Setting Up WordPress As A Headless CMS With JWT Authentication For REST API

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following components:

• Web Server: You can choose either Nginx or Apache as your web server.
• PHP Version: Use PHP 8.1.9 or any compatible version.
• Database: MySQL 8.0.16 or any compatible version.
• WordPress Version: Ensure you have WordPress 6.2.2 or the latest version installed.

Step 1: WordPress Installation

• Log into your WordPress admin panel.
• Go to the WordPress Dashboard and navigate to “Plugins” from the sidebar.
• Click on “Add New” to install a new plugin.
• Search for the “WordPress REST API Authentication” plugin by miniOrange and click on “Install Now.”
• Once the plugin is installed, click on “Activate” to enable it.

Step 2: Configuring REST API JWT Authentication Method

• Open the miniOrange API plugin from the WordPress Dashboard.
• In the plugin, go to the “Configure Methods” tab in the left section
• Select “JWT Authentication” as the API Authentication method.
• By default, the HS256 algorithm and a randomly generated unique secret key are used for token generation. Click on “Next” in the top right corner.
• To test the functionality, fill in the “Username” and “Password” fields with an existing user’s credentials.
• Click on “Fetch Token.” A JWT token (jwt_token) will be displayed in the response. Copy this token to the clipboard for making future requests.
• Paste the JWT token obtained from the previous step.
• Click on “Test Configuration,” and the response will be displayed on the screen.
• Finally, click the “Finish” button to complete the configuration.

Step 3: Obtaining The JWT Token

To obtain the JWT token, you need to make a REST API call to the Token endpoint. Follow the steps below:

• Send a POST request to `https://<domain-name>/wp-json/api/v1/token`.
• In the request body, include the following parameters:

 –   `username`: Your WordPress username

    –   `password`: Your WordPress password

• Upon successful authentication, you will receive the JWT token in the response.

Step 4: Sending API Requests

Now that you have obtained the JWT token, you can use it to make authenticated requests to the WordPress REST APIs. Here’s an example:

1.  Send a GET request to `https://<domain-name>/wp-json/wp/v2/posts`.

2.  Include the following header in your request:

    –   `Authorization: Bearer <JWT token>`

This request will fetch the blog posts from your WordPress instance. You can explore other available REST API endpoints based on your requirements.

Need Further Assistance?

If you encounter any issues during the setup process or require more detailed instructions, you can refer to the official blog post on [WordPress REST API JWT Authentication Method](https://plugins.miniorange.com/wordpress-rest-api-jwt-authentication-method). It provides additional guidance and troubleshooting tips.

By following these steps, you can now leverage WordPress as a headless CMS for your blogging needs. Have fun exploring the possibilities of using WordPress’s powerful content management capabilities while decoupling the presentation layer.