WooCommerce Data — Orders, Products & APIs

Reference for HPOS-compatible data access, product/customer CRUD, Store API, and REST API integration.

1. HPOS (High-Performance Order Storage)

Since WooCommerce 8.2, HPOS is the default order storage for new installs. Orders are stored in custom tables, not wp_postmeta .

Accessing Order Data (HPOS-Compatible)

// Always use CRUD methods — never direct SQL or get_post_meta(). $order = wc_get_order( $order_id );

// Read. $total = $order->get_total(); $status = $order->get_status(); $billing = $order->get_billing_email(); $meta = $order->get_meta( '_mce_transaction_id' );

// Write. $order->set_status( 'completed' ); $order->update_meta_data( '_mce_transaction_id', 'txn_123' ); $order->save();

Querying Orders

// Use wc_get_orders() — works with both HPOS and legacy storage. $orders = wc_get_orders( array( 'status' => 'processing', 'limit' => 50, 'orderby' => 'date', 'order' => 'DESC', 'meta_query' => array( array( 'key' => '_mce_synced', 'value' => 'no', ), ), ) );

Declare HPOS Compatibility

add_action( 'before_woocommerce_init', function (): void { if ( class_exists( '\Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil' ) ) { \Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil::declare_compatibility( 'custom_order_tables', FILE, true ); } } );

What NOT to Do

Deprecated Pattern HPOS-Compatible Alternative

get_post_meta( $order_id, '_key', true )

$order->get_meta( '_key' )

update_post_meta( $order_id, '_key', $v )

$order->update_meta_data( '_key', $v ); $order->save();

new WP_Query( ['post_type'=>'shop_order'] )

wc_get_orders( [...] )

Direct SQL on wp_posts /wp_postmeta

Use OrdersTableDataStore or CRUD methods

get_post( $order_id )

wc_get_order( $order_id )

2. Product CRUD

// Read. $product = wc_get_product( $product_id ); $name = $product->get_name(); $price = $product->get_price(); $sku = $product->get_sku(); $stock = $product->get_stock_quantity(); $type = $product->get_type(); // simple, variable, grouped, external. $meta = $product->get_meta( '_mce_custom' );

// Write. $product->set_regular_price( '29.99' ); $product->update_meta_data( '_mce_custom', 'value' ); $product->save();

Product Types

Class Type Use Case

WC_Product_Simple

simple

Standard product

WC_Product_Variable

variable

Product with variations

WC_Product_Variation

variation

Single variation of a variable

WC_Product_Grouped

grouped

Collection of simple products

WC_Product_External

external

Affiliate / external product

3. Customer CRUD

$customer = new WC_Customer( $user_id ); $email = $customer->get_email(); $orders = $customer->get_order_count(); $spent = $customer->get_total_spent();

$customer->update_meta_data( '_mce_loyalty', 'gold' ); $customer->save();

4. Data Integrity

Always verify entity state before deletion or modification:

// Verify order status before deletion. $order = wc_get_order( $order_id ); if ( ! $order || ! in_array( $order->get_status(), array( 'draft', 'checkout-draft' ), true ) ) { return false; // Don't delete non-draft orders. } $order->delete( true );

// Verify ownership in batch operations. foreach ( $order_ids as $id ) { $order = wc_get_order( $id ); if ( $order && (int) $order->get_customer_id() === get_current_user_id() ) { $order->delete( true ); } }

Checklist: entity exists → correct state → correct owner → race-condition safe → check return value of delete/save.

5. DI Container

WooCommerce src/ classes use dependency injection:

$instance = wc_get_container()->get( \Automattic\WooCommerce\Internal\SomeClass::class );

Internal classes (src/Internal/ ) are private API — only rely on documented APIs.

6. Store API (Cart & Checkout)

The Store API is an unauthenticated public REST API for customer-facing cart, checkout, and product functionality.

Key Endpoints

Method Endpoint Purpose

GET

/wc/store/v1/products

List products

GET

/wc/store/v1/cart

Get current cart

POST

/wc/store/v1/cart/add-item

Add item to cart

POST

/wc/store/v1/checkout

Place order

PUT

/wc/store/v1/checkout

Update order (9.8+)

Extending Store API

Use ExtendSchema to add custom data to Store API responses:

use Automattic\WooCommerce\StoreApi\StoreApi; use Automattic\WooCommerce\StoreApi\Schemas\V1\CartItemSchema;

add_action( 'woocommerce_blocks_loaded', function (): void { $extend = StoreApi::container()->get( \Automattic\WooCommerce\StoreApi\Schemas\ExtendSchema::class ); $extend->register_endpoint_data( array( 'endpoint' => CartItemSchema::IDENTIFIER, 'namespace' => 'my-extension', 'data_callback' => function ( array $cart_item ): array { return array( 'custom_label' => get_post_meta( $cart_item['product_id'], '_mce_label', true ), ); }, 'schema_callback' => function (): array { return array( 'custom_label' => array( 'type' => 'string', 'description' => 'Custom product label', 'readonly' => true, ), ); }, ) ); } );

7. WooCommerce REST API

The REST API is authenticated (consumer key + secret) for admin/back-office operations.

Generate keys at WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > REST API.

curl https://example.com/wp-json/wc/v3/products -u ck_xxx:cs_xxx

Namespaces

Namespace Purpose

wc/v3

Core CRUD (products, orders, customers)

wc/store/v1

Store API (unauthenticated, cart/checkout)

wc-admin

Admin analytics and reports

wc-analytics

Analytics data

Common Endpoints

Endpoint Methods Description

/wc/v3/products

GET, POST Products CRUD

/wc/v3/orders

GET, POST Orders CRUD

/wc/v3/customers

GET, POST Customers CRUD

/wc/v3/coupons

GET, POST Coupons CRUD

/wc/v3/reports

GET Sales reports

/wc/v3/webhooks

GET, POST Webhook management

8. Common Mistakes

Mistake Fix

Using get_post_meta() for order data Use $order->get_meta() — required for HPOS

new WP_Query(['post_type'=>'shop_order'])

Use wc_get_orders() — works with HPOS and legacy

Not declaring HPOS compatibility Add FeaturesUtil::declare_compatibility('custom_order_tables', ...)

Calling $order->set_status() without save()

CRUD changes are only persisted after save()

Direct SQL queries on order tables Use WC CRUD or wc_get_orders()

Using $woocommerce global instead of WC()

Use the WC() function — it's the singleton accessor

Deleting orders without verifying status Check $order->get_status() before $order->delete()

Batch operations without per-item validation Verify each item exists, has correct state and correct owner

Related Skills

• woocommerce-setup — Extension architecture, plugin headers, FeaturesUtil

• woocommerce-payments — Payment gateways, block checkout integration

• woocommerce-hooks — Order lifecycle hooks, cart hooks, product hooks