API Reference Overview

The WP Engine Customer API provides a comprehensive set of endpoints for managing your WordPress sites, accounts, and users. This reference documentation will help you understand the available resources and how to interact with them.

Base URL & Versioning

All API requests should be made to:

https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1

The current version of the API is v1. The version is included in the URL path to ensure compatibility as the API evolves.

Authentication

The API uses Basic Authentication. You’ll need your API username and password from the WP Engine User Portal. See the Authentication guide for detailed instructions.

Making Requests

Content Types

The API accepts JSON-encoded request bodies:

For JSON requests: Content-Type: application/json

HTTP Methods

The API uses standard HTTP methods:

GET: Retrieve resources
POST: Create new resources
PATCH: Update existing resources
DELETE: Remove resources

Here’s an example of each method:

# Retrieve a site
curl -X GET "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/sites/28c78b6d-c2da-4f09-85f5-1ad588089b2d" \
  -u "API_USER_ID:API_USER_PASSWORD"

# Create a new site
curl -X POST "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/sites" \
  -u "API_USER_ID:API_USER_PASSWORD" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Torque Magazine",
    "account_id": "eeda3227-9a39-46ae-9e14-20958bb4e6c9"
  }'

# Update a site's name
curl -X PATCH "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/sites/28c78b6d-c2da-4f09-85f5-1ad588089b2d" \
  -u "API_USER_ID:API_USER_PASSWORD" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My New Name"
  }'

# Delete a site
curl -X DELETE "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/sites/28c78b6d-c2da-4f09-85f5-1ad588089b2d" \
  -u "API_USER_ID:API_USER_PASSWORD"

Status Codes

The API uses standard HTTP status codes:

Code	Description
200	Success - The request was successful
201	Created - The resource was successfully created
204	No Content - The request was successful (often for DELETE operations)
400	Bad Request - The request was invalid
401	Authentication Error - Invalid credentials
403	Not Authorized - You don’t have permission
404	Not Found - The resource doesn’t exist
429	Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded
503	Service Unavailable - The service is temporarily unavailable

Response Format

Most endpoints return data in this format:

{
  "id": "28c78b6d-c2da-4f09-85f5-1ad588089b2d",
  "name": "Torque Magazine",
  "account": {
    "id": "eeda3227-9a39-46ae-9e14-20958bb4e6c9"
  }
}

List endpoints return paginated results:

{
  "previous": "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/sites?limit=100&offset=0",
  "next": "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/sites?limit=100&offset=200",
  "count": 225,
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "28c78b6d-c2da-4f09-85f5-1ad588089b2d",
      "name": "Torque Magazine",
      "account": {
        "id": "eeda3227-9a39-46ae-9e14-20958bb4e6c9"
      }
    }
  ]
}

See the Pagination guide for details on working with paginated responses.

Error Responses

When an error occurs, the API returns an error object:

{
  "message": "Bad Credentials"
}

{
  "message": "Invalid Site: Name cannot be empty."
}

{
  "message": "Not Found"
}

{
  "message": "Domain status checks are rate-limited to one request every 5 seconds for each install"
}

Available Resources

Resource	Description	Endpoints
Status	System status and health	GET /status
Accounts	Manage WP Engine accounts	GET /accounts, GET /accounts/{id}
Account Users	Manage account users	GET, POST, PATCH, DELETE /accounts/{id}/account_users
Sites	Manage sites	GET, POST, PATCH, DELETE /sites
Installs	Manage WordPress installations	GET, POST, PATCH, DELETE /installs
Domains	Manage domains and redirects	GET, POST, PATCH, DELETE /installs/{id}/domains
Backups	Create and manage backups	POST /installs/{id}/backups
Cache	Purge various caches	POST /installs/{id}/purge_cache
User	Current user information	GET /user
SSH Keys	Manage SSH keys	GET, POST, DELETE /ssh_keys