readme.txt

=== CoCart - Decoupling WooCommerce Made Easy ===
Contributors: cocartforwc, sebd86, ajayghaghretiya, skunkbad, sefid-par, mattdabell, joshuaiz, dmchale, JPPdesigns, inspiredagency, darkchris, mohib007, rozaliastoilova, ashtarcommunications, albertoabruzzo, jnz31, douglasjohnson, antondrob2
Tags: woocommerce, rest-api, api, decoupled, headless, cart, products, session, rate-limit
Requires at least: 5.6
Requires PHP: 7.4
Tested up to: 6.3
Stable tag: 3.7.9
WC requires at least: 6.9
WC tested up to: 8.0
License: GPLv3
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html

Customizable REST API that lets you build headless ecommerce without limits powered by WooCommerce.

== Description ==

### CoCart: The #1 ecommerce RESTful API built for WooCommerce that scales for headless development.

Take your **WooCommerce** business to the next level with **headless ecommerce** using CoCart.

[CoCart](https://cocart.xyz/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart)'s customizable **frontend** REST API for WooCommerce allows you to separate your CMS from your presentation layer, while developers can use the frameworks and tools they love.

## 🥪 The API

CoCart provides support for managing the users session, alternative options for doing this task do exist; however, their usage can be limited to applications of the same origin as the WordPress installation. This is due to WooCommerce using cookies to store user session tokens. CoCart does not use cookies and is not restricted to using [cookie authentication](https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/using-the-rest-api/authentication/#cookie-authentication).

CoCart provides the utilities to change this behavior during any cart request and passes the required information to HTTP Header so it can be cached client-side. The use of an HTTP Authorization header is optional allowing users to shop as a guest.

#### 🛒 Cart API

Add **simple, simple subscription, variable, variable subscriptions** and **grouped products** to the cart either by a **product ID** or **SKU ID**. Update quantities individually or in bulk, add or update customer details and more. The flow is simple and returns an updated cart response every time with all the totals calculated. Coupon and stock checks are done automatically making it easier to simply update your **UX/UI** based on the response.

#### 🛍️ Products API

CoCart allows unauthenticated access to your store products and allows you to filter the queries by product categories, tags, attributes and more. Return even posted reviews and variations as single products.

All the information you need about a product and it's conditions are provided ready to help you with your **UX/UI** development.

## Filter what you need. Get exactly that.

With CoCart, the client can limit the fields, asking for the exact data needed for the response, nothing more. This allows the client have control over their application, and allows the CoCart server to perform more efficiently by only fetching the resources requested.

#### ➕ Extras

* Get store information.
* Login the customer/user.
* Logout the customer/user.
* Empty the cart.

As an added bonus for **administrators only**, CoCart also provides the capabilities to:

* Get all carts in session.
* Get details of an individual cart in session.
* View only items added in a cart in session.
* Delete a cart in session.

## ✨ Features

CoCart also provides built in features to:

* **NEW**: RateLimit for the API. See [Rate Limit Guide](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart/blob/dev/docs/rate-limit-guide.md).
* **NEW**: PRODUCTS API can be cached to get faster response times.
* **NEW**: Attach customers phone number while adding an item to the cart. (Useful for abandoned cart situations.)
* Attach customers email address while adding an item to the cart. (Useful for abandoned cart situations.)
* Override the price for simple or variable products added to cart.
* Load a cart in session via the web. (Useful if you don't have a headless checkout and want to use the native checkout.)
* Supports guest customers.
* Supports basic authentication including the use of email or phone number as the username.
* Support [authentication via WooCommerce's method](https://cocart.dev/authenticating-with-woocommerce-heres-how-you-can-do-it/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).
* Supports multi-site network.
* Does **NOT Cache** the CART API so responses are **fresh** every time.
* Works across multiple domains, CORS ready! **So you can have multiple frontends connected to one backend.**
* Allows you to filter CoCart to be white-labelled.

