported arguments for Comment and User collection queries.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1211)
(props @danielbachhuber, #1217)
Automatically validate parameters based on Schema data.
(props @joehoyle, #1128)
Use the show_in_rest attributes for exposing Taxonomies.
(props @joehoyle, #1279)
Handle parent when creating or updating a Term.
(props @joehoyle, #1221)
Limit fields returned in embed context User responses.
(props @rachelbaker, #1251)
Only include parent in term response when tax is hierarchical.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1189)
Fix bug in creating comments if type was not set.
(props @rachelbaker, #1244)
Rename post_name field to post_slug.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1235)
Add check when creating a user to verify the provided role is valid.
(props @rachelbaker, #1267)
Add link properties to the Post Status response.
(props @joehoyle, #1243)
Return 0 for parent in Post response instead of null.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1269)
Only link author when there’s a valid author
(props @danielbachhuber, #1203)
Only permit querying by parent term when tax is hierarchical.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1219)
Only permit deleting posts of the proper type
(props @danielbachhuber, #1257)
Set pagination headers even when no found posts.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1209)
Correct prefix in rest_request_parameter_order filter.
(props @quasel, #1158)
Retool WP_REST_Terms_Controller to follow Posts controller pattern.
(props @danielbachhuber, #1170)
Remove unused accept_json argument from the register_routes method.
(props @quasel, #1160)
Fix typo in sanitize_params inline documentation.
(props @Shelob9, #1226)
Remove commented out code in dispatch method.
(props @rachelbaker, #1162)