Managing Data with @wordpress/data

The @wordpress/data package is WordPress’s centralized state management system, built on Redux principles. It provides a powerful way to manage application state, fetch data from REST APIs, and share data between components.

Overview

WordPress’s data module serves as a hub to manage application state for both plugins and WordPress itself. It provides tools to manage data within and between distinct modules, scalable from simple plugins to complex single-page applications.

The data module is built upon Redux but includes unique features like resolvers, normalized selectors, and built-in async handling that distinguish it from standard Redux implementations.

Installation

Install the package using npm:

npm install @wordpress/data --save

Core Concepts

Stores

A store is a centralized container for your application’s state. WordPress core provides several built-in stores:

core - Core data entities (posts, pages, users)
core/editor - Editor-specific state
core/block-editor - Block editor state
core/notices - User notifications

Selectors

Selectors are functions that retrieve and derive state values. They’re your primary mechanism for reading data:

import { select } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

// Get a specific post
const post = select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecord( 'postType', 'post', 123 );

// Get all published pages
const pages = select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page', {
  status: 'publish'
});

Actions

Actions are functions that modify state. Dispatching actions is the primary mechanism for making changes:

import { dispatch } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

// Edit an entity record
dispatch( coreDataStore ).editEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', 42, {
  title: 'Updated Title'
});

// Save the changes
await dispatch( coreDataStore ).saveEditedEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', 42 );

Resolvers

Resolvers are side-effects for selectors. When a selector is called for the first time, its resolver fetches the required data:

// First call triggers resolver to fetch data
const pages = select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page' );
// Returns null initially

// Subsequent calls return cached data once resolver completes
const pages = select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page' );
// Returns the actual pages array

Using Data in React Components

useSelect Hook

The useSelect hook retrieves data from stores and automatically re-renders your component when the data changes:

import { useSelect } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

function PagesList() {
  const pages = useSelect( ( select ) => {
    return select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( 'postType', 'page' );
  }, [] );

  if ( ! pages ) {
    return <p>Loading...</p>;
  }

  return (
    <ul>
      { pages.map( ( page ) => (
        <li key={ page.id }>{ page.title.rendered }</li>
      ) ) }
    </ul>
  );
}

Always include dependencies in the second argument of useSelect. If your selector uses external variables (like searchTerm), add them to the dependency array to ensure the selector re-runs when they change.

useDispatch Hook

The useDispatch hook provides access to action creators:

import { useDispatch } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

function EditPageForm( { pageId } ) {
  const { editEntityRecord, saveEditedEntityRecord } = useDispatch( coreDataStore );
  const [ title, setTitle ] = useState( '' );

  const handleSave = async () => {
    editEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId, { title } );
    await saveEditedEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId );
  };

  return (
    <div>
      <input
        type="text"
        value={ title }
        onChange={ ( e ) => setTitle( e.target.value ) }
      />
      <button onClick={ handleSave }>Save</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Combining useSelect and useDispatch

For complex components, combine both hooks:

import { useSelect, useDispatch } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

function PageEditor( { pageId } ) {
  // Fetch page data
  const { page, isSaving } = useSelect(
    ( select ) => {
      const { getEntityRecord, isSavingEntityRecord } = select( coreDataStore );
      return {
        page: getEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId ),
        isSaving: isSavingEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId ),
      };
    },
    [ pageId ]
  );

  // Get actions
  const { editEntityRecord, saveEditedEntityRecord } = useDispatch( coreDataStore );

  const handleChange = ( field, value ) => {
    editEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId, { [ field ]: value } );
  };

  const handleSave = () => {
    saveEditedEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId );
  };

  if ( ! page ) {
    return <p>Loading...</p>;
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <input
        value={ page.title.rendered }
        onChange={ ( e ) => handleChange( 'title', e.target.value ) }
        disabled={ isSaving }
      />
      <button onClick={ handleSave } disabled={ isSaving }>
        { isSaving ? 'Saving...' : 'Save' }
      </button>
    </div>
  );
}

Checking Resolution Status

Use resolution selectors to track async operations:

hasFinishedResolution
isResolving

import { useSelect } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as coreDataStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

function PagesList() {
  const { pages, hasResolved } = useSelect( ( select ) => {
    const selectorArgs = [ 'postType', 'page', {} ];
    return {
      pages: select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( ...selectorArgs ),
      hasResolved: select( coreDataStore ).hasFinishedResolution(
        'getEntityRecords',
        selectorArgs
      ),
    };
  }, [] );

  if ( ! hasResolved ) {
    return <p>Loading...</p>;
  }

  if ( ! pages?.length ) {
    return <p>No pages found.</p>;
  }

  return (
    <ul>
      { pages.map( ( page ) => (
        <li key={ page.id }>{ page.title.rendered }</li>
      ) ) }
    </ul>
  );
}

function PagesWithSpinner() {
  const { pages, isResolving } = useSelect( ( select ) => {
    const selectorArgs = [ 'postType', 'page', {} ];
    return {
      pages: select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( ...selectorArgs ),
      isResolving: select( coreDataStore ).isResolving(
        'getEntityRecords',
        selectorArgs
      ),
    };
  }, [] );

  return (
    <div>
      { isResolving && <Spinner /> }
      { pages && (
        <ul>
          { pages.map( ( page ) => (
            <li key={ page.id }>{ page.title.rendered }</li>
          ) ) }
        </ul>
      ) }
    </div>
  );
}