Included with these features are **over 100+ filters** and **action hooks** for developers to customize API responses or change how CoCart operates with our [code reference](https://coderef.cocart.dev/reference/hooks/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

## 🧰 Tools and Libraries

* **[CoCart Beta Tester](https://github.com/co-cart/cocart-beta-tester)** allows you to easily update to prerelease versions of CoCart for testing and development purposes.
* **[CoCart VSCode](https://github.com/co-cart/cocart-vscode)** extension for Visual Studio Code adds snippets and autocompletion of functions, classes and hooks.
* **[CoCart Product Support Boilerplate](https://github.com/co-cart/cocart-product-support-boilerplate)** provides a basic boilerplate for supporting a different product types to add to the cart with validation including adding your own parameters.
* **[CoCart Cart Callback Example](https://github.com/co-cart/cocart-cart-callback-example)** provides you an example of registering a callback that can be triggered when updating the cart.
* **[CoCart Tweaks](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart-tweaks)** provides a starting point for developers to tweak CoCart to their needs.
* **[Official Node.js Library](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cocart/cocart-rest-api)** provides a JavaScript wrapper supporting CommonJS (CJS) and ECMAScript Modules (ESM).

### 📦 CoCart Pro

CoCart is just the tip of the iceberg. [CoCart Pro](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) extends with the following [features](https://cocart.xyz/features/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart):

* **Plugin Updates** for 1 year.
* **Priority Support** for [CoCart Pro](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) users is via Discord.
* Add and Remove Coupons to Cart
* Retrieve Coupon Discount Total
* Retrieve and Set Payment Method
* Retrieve and Set Shipping Methods
* Retrieve and Set Fees
* Calculate Shipping Fees
* Calculate Totals and Fees

Features that will be available in the future:

* Remove all coupons from cart
* Register Customers
* Retrieve checkout fields (More details on that soon)
* Set cart customer (In Development)
* Create Order (In Development)

For a logged in customer:

* Return Customers Orders
* Return Customers Subscriptions
* Return Customers Downloads (Auditing)
* Return Customers Saved Payment Methods
* Get and Update Customers Profile (In Development)

[Buy CoCart Pro Now](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart)

### Extensions supported

[View list of the WooCommerce extensions](https://cocart.xyz/woocommerce-extensions/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) that support CoCart or are supported in [CoCart Pro](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

## 📢 Testimonials - Developers love it

★★★★★
> An excellent plugin, which makes building a headless WooCommerce experience a breeze. Easy to use, nearly zero setup time. [Harald Schneider](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/excellent-plugin-8062/)

★★★★★
> Amazing Plugin. I’m using it to create a react-native app with WooCommerce as back-end. This plugin is a life-saver! [Daniel Loureiro](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/amazing-plugin-1562/)

★★★★★
> This plugin saved me tones of work and it is working amazingly! The plugin author provides fast and high quality support. Well done! [@codenroll](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-plugin-with-a-great-support-7/)

★★★★★
> Thanks for doing such a great work with this! Works exactly as expected and CoCart seems to have a nice community around it. The founder seems really devoted and that’s one of the key things for a plugin like this to live on and get the right updates in the future. We just got ourselves the lifetime subscription. [Mighty Group Agency](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/awesome-plugin-4681/)

★★★★★
> This plugin works great out of the box for adding products to the cart via API. The code is solid and functionality is as expected, thanks Sebastien! [Scott Bolinger, Creator of Holler Box](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/works-great-out-of-the-box-16/)

#### More testimonials

[See the wall of love](https://cocart.xyz/wall-of-love/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

### 😍 Priority support

We aim to provide regular support for the CoCart plugin on the WordPress.org forums. But please understand that we do prioritize support for our premium customers. Communication is handled in [Discord](https://discord.com/channels/862091299049177148/1086765698287681536) and is available to people who purchased [CoCart Pro](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

### ☀️ Upgrading

It is recommended that anytime you want to update CoCart that you get familiar with what's changed in the release.

CoCart publishes [release notes via the changelog](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/#developers).

