How to Get Posts Using REST API in WordPress

To get posts using the WordPress REST API, send a GET request to /wp-json/wp/v2/posts. This endpoint returns a list of posts in JSON format, which you can filter or paginate using query parameters.

Syntax

The basic syntax to get posts via the WordPress REST API is:

• GET /wp-json/wp/v2/posts: Fetches all posts.
• Query parameters can be added to filter results, such as ?per_page=5 to limit posts per page.
• Use ?page=2 to get the second page of posts.

http

GET https://example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts

# Optional query parameters:
# ?per_page=5  - number of posts per page
# &page=2      - page number
# &categories=3 - filter posts by category ID

Example

This example fetches the first 3 posts from a WordPress site using the REST API and shows the JSON response structure.

javascript

fetch('https://example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?per_page=3')
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(posts => {
    posts.forEach(post => {
      console.log('Title:', post.title.rendered);
      console.log('Date:', post.date);
      console.log('Link:', post.link);
      console.log('---');
    });
  })
  .catch(error => console.error('Error fetching posts:', error));

Output

Title: Hello World
Date: 2024-06-01T12:00:00
Link: https://example.com/hello-world
---
Title: Sample Post
Date: 2024-05-28T09:30:00
Link: https://example.com/sample-post
---
Title: Another Post
Date: 2024-05-20T15:45:00
Link: https://example.com/another-post
---

Common Pitfalls

• Not using the full URL including /wp-json/wp/v2/posts will cause errors.
• Ignoring pagination can lead to incomplete data if many posts exist.
• Trying to access private or draft posts without authentication will return empty results.
• Incorrectly formatting query parameters (e.g., missing ? or using wrong keys) will cause the API to ignore filters.

javascript

/* Wrong way: Missing /wp-json/wp/v2/posts */
fetch('https://example.com/posts')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .catch(err => console.error('Error:', err));

/* Right way: Full REST API endpoint */
fetch('https://example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => console.log(data));

Quick Reference

Parameter	Description	Example
per_page	Number of posts per page (max 100)	?per_page=5
page	Page number for pagination	?page=2
categories	Filter posts by category ID	?categories=3
search	Search posts by keyword	?search=wordpress
orderby	Sort posts by field (date, title)	?orderby=date

Key Takeaways

Use the endpoint /wp-json/wp/v2/posts to fetch posts via REST API.

Add query parameters like per_page and page to control results and pagination.

Ensure the URL is complete and correct to avoid errors.

Private or draft posts require authentication to access.

Use fetch or any HTTP client to get and handle the JSON response.