ProcessWire API Setup for Content Management

ProcessWire API for Content Management

ProcessWire is a PHP CMS with its own API for working with content directly in PHP templates. The API is based on method chaining ($pages->find()) and allows complex queries without SQL. For headless mode, use the ProcessWire GraphQL module or custom REST endpoint.

Built-in PHP API

ProcessWire uses $pages, $page, $user, $config as global variables in templates:

// templates/blog.php

// Selection with filters and pagination
$limit = 12;
$start = ($input->pageNum - 1) * $limit;

$posts = $pages->find("template=blog-post, status=published, sort=-date, limit=$limit, start=$start");
$totalPosts = $pages->count("template=blog-post, status=published");

// Selection with field conditions
$featuredPosts = $pages->find("
  template=blog-post,
  featured=1,
  date>=today,
  category.name%=Web Development,
  sort=-date,
  limit=3
");

// Single item
$post = $pages->get("template=blog-post, slug=my-post-slug");
if (!$post->id) wire404();

Selector String — query language

// Text search
$pages->find("template=product, title*=laptop, sort=title");

// Numeric conditions
$pages->find("template=product, price>=1000, price<=5000");

// Date
$pages->find("template=event, event_date>=today, sort=event_date");

// OR conditions
$pages->find("template=post, (category=tech|category=science)");

// Related pages
$pages->find("template=product, categories.id={$category->id}");

// Full-text search
$pages->find("title|body~=search query, template=post");

// Sort by custom field
$pages->find("template=product, sort=-rating, sort=title");

REST API via template-router

ProcessWire doesn't have built-in REST API. Create via template-router:

// site/templates/api.php
// URL: /api/blog/?page=1&limit=10

header('Content-Type: application/json');
header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin: ' . $config->httpHost);

// Simple authorization by key
$apiKey = $input->get->text('key');
if ($apiKey !== $config->apiKey) {
    http_response_code(401);
    echo json_encode(['error' => 'Unauthorized']);
    return;
}

$page_num = (int) $input->get->int('page') ?: 1;
$limit = min((int) $input->get->int('limit') ?: 10, 100);
$start = ($page_num - 1) * $limit;

$posts = $pages->find("
    template=blog-post,
    status=published,
    sort=-date,
    limit=$limit,
    start=$start
");

$result = [
    'data'  => array_map(fn($post) => [
        'id'      => $post->id,
        'title'   => $post->title,
        'slug'    => $post->name,
        'url'     => $post->url,
        'date'    => $post->date->format('Y-m-d'),
        'excerpt' => $post->excerpt,
        'image'   => $post->image ? [
            'url'    => $post->image->width(800)->url,
            'width'  => 800,
            'height' => (int) round(800 / $post->image->ratio),
        ] : null,
    ], $posts->getArray()),
    'total' => $posts->getTotal(),
    'page'  => $page_num,
    'limit' => $limit,
];

echo json_encode($result);

ProcessWire GraphQL Module

# Installation via ProcessWire modules
# Download from processwire.com/modules/processwire-graphql/

# In config.php — access configuration
$config->graphql = [
    'templateFilters' => ['blog-post', 'product', 'category'],
    'fieldFilters'    => ['title', 'body', 'date', 'image', 'category'],
    'maxLimit'        => 100,
];

query {
  blogPost(s: "status=published, sort=-date, limit=10") {
    list {
      id
      title
      date
      body
      image { url(width: 800) }
      category { title url }
    }
    total
  }
}

Response caching

// Cache via WireCache
$cacheKey = "api_posts_page{$page_num}";
$cached = $cache->get($cacheKey);

if ($cached) {
    echo $cached;
    return;
}

// ... forming $result ...
$json = json_encode($result);
$cache->save($cacheKey, $json, 3600); // 1 hour
echo $json;

Creating basic REST API on ProcessWire (5–7 endpoints) — 2–4 days.