Critical: Always pass identical arguments to both the selector and resolution check functions. Store them in a variable to avoid typos:

const selectorArgs = [ 'postType', 'page', query ];
const pages = select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( ...selectorArgs );
const hasResolved = select( coreDataStore ).hasFinishedResolution(
  'getEntityRecords',
  selectorArgs
);

Creating Custom Stores

Create your own store for custom data:

import { createReduxStore, register } from '@wordpress/data';

const DEFAULT_STATE = {
  items: [],
  selectedItem: null,
};

const actions = {
  setItems( items ) {
    return {
      type: 'SET_ITEMS',
      items,
    };
  },
  selectItem( itemId ) {
    return {
      type: 'SELECT_ITEM',
      itemId,
    };
  },
};

const selectors = {
  getItems( state ) {
    return state.items;
  },
  getSelectedItem( state ) {
    return state.selectedItem;
  },
};

const store = createReduxStore( 'my-plugin/store', {
  reducer( state = DEFAULT_STATE, action ) {
    switch ( action.type ) {
      case 'SET_ITEMS':
        return {
          ...state,
          items: action.items,
        };
      case 'SELECT_ITEM':
        return {
          ...state,
          selectedItem: action.itemId,
        };
    }
    return state;
  },
  actions,
  selectors,
});

register( store );

Registry Selectors

Create selectors that can access other stores:

import { createRegistrySelector } from '@wordpress/data';
import { store as editorStore } from '@wordpress/editor';
import { store as coreStore } from '@wordpress/core-data';

const getCurrentPostType = createRegistrySelector( ( select ) => () => {
  return select( editorStore ).getCurrentPostType();
} );

const getCurrentPostEdits = createRegistrySelector( ( select ) => () => {
  const postType = getCurrentPostType();
  const postId = select( editorStore ).getCurrentPostId();
  return select( coreStore ).getEntityRecordEdits( 'postType', postType, postId );
} );

Performance Optimization

Batch Updates

Use registry.batch() to group multiple updates and trigger listeners once:

import { useRegistry } from '@wordpress/data';

function BatchUpdateExample() {
  const registry = useRegistry();

  const handleBulkUpdate = () => {
    registry.batch( () => {
      registry.dispatch( 'my-store' ).action1();
      registry.dispatch( 'my-store' ).action2();
      registry.dispatch( 'my-store' ).action3();
    } );
    // Listeners notified only once
  };

  return <button onClick={ handleBulkUpdate }>Bulk Update</button>;
}

Memoized Selectors

Use createSelector for expensive computations:

import { createSelector } from '@wordpress/data';

const getExpensiveComputation = createSelector(
  ( state, itemId ) => {
    // Expensive calculation here
    const item = state.items.find( ( i ) => i.id === itemId );
    return processItem( item );
  },
  ( state ) => [ state.items ]
);

Common Patterns

Loading States

function PagesWithStates() {
  const { pages, hasResolved, isResolving, hasError } = useSelect( ( select ) => {
    const selectorArgs = [ 'postType', 'page', {} ];
    return {
      pages: select( coreDataStore ).getEntityRecords( ...selectorArgs ),
      hasResolved: select( coreDataStore ).hasFinishedResolution(
        'getEntityRecords',
        selectorArgs
      ),
      isResolving: select( coreDataStore ).isResolving(
        'getEntityRecords',
        selectorArgs
      ),
      hasError: select( coreDataStore ).getLastEntityRecordsError( ...selectorArgs ),
    };
  }, [] );

  if ( isResolving ) {
    return <Spinner />;
  }

  if ( hasError ) {
    return <div>Error loading pages: { hasError.message }</div>;
  }

  if ( hasResolved && ! pages?.length ) {
    return <div>No pages found</div>;
  }

  return (
    <ul>
      { pages?.map( ( page ) => (
        <li key={ page.id }>{ page.title.rendered }</li>
      ) ) }
    </ul>
  );
}

Optimistic Updates

function OptimisticDelete( { pageId } ) {
  const { deleteEntityRecord } = useDispatch( coreDataStore );

  const handleDelete = async () => {
    try {
      // Optimistically remove from UI
      await deleteEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', pageId, {}, { throwOnError: true } );
      // Show success message
    } catch ( error ) {
      // Revert and show error
    }
  };

  return <button onClick={ handleDelete }>Delete</button>;
}

Best Practices

Use dependencies correctly: Always include external variables in useSelect dependencies
Avoid over-selecting: Only select the data you need to minimize re-renders
Handle loading states: Always check resolution status before rendering data
Use batch for multiple updates: Group related state changes together
Leverage caching: Resolvers cache responses automatically - take advantage of this

Next Steps

Explore Filters and Hooks for extending functionality
Learn about Editor Customization
Read the @wordpress/data package documentation

Overview

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Block Development

Advanced Guides

Overview

Installation

Core Concepts

Stores

Selectors

Actions

Resolvers

Using Data in React Components

useSelect Hook

useDispatch Hook

Combining useSelect and useDispatch

Checking Resolution Status

Creating Custom Stores

Registry Selectors

Performance Optimization

Batch Updates

Memoized Selectors

Common Patterns

Loading States

Optimistic Updates

Best Practices

Next Steps

Overview

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Block Development

Advanced Guides

​Overview

​Installation

​Core Concepts

​Stores

​Selectors

​Actions

​Resolvers

​Using Data in React Components

​useSelect Hook

​useDispatch Hook

​Combining useSelect and useDispatch

​Checking Resolution Status

​Creating Custom Stores

​Registry Selectors

​Performance Optimization

​Batch Updates

​Memoized Selectors

​Common Patterns

​Loading States

​Optimistic Updates

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Overview

Installation

Core Concepts

Stores

Selectors

Actions

Resolvers