The JSON REST API for WordPress

JSON REST API for
WordPress
@tlovett12
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JSON
REST API
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• My name is Taylor Lovett
• Director of Web Engineering at 10up
• Plugin author and contributor
• Core contributor
• WP API team member
Who Am I?
@tlovett12

So what’s this new WP API
thing all about? Don’t we
already have one?

Right now, we have XML-RPC. It works but
is extremely hard to use and outdated.

Comparison to other WordPress API’s
https://github.com/WP-API/WP-
API/blob/master/docs/comparison.md

• In a nutshell, JSON REST API’s have swept the
web becoming an almost standard. They are
extremely intuitive and provide an easy way to
distribute, collect, and modify data.
Why JSON REST API?
Let’s break it down a bit.

• JSON is an abbreviation for “JavaScript Object Notation”
• It’s simply a way to describe data that is lightweight and
extremely easy to use. Arguably much easier to use than XML.
JSON

• REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style
that dictates how HTTP and URI’s should be used and organized.
• Verbs and resources: GET /post/1
• Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State (HATEOAS) -
Server provides everything you need to know how to use it in a
response.
• Actions are autonomous and do not depend on each other.
• Bottom line: RESTful API’s have become extremely popular
across the web. They are much easier to use than things like RPC
or SOAP.
REST

• An API (Application Programming Interface) is a
set of entry points that allow you to interact with a
platform (WordPress in this case).
And of course, API

http://wordpress.org/plugins/json-rest-api/
Core integration (probably) in 4.1
First, install the plugin

What does the API allow
me to do?
/wp-json/
Shows all the routes and endpoints available
/wp-json/posts
Create, read, update, and delete posts
/wp-json/users
Create, read, update, and delete users
/wp-json/media
Create, read, update, and delete media items
/wp-json/taxonomies
Read taxonomies and terms
/wp-json/pages/
Create, read, update, and delete pages

The API is rich with
functionality. Explore the
documentation!
http://wp-api.org/docs-development/
Let’s look at a few key endpoints.

List Posts
[{
"ID": 11297,
"title": "Post 19",
"status": "publish",
"type": "post",
"author": 1,
"content": "",
"parent": null,
"link": "http://example.com/2014/08/post-19/",
"format": "standard",
"slug": "post-19",
"guid": "http://example.com/2014/08/post-19/",
"excerpt": null,
"menu_order": 0,
"comment_status": "closed",
"ping_status": "open",
"sticky": false,
"meta": {},
"featured_image": null,
"terms": {}
}]
GET /wp-json/posts

List Posts
Endpoint: /wp-json/posts
Takes a number of useful parameters:
• Filter[]: Accepts WP_Query arguments
• Page: Allows for pagination
• Context: Determines usage context i.e. “view or edit”
• …
https://github.com/WP-API/WP-API/blob/master/docs/routes/routes.md

Retrieve A Post
{
"ID": 11297,
"title": "Post 19",
"status": "publish",
"type": "post",
"author": 1,
"content": "",
"parent": null,
"link": "http://example.com/2014/08/post-19/",
"format": "standard",
"slug": "post-19",
"guid": "http://example.com/2014/08/post-19/",
"excerpt": null,
"menu_order": 0,
"comment_status": "closed",
"ping_status": "open",
"sticky": false,
"meta": {},
"featured_image": null,
"terms": {}
}
GET /wp-json/posts/<id>

Edit A Post
PUT /wp-json/posts/<id>
curl -X PUT -H “Content-Type: application/json” -d ‘
{
"title": “Updated Title",
“content_raw": “Updated post content"
}
‘ -u admin:password http://example.com/wp-json/posts/<id>
We need to send a PUT request to this endpoint with
our post data. Of course we must authenticate before
doing this.

Three ways to
authenticate
• Cookie Authentication (client side)
• HTTP Basic Authentication
• OAuth 1

HTTP Basic
Authentication
First install the WP Basic Auth Plugin:
https://github.com/WP-API/Basic-Auth
Remember this piece of our cURL request?
-u admin:password
That’s HTTP Basic Authentication! Essentially we are authenticating
by passing an HTTP header like this:
Authorization: Basic QWxhZGRpbjpvcGVuIHNlc2FtZQ==
Where that crazy looking string is username:password base64
encoded.

HTTP Basic
Authentication should
only be used for testing!

OAuth 1.0a
First install the WP OAuth Plugin:
https://github.com/WP-API/OAuth1
OAuth is outside of the scope of this talk. However, it
should be used instead of HTTP Basic Auth when
building external applications that interact with the API.
Rather than giving someone an account on your site,
you can give them temporary access with OAuth.

Create A Post
POST /wp-json/posts/
curl -X POST -H “Content-Type: application/json” -d ‘
{
"title": “Title",
“content_raw": “Post content"
}
‘ -u admin:password http://example.com/wp-json/posts/
Notice we are using a POST request this time.

Taxonomies
GET /wp-json/taxonomies
[
{
"name": "Categories",
"slug": "category",
"labels": {},
"types": { /* Registered post types */ },
"show_cloud": true,
"hierarchical": true,
"meta": {}
},
{
"name": "Tags",
"slug": "post_tag",
"labels": {},
"show_cloud": true,
"hierarchical": false,
"meta": {}
}
}
]

Taxonomy
GET /wp-json/taxonomies/<taxonomy>
{
"name": "Categories",
"slug": "category",
"labels": {},
"show_cloud": true,
"hierarchical": true,
"meta": {}
}

Taxonomy Terms
GET /wp-json/taxonomies/<taxonomy>/terms
[
{
"ID": 1,
"name": "Books",
"slug": "books",
"description": "",
"parent": null,
"count": 1,
"link": "http://example.com/category/books/",
"meta": {}
},
{
"ID": 2,
"name": "Products",
"slug": "products",
"description": "",
"parent": null,
"count": 1,
"link": "http://example.com/category/products/",
"meta": {}
}
]

WP API is very extensible (custom post types!)
http://wp-api.org/guides/extending.html
Build Your Own Routes and
Endpoints

What can I do with the
JSON REST API for
WordPress?

JavaScript
Interact with your (or someone else’s) WordPress install with
JavaScript.
Backbone.js Client:
https://github.com/WP-API/client-js
Node.js Client:
https://github.com/kadamwhite/wordpress-rest-api

• Backbone.js is a JavaScript framework that lets
you structure code in terms of models, views, and
collections. It works great with RESTful JSON
API’s.
Backbone.js

• _s or underscores is a popular starter theme by
Automattic:
https://github.com/automattic/_s
• _s_backbone is an _s fork that powers post
loops using the WP API Backbone client
_s_backbone

https://github.com/tlovett1/_s_backbon
e

• It means _s_backbone is a starter theme with
infinite scroll built-in using the WP API Backbone
client.
• Infinite scroll is the concept of loading multiple
rounds of entities without reloading the page.
What does this mean?
Let’s look at some code!

This is some JavaScript you could add to a theme or
plugin to display your site’s posts. You will first need
to have JSON REST API for WordPress installed and
the “wp-api” JavaScript dependency enqueued.
functions.php:
js/scripts.js:

If you learned nothing
so far, know this:
You can do amazing things with the JSON REST
API for WordPress.
With core integration and ~23% of the web using
this API in the near future, you will have much
easier access to data across the web.

The JSON REST API for WordPress

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