WordPress 6.9 Abilities API provides standardized capability discovery and execution for Data Machine operations. All REST API, CLI, and Chat tool operations delegate to registered abilities.

Overview

The Abilities API in inc/Abilities/ provides a unified interface for Data Machine operations. Each ability implements execute_callback with permission_callback for consistent access control across REST API, CLI commands, and Chat tools.

Total registered abilities: 79

Registered Abilities

Pipeline Management (7 abilities)

Pipeline Steps (5 abilities)

Flow Management (5 abilities)

Flow Steps (3 abilities)

Job Execution (6 abilities)

File Management (5 abilities)

Processed Items (3 abilities)

Settings (7 abilities)

Authentication (3 abilities)

Logging (6 abilities)

Post Query (1 ability)

Handler Discovery (5 abilities)

Step Types (2 abilities)

Local Search (1 ability)

Taxonomy (5 abilities)

Queue Management (8 abilities)

Media (2 abilities)

Agent Ping (1 ability)

Job Recovery (1 ability)

Flow Steps — Additional (1 ability)

System Infrastructure (2 abilities)

Category Registration

The datamachine category is registered via wp_register_ability_category() on the wp_abilities_api_categories_init hook:

wp_register_ability_category(
    'datamachine',
    array(
        'label' => 'Data Machine',
        'description' => 'Data Machine flow and pipeline operations',
    )
);

Permission Model

All abilities support both WordPress admin and WP-CLI contexts:

'permission_callback' => function () {
    if ( defined( 'WP_CLI' ) && WP_CLI ) {
        return true;
    }
    return current_user_can( 'manage_options' );
}

Architecture

Delegation Pattern

REST API endpoints, CLI commands, and Chat tools delegate to abilities for business logic. Abilities are the canonical, public-facing primitive; service classes are considered an internal implementation detail and are being phased out as abilities become fully self-contained.

REST API Endpoint → Ability → (Service layer used during migration) → Database
CLI Command → Ability → (Service layer used during migration) → Database
Chat Tool → Ability → (Service layer used during migration) → Database

Note: many ability implementations are already self-contained and do not call service managers. Where services remain, they are transitional and will be migrated into abilities per the migration plan.

Ability Registration

Each abilities class registers abilities on the wp_abilities_api_init hook:

public function register(): void {
    add_action( 'wp_abilities_api_init', array( $this, 'register_abilities' ) );
}

Testing

Unit tests in tests/Unit/Abilities/ verify ability registration, schema validation, permission checks, and execution logic:

• AuthAbilitiesTest.php – Authentication abilities
• FileAbilitiesTest.php – File management abilities
• FlowAbilitiesTest.php – Flow CRUD abilities
• FlowStepAbilitiesTest.php – Flow step abilities
• JobAbilitiesTest.php – Job execution abilities
• LogAbilitiesTest.php – Logging abilities
• PipelineAbilitiesTest.php – Pipeline CRUD abilities
• PipelineStepAbilitiesTest.php – Pipeline step abilities
• PostQueryAbilitiesTest.php – Post query abilities
• ProcessedItemsAbilitiesTest.php – Processed items abilities
• SettingsAbilitiesTest.php – Settings abilities

WP-CLI Integration

CLI commands execute abilities directly. See individual command files in inc/Cli/Commands/ for available commands.

Post Tracking

The PostTrackingTrait in inc/Core/WordPress/PostTrackingTrait.php provides post tracking functionality for handlers creating WordPress posts.

Meta Keys:

• _datamachine_post_handler: Handler slug that created the post
• _datamachine_post_flow_id: Flow ID associated with the post
• _datamachine_post_pipeline_id: Pipeline ID associated with the post

Usage:

use PostTrackingTrait;

// After creating a post
$this->storePostTrackingMeta($post_id, $handler_config);