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REST API blocks icon
Maintained Tested up to 6.9.9 #55 in api

REST API blocks

Add gutenberg blocks data into the post / page REST API endpoints.

Active installs200+100+ tier
Downloads · 30d202▲ +16.8% vs prev. 30d
Rating5/52 reviews
Health score48/100Fair
All-time downloads7.7KSince Aug 2021
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 5.9PHP 7.4+
Downloads · 7d46▼ -17.9% week over week
Our verdict

Use with caution

REST API blocks works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 9 months ago, and scores 48/100 on our health check.

  • Small user base (200+ active installs)
  • Very few reviews so far
  • Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

51117Jul 6Aug 19Oct 3
Yesterday9
Daily average (1y)6
Peak day47Jan 3, 2026
Last 12 months2K

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where REST API blocks stands today

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
api #38 10,000 Best api plugins →
blocks >100 10,000 Best blocks plugins →
gutenberg >100 7,807 Best gutenberg plugins →
rest-api #19 7,538 Best rest-api plugins →
wp-json >100 5,836 Best wp-json plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 1.046.5%
  • 2.041.2%
  • 0.512.3%

Rating breakdown

★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

  • 5★100.0%
  • 4★0.00%
  • 3★0.00%
  • 2★0.00%
  • 1★0.00%

About REST API blocks

From the official readme · v2.0.0

Description

A simple plugin to add block data in json format into the rest api. Once installed, there will be two new fields added to the rest api, has_blocks and blocks.
For example output.
"has_blocks": true,
"block_data": [
{
"blockName": "core/image",
"attrs": {
"url": "https://www.spacedmonkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/test-image.jpg",
"alt": "Terminal de aeropuerto",
"caption": "fsfsdfdsfdssfd",
"href": "https://www.spacedmonkey.com/test-image",
"rel": "noreferrer noopener",
"linkClass": "jonny-123",
"linkTarget": "_blank",
"id": 147355,
"width": 582,
"height": 327,
"linkDestination": "attachment"
},
"innerBlocks": [
],
"innerHTML": "\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a class=\"jonny-123\" href=\"https://www.spacedmonkey.com/test-image\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img src=\"https://www.spacedmonkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/test-image.jpg\" alt=\"Terminal de aeropuerto\" class=\"wp-image-147355\" width=\"582\" height=\"327\"/></a><figcaption>fsfsdfdsfdssfd</figcaption></figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a class=\"jonny-123\" href=\"https://www.spacedmonkey.com/test-image\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img src=\"https://www.spacedmonkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/test-image.jpg\" alt=\"Terminal de aeropuerto\" class=\"wp-image-147355\" width=\"582\" height=\"327\"/></a><figcaption>fsfsdfdsfdssfd</figcaption></figure>\n"
],
"rendered": "\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a class=\"jonny-123\" href=\"https://www.spacedmonkey.com/test-image\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img src=\"https://www.spacedmonkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/test-image.jpg\" alt=\"Terminal de aeropuerto\" class=\"wp-image-147355\" width=\"582\" height=\"327\"/></a><figcaption>fsfsdfdsfdssfd</figcaption></figure>\n"
}
],

Technical Notes

  • Requires PHP 5.6+.
  • Requires WordPress 5.5+.
  • Issues and Pull requests welcome on the GitHub repository: https://github.com/spacedmonkey/wp-rest-blocks

Development

This plugin uses @wordpress/env for local development and testing.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 20+ and npm
  • Docker Desktop (must be installed and running)

Setup

  1. Clone the repository
  2. Install dependencies:
    bash
    npm install
    composer install

  3. Start the WordPress environment:
    bash
    npm run env:start

    This will start a local WordPress instance at http://localhost:8888 (admin: http://localhost:8888/wp-admin with username admin and password password)

    Note: Docker must be running for this to work. The first time you run this, it will download WordPress and set up the database, which may take a few minutes.

Available Commands

  • npm run env:start – Start the WordPress environment
  • npm run env:stop – Stop the WordPress environment
  • npm run env:reset – Reset the environment (clean database)
  • npm run env:destroy – Destroy the environment completely
  • npm run test:php – Run PHPUnit tests
  • npm run test:php:multisite – Run PHPUnit tests in multisite mode
  • npm run lint:php – Run PHP CodeSniffer
  • npm run lint:php:fix – Fix PHP coding standards issues automatically

Running Tests

After starting the environment with npm run env:start, you can run the tests:

`bash

npm run test:php
`

For multisite tests:

`bash

npm run test:php:multisite
`

Accessing the Site

  • Development site: http://localhost:8888
  • Admin dashboard: http://localhost:8888/wp-admin (admin/password)
  • Test site: http://localhost:8889
  • Test admin: http://localhost:8889/wp-admin (admin/password)

Installation

Using The WordPress Dashboard

  1. Navigate to the ‘Add New’ in the plugins dashboard
  2. Search for ‘wp-rest-blocks’
  3. Click ‘Install Now’
  4. Activate the plugin on the Plugin dashboard

Uploading in WordPress Dashboard

  1. Navigate to the ‘Add New’ in the plugins dashboard
  2. Navigate to the ‘Upload’ area
  3. Select wp-rest-blocks.zip from your computer
  4. Click ‘Install Now’
  5. Activate the plugin in the Plugin dashboard

Using FTP

  1. Download wp-rest-blocks.zip
  2. Extract the wp-rest-blocks directory to your computer
  3. Upload the wp-rest-blocks directory to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
  4. Activate the plugin in the Plugin dashboard

Changelog

1.0.2

  • Fix issue with WordPress 6.5
  • Update coding standards to WP coding standards 3.1.0
  • Mark tested up to WP 6.5

1.0.1

  • Update coding standards to WP coding standards 3.0.1
  • Mark tested up to WP 6.4

1.0.0

Breaking change!
The field in the REST API is changed from blocks to block_data.

0.5.0

  • Add support for new post types added in WordPress 5.9.

0.4.0

  • Added support for block based widget, added in WordPress 5.8. Block data is added to the /wp/v2/widgets endpoint.

0.3.2

  • Update translations

0.3.1

  • Hot fix.

0.3.0

  • Improve support for block that have attributes that use query source type.
  • Improve error handling for those that install this plugin without using composer.

0.2.1

  • Update dependency.

0.2.0

  • Breaking change. Field names have changed and required WordPress 5.5+

0.1.0

  • First version.

Full changelog on WordPress.org →

Screenshots

Add fields to the rest api.
Add fields to the rest api.

For developers

Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.

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Active installs badge Rating badge Health score badge

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FAQ

REST API blocks: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 4, 2026

Is REST API blocks free?

Yes. REST API blocks is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is REST API blocks safe to use in 2026?

REST API blocks works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 9 months ago, and scores 48/100 on our health check.

How many websites use REST API blocks?

REST API blocks is active on 200+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 7,724 times since it launched in August 2021. It was downloaded 202 times in the last 30 days.

Does REST API blocks work with WordPress 7.1?

REST API blocks is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.

What PHP version does REST API blocks need?

REST API blocks requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.

When was REST API blocks last updated?

The latest version, 2.0.0, was released on January 3, 2026 (9 months ago).

Who makes REST API blocks?

REST API blocks is developed and maintained by Jonny Harris.

What are the best alternatives to REST API blocks?

The most popular alternatives to REST API blocks are WP Consent API (200K+ installs), Disable REST API (80K+ installs) and Mailgun for WordPress (80K+ installs).

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