CoCart uses Semver practices. The summary of Semver versioning is as follows:

- *MAJOR* version when you make incompatible API changes.
- *MINOR* version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner.
- *PATCH* version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes.

You can read more about the details of Semver at [semver.org](https://semver.org/)

#### 👍 Add-ons to further enhance CoCart

We also have add-ons that extend CoCart to enhance your development and your customers shopping experience.

* **[CoCart - CORS](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cocart-cors/)** enables support for CORS to allow CoCart to work across multiple domains. - **FREE**
* **[CoCart - Rate Limiting](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cocart-rate-limiting)** enables the rate limiting feature. - **FREE**
* **[CoCart - JWT Authentication](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cocart-jwt-authentication)** allows you to authenticate via a simple JWT Token. - **FREE**
* **[CoCart - Cart Enhanced](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cocart-get-cart-enhanced/)** enhances the data returned for the cart and the items added to it. - **FREE**
* **[Advanced Custom Fields](https://cocart.xyz/add-ons/advanced-custom-fields/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart)** extends the products API by returning all your advanced custom fields for products.
* and more add-ons in development.

They work with the core of CoCart already, and these add-ons of course come with support too.

### ⌨️ Join our growing community

A Discord community for developers, WordPress agencies and shop owners building the fastest and best headless WooCommerce stores with CoCart.

[Join our community](https://cocart.xyz/community/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart)

### Built with developers in mind

Extensible, adaptable, and open source — CoCart is created with developers in mind. If you’re interested to jump in the project, there are opportunities for developers at all levels to get involved. [Contribute to CoCart on the GitHub repository](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart/blob/trunk/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) and join the party. 🎉

Check out [open issues](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen) and join the [🌐localization](https://discord.com/channels/862091299049177148/864106166681075732) channel on Discord if you know a second language. If you don’t have a Discord account yet, you can sign up at [https://cocart.xyz/community/](https://cocart.xyz/community/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

### 🐞 Bug reports

Bug reports for CoCart are welcomed in the [CoCart repository on GitHub](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart). Please note that GitHub is not a support forum, and that issues that aren’t properly qualified as bugs will be closed.

### More information

* The [CoCart plugin](https://cocart.xyz/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) official website.
* The CoCart [Documentation](https://docs.cocart.xyz/)
* [Subscribe to updates](http://eepurl.com/dKIYXE)
* Like, Follow and Star on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/cocartforwc/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cocartapi), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/co_cart/) and [GitHub](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart)

#### 💯 Credits

This plugin is created by [Sébastien Dumont](https://sebastiendumont.com/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

## 📡 Privacy Policy

CoCart uses [Appsero](https://appsero.com) SDK to collect some telemetry data upon user's confirmation. This helps us to troubleshoot problems faster & make product improvements.

Appsero SDK **does not gather any data by default.** The SDK only starts gathering basic telemetry data **when a user allows it via the admin notice**. We collect the data to ensure a great user experience for all our users. 

Integrating Appsero SDK **DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY** start gathering data, **without confirmation from users in any case.**

Learn more about how [Appsero collects and uses this data](https://appsero.com/privacy-policy/).

== Installation ==

= Minimum Requirements =

* WordPress v5.6
* WooCommerce v6.9
* PHP v7.4

= Recommended Requirements =

* WordPress v6.0 or higher.
* WooCommerce v7.0 or higher.
* PHP v8.0 or higher.

= Automatic installation =

Automatic installation is the easiest option as WordPress handles the file transfers itself and you don’t need to leave your web browser. To do an automatic install of CoCart, log in to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the Plugins menu and click Add New.

In the search field type "CoCart" and click Search Plugins. Once you’ve found the plugin you can view details about it such as the point release, rating and description. Most importantly of course, you can install it by simply clicking "Install Now".

= Manual installation =

The manual installation method involves downloading the plugin and uploading it to your webserver via your favorite FTP application. The WordPress codex contains [instructions on how to do this here](https://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins#Manual_Plugin_Installation).

