Where Should I Register the REST Route to WordPress Plugin Endpoint?

When developing a WordPress plugin, you may need to use REST API to create custom routes and endpoints. An important step in this process is to properly register your REST route to your WordPress plugin endpoint.

But where exactly should you do this?

The best practice is to register your REST API routes in the rest_api_init action hook. This hook runs after WordPress has loaded but before any headers are sent, which makes it the perfect spot to register your REST API routes.

Here’s a simplified example:

add_action('rest_api_init', function () {
  register_rest_route('myplugin/v1', '/endpoint/', array(
    'methods' => 'GET',
    'callback' => 'my_custom_function',
  ));
});

In this example, myplugin/v1 is the namespace and /endpoint/ is the route. The array() function includes the method (in this case, GET), and a callback function (my_custom_function) that is called when the endpoint is hit.

The rest_api_init hook is ideal because it ensures that the REST API functionality is fully initialized before you add your customizations. Registering your routes here ensures they are available when needed and reduces potential conflicts with other plugins.

Remember, when creating REST API routes, it’s good practice to prefix your route or use a unique namespace to avoid collision with WordPress core routes or routes added by other plugins.

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