WooCommerce Data — Orders, Products & APIs

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

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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 )

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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

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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();

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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.

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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.

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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,
                ),
            );
        },
    ) );
} );

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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

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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

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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