= Upgrading =

It is recommended that anytime you want to update CoCart that you get familiar with what's changed in the release.

CoCart publishes [release notes via the changelog](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/#developers).

CoCart uses Semver practices. The summary of Semver versioning is as follows:

- *MAJOR* version when you make incompatible API changes.
- *MINOR* version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner.
- *PATCH* version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes.

You can read more about the details of Semver at [semver.org](https://semver.org/)

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Is CoCart free? =

Yes! CoCart’s core features are absolutely free. [CoCart Pro completes the full cart experience!](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart)

= How do I start using CoCart? =

You will first need WooCommerce installed with the REST API enabled. Then install CoCart and follow the documentation.

> Please check the requirements listed in the [installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/#installation) section.

= Who should use CoCart? =

CoCart is perfect for ecommerce owners and developers who want to create an ecommerce app for mobile or a custom frontend shopping experience completely using the REST API.

= Do I need to have coding skills to use CoCart? =

As this plugin provides a REST API built for developers, you will need to have some coding knowledge to use it. [Checkout the documentation](https://docs.cocart.xyz/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) to get some understanding.

= Where can I find documentation for CoCart? =

You can find the documentation for CoCart on the [CoCart REST API Docs](https://docs.cocart.xyz/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

= Can I add or change details to the responses? =

You certainly can. There are over 100+ filters and action hooks available to do just that. [Checkout the code reference](https://coderef.cocart.dev/reference/hooks/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

= Why does CoCart use a custom session handler in the first place? =

If you're familiar with WooCommerce, you may be wondering why using a custom session handler at all instead of the WooCommerce default session handler? A number of reasons but the ones that really matter are.

- The default session handler only supports cookies.
- The default session handler **does not support guest customers**.
- The default session handler **does not store additional data that maybe required to help you**.
- More consistent with modern web.

= Why does CoCart use a custom session table in the database? =

The default WooCommerce session table only stores the basics of a cart in session. CoCart provides additional data that maybe required to help you and other add-ons/extensions developed by CoCart or third-parties.

Such as when the cart was created. This information is only stored in the browser session.

Also the source of the cart it was last saved. For the web it will be `WooCommerce` and for your headless ecommerce `CoCart`. This lets you know which version of your store your customers are shopping from should you have both web and app versions.

= Can I have WordPress running on one domain and my headless ecommerce on another domain? =

Yes of course. You just need to enable CORS. You can do that easily with [the CORS add-on](https://wordpress.org/plugins/cocart-cors/) or you can [manually enable it via the filters in the documentation](https://docs.cocart.xyz/#filters-api-access-cors-allow-all-cross-origin-headers) for more advanced control.

= Can I add "WooCommerce Subscriptions" product to the cart? =

Absolutely you can. Any WooCommerce Subscriptions product can be added to the cart the same way a simple or variable product is added to the cart.

= Why can I not add the same item to the cart with a different price? =

Each item added to the cart is assigned a cart item key which is made of four key values: **Product ID**, **Variation ID**, **Variation attributes** and **Cart item data**.

The price and quantity is not taken into account to make this key.

So if you add the same item to the cart but with a different price, the cart will look up the cart item key to see if it's already added to the cart before deciding to either:
    1. Add it as a new item.
    2. Update the quantity of the previous item, in your case the price.

= Is "WooCommerce Shipping and Tax" plugin supported? =

Not at this time. "WooCommerce Shipping and Tax" ignores any REST API from allowing the ability to calculate the taxes from TaxJar except for WooCommerce Blocks and JetPack. However, [TaxJar for WooCommerce](https://wordpress.org/plugins/taxjar-simplified-taxes-for-woocommerce/) plugin is supported.

= Is "TaxJar for WooCommerce" plugin supported? =

If you have "[TaxJar for WooCommerce](https://wordpress.org/plugins/taxjar-simplified-taxes-for-woocommerce/)" v3.2.5 or above and CoCart v3.0 or above installed... then yes, it is supported.

