Build a Simple REST API in WordPress (Best Practices + Security)

WordPress REST API is powerful, but many endpoints are built without validation and permission checks. Here’s a clean pattern you can reuse.

Recommended approach

• Register routes with register_rest_route.
• Validate and sanitize input (never trust request data).
• Use a permission_callback for auth/authorization.

Example endpoint (skeleton)

add_action('rest_api_init', function () {
  register_rest_route('vistosys/v1', '/status', [
    'methods'  => 'GET',
    'callback' => function () {
      return rest_ensure_response([ 'ok' => true ]);
    },
    'permission_callback' => '__return_true',
  ]);
});

Security tips

• If it changes data, require authentication.
• Rate-limit sensitive endpoints (login, reset password, signup).
• Return minimal data (avoid leaking user details).

Once your pattern is stable, you can add caching (transients/object cache) for GET endpoints.