wp-abilities-api_skill

Overview

This skill helps engineers implement and debug the WordPress Abilities API end-to-end. It covers registering abilities and categories in PHP, exposing them via the REST endpoints, and consuming or checking abilities in client-side JavaScript using @wordpress/abilities.

How this skill works

The skill inspects the codebase for PHP registration calls (wp_register_ability, wp_register_ability_category) and REST usage under wp-abilities/v1, plus JS imports of @wordpress/abilities. It guides where to register categories and abilities, which meta flags to set (notably show_in_rest and readonly), verifies REST exposure, and outlines common failure modes and fixes.

When to use it

• Adding new abilities or categories to a plugin, theme, or core work.
• Exposing server-side abilities to client apps via the REST API.
• Troubleshooting abilities that do not appear in REST responses or JS checks.
• Migrating projects to use @wordpress/abilities for client-side permission checks.
• Ensuring compatibility on sites targeting WordPress versions before Abilities support in core.

Best practices

• Use stable, namespaced IDs for abilities and a clear category to avoid collisions.
• Set meta.show_in_rest = true for any ability clients must consume; use readonly for informational flags.
• Register abilities on the documented init hooks so registration code always runs.
• Prefer @wordpress/abilities on the client and ensure your build bundles that dependency.
• Run REST checks in a local WP environment and clear caches when results differ from expectations.

Example use cases

• Register a new ability in a plugin and expose it so a React admin app can hide/show UI.
• Add an ability category for a custom feature set to group related permissions.
• Fix a missing ability by enabling show_in_rest and correcting the registration hook.
• Update client code to consume abilities via @wordpress/abilities instead of custom REST parsing.
• Validate Abilities API availability when supporting sites running older WordPress versions.