= Is CoCart right for my business? =

CoCart’s REST API makes it possible for businesses to build a complete custom storefront. It’s API-first, enabling your business to take the shopping experience to the next level.

Made by and for developers, CoCart immediately allows you to create sophisticated experiences fast with unlimited possibilities.

With our extensive documentation and resources available, CoCart is a plug and play solution that works out of the box.

Save yourself 80% of a headache and hours of development time.

= Can I use any modern stack or JavaScript framework? =

Yes you can. Use your preferred tools and favorite modern technologies like [NextJS](https://nextjs.org/), [React](https://reactjs.org/), [Vue](https://vuejs.org/), [Ember](https://emberjs.com/) and more giving you endless flexibility and customization. Any client that can make http requests to the REST API endpoint can be used to interact with CoCart.

= Why use CoCart and not WooCommerce Store API? =

Checkout the [comparison](https://cocart.xyz/cocart-vs-woocommerces-store-api/) for a detailed look at what CoCart can do.

= Do you have a JavaScript Library? =

Yes we do. You can [find it here](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cocart/cocart-rest-api). It doesn't require authentication for guest customers. It supports CommonJS (CJS) and ECMAScript Modules (ESM). Requests are made with [Axios library](https://github.com/axios/axios) with [support to promises](https://github.com/axios/axios#promises).

= Can I install/update CoCart via Composer? =

Yes. The best method would be to install/update CoCart from the GitHub repository but you can also do so via [https://wpackagist.org/](https://wpackagist.org/search?q=cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce&type=plugin)

= Does CoCart work for multi-site network? =

Yes. Just install CoCart and activate it via the network and all sites will have CoCart enabled.

= Can I enable white labelling for CoCart? =

Yes you can. You will have to edit your `wp-config.php` file to add a new constant. [Details can be found in the documentation](https://cocart.dev/articles/wp-config-php/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart#white-labelling).

= Where can I report bugs? =

Report bugs on the [CoCart GitHub repository](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart/issues). You can also notify us via the support forum – be sure to search the forums to confirm that the error has not already been reported.

= CoCart is awesome! Can I contribute? =

Yes, you can! Join in on our [GitHub repository](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart/blob/trunk/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) and follow the [development blog](https://cocart.dev/news/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) to stay up-to-date with everything happening in the project.

= Is CoCart translatable? =

Yes! CoCart is deployed with full translation and localization support via the ‘cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce’ text-domain.

= Where can I get help or talk other users about CoCart core? =

If you get stuck, you can ask for help in the [CoCart support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/) or [join the CoCart Community on Discord](https://cocart.xyz/community/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) where you will find like minded developers who help each other out.

There is also the [community group on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/cocart/) and the [community on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/cocartheadless/).

If you are in need of priority support for using CoCart in general, it will be provided by purchasing [CoCart Pro](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

= Where can I find out about the pricing of CoCart Pro? =

Find out all relevant [pricing information over on the official site](https://cocart.xyz/pro/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart).

= My question is not listed here. Where can I find more answers? =

Check out [Frequently Asked Questions](https://cocart.xyz/faq/?utm_medium=wp.org&utm_source=wordpressorg&utm_campaign=readme&utm_content=cocart) for more.

== Screenshots ==

1. Get Products (API v2)
2. Get Individual Product (API v2)
3. Add Item to Cart (API v2)
4. Settings page

== Contributors & Developers ==

"CoCart" has **not** yet been translated in other languages. You can [translate "CoCart" into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce).

**INTERESTED IN DEVELOPMENT?**

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

== Changelog ==

If you like CoCart, please take a moment to [provide a review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/cart-rest-api-for-woocommerce/reviews/#new-post). It helps to keep the plugin going strong, and is greatly appreciated.

[View the full changelog](https://github.com/co-cart/co-cart/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md) for previous releases.

= 4.0.0 - ?? ??, 2023 =

> Add changelog here once ready! Don't forget to update the release data too.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 4.0.0 =

* Prepare to have your store super charged.