REST API Starter

A lightweight WordPress theme designed to function purely as a headless REST API endpoint. It strips away all frontend rendering and traditional WordPress theme features, focusing solely on providing a clean, efficient REST API interface for your WordPress content.

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• Get Started
  • Installation
  • Required Plugins
  • Environment Setup
    • Step 1: Install Dependencies
    • Step 2: Create the .env File
    • Step 3: Configure wp-config.php
• Usage
  • Example API Endpoints:
  • Authentication Example (Using JWT):
  • API Testing
• Documentation
• License
• Support
• Credits

Key Features:

• Lightweight WordPress theme.
• Clean and optimized codebase for API-focused development.
• Removed unnecessary WordPress frontend features.
• Disabled frontend rendering.
• Redirects all frontend requests to the REST API endpoint.

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Get Started

Installation

1. Clone the repository or download the zip file of this theme.
2. (Optional) Rename the theme folder. And to update all theme references, run the provided rename script:

   php ./scripts/rename-theme.php "NEW Theme Name"

   This will automatically update all theme references.
3. Upload the theme to the wp-content/themes/ directory.
4. Activate the theme via the WordPress admin panel: Appearance > Themes.

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Required Plugins

If your API requires authentication, install the following plugin:

• JWT Authentication for WP REST API: This plugin secures your API endpoints with JWT tokens.

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Environment Setup

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Run the following command in the theme directory to install Composer dependencies:

composer install

Step 2: Create the .env File

1. Duplicate .env.example to .env:

   cp .env.example .env

2. Replace the JWT_AUTH_SECRET_KEY value with a strong random string. You can use this tool to generate one.

Step 3: Configure wp-config.php

Add the following code snippet to your wp-config.php file:

/* Add any custom values between this line and the "stop editing" line. */

$theme_path = __DIR__ . '/wp-content/themes/rest-api-starter';

if (file_exists($theme_path . '/vendor/autoload.php')) {
    require_once $theme_path . '/vendor/autoload.php';

    // Load environment variables from .env
    $dotenv = Dotenv\Dotenv::createImmutable($theme_path);
    $dotenv->load();

    define('JWT_AUTH_SECRET_KEY', $_ENV['JWT_AUTH_SECRET_KEY']);
    define('JWT_AUTH_CORS_ENABLE', $_ENV['JWT_AUTH_CORS_ENABLE']);
}

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */

If this setup doesn’t work, you can hardcode the secret key directly (not recommended for security reasons):

/* Add any custom values between this line and the "stop editing" line. */

define('JWT_AUTH_SECRET_KEY', 'your_secret_key_here');
define('JWT_AUTH_CORS_ENABLE', true);

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */

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Usage

This theme is designed to be used purely as a backend API. Once installed:

1. All frontend requests will be redirected to /wp-json.
2. Use the WordPress REST API to interact with your site content.

Example API Endpoints:

• GET /wp-json/wp/v2/posts - Retrieve posts.
• GET /wp-json/wp/v2/pages - Retrieve pages.
• GET /wp-json/wp/v2/media - Retrieve media items.

Authentication Example (Using JWT):

1. Obtain a token:

   POST /wp-json/jwt-auth/v1/token
   {
       "username": "your-username",
       "password": "your-password"
   }

2. Use the token for authenticated requests:

   GET /wp-json/wp/v2/posts
   Authorization: Bearer <your-token>

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API Testing

The testing-api directory contains ready-to-use HTTP request files for testing the API endpoints. These tests are designed to work with VS Code's REST Client extension.

For detailed information about the API tests, see testing-api.md.

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Documentation

For detailed WordPress REST API documentation, visit: WordPress REST API Handbook

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License

This theme is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2 or later (GPL-2.0). See the LICENSE file for details.

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Support

For support and contributions, visit the Technway GitHub repository.

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Credits

The Rest API Starter Theme is built with ❤️ and maintained by Technway.

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to fork the repository and submit pull requests.