API Calls made by WordPress

Update Checks (Themes, Plugins, Core)

Endpoint: https://api.wordpress.org/core/version-check/
Purpose: WordPress checks for core, theme, and plugin updates by sending requests to the WordPress.org API.
Triggers:
When an admin visits the “Dashboard” → “Updates” page.
During scheduled background update checks (typically every 12 hours).
Request Type: POST
Data Sent: WordPress version, list of installed plugins, list of installed themes, site URL, PHP version, etc.
Caller:
wp_version_check() – Called via the WordPress Cron system (wp-cron.php), or manually when an admin checks updates.
wp_update_plugins() – Plugin update check.
wp_update_themes() – Theme update check. Th
ese functions are usually called by wp-cron scheduled tasks (wp_schedule_event()), or manually through the admin interface.

Endpoint: https://api.wordpress.org/plugins/info/1.0/
Purpose: Fetches plugin details such as descriptions, reviews, and installation metadata.
Triggers:
When an admin searches for plugins in the “Plugins” → “Add New” page.
When WordPress checks for plugin updates.
Request Type: GET
Data Sent: Plugin slug, locale, WordPress version.
Caller:
plugins_api() – This function makes the API request to WordPress.org when searching for plugins or checking plugin details.
wp_update_plugins() – Calls WordPress.org to check for plugin updates during background or manual update checks.

Endpoint: https://api.wordpress.org/themes/info/1.0/
Purpose: Fetches theme details from the WordPress theme repository.
Triggers:
When an admin searches for themes in the “Appearance” → “Themes” → “Add New” page.
During theme update checks.
Request Type: GET
Data Sent: Theme slug, locale, WordPress version.
Caller:
themes_api() – Called when searching for themes or fetching details about a theme from WordPress.org.
wp_update_themes() – Triggered for theme update checks.

Endpoint: https://api.wordpress.org/translations/core/1.0/
Purpose: Fetches available translation packages for core, plugins, and themes.
Triggers:
During scheduled update checks or when an admin manually checks for updates.
Request Type: GET
Data Sent: WordPress version, language settings, list of installed plugins and themes.
Caller:
wp_get_translation_updates() – Called when checking for translation updates for WordPress core, plugins, or themes.

Endpoint:
Plugins: https://api.wordpress.org/plugins/info/1.2/
Themes: https://api.wordpress.org/themes/info/1.2/
Purpose: Fetches and filters the list of available plugins/themes from WordPress.org repositories.
Triggers:
When searching for new plugins or themes from the WordPress dashboard.
Request Type: POST
Data Sent: Search query, filters like popularity, compatibility, etc.
Caller:
install_themes_upload(), install_plugins_upload() – These functions handle searching for and retrieving plugin or theme data from WordPress.org.

Endpoint: https://api.wordpress.org/core/checksums/1.0/
Purpose: Verifies the integrity of core WordPress files.
Triggers:
When the site admin runs a site health check via “Tools” → “Site Health”.
Request Type: GET
Data Sent: WordPress version, locale.
Caller:
wp_get_core_checksums() – Part of the Site Health tool that compares local WordPress core files against checksums from WordPress.org.

Some plugins like Jetpack or Akismet communicate with WordPress.org APIs or Automattic servers.
Jetpack connects to Automattic servers for site stats, backups, and other services. Additional Hooks and Callers
pre_http_request and http_api_debug hooks: These hooks allow developers to filter or inspect HTTP requests made by WordPress, including those to WordPress.org.
wp_remote_get() and wp_remote_post(): These are the lower-level functions WordPress uses to make all HTTP requests, including the ones to WordPress.org. Many of the API calls listed above ultimately use these functions to send the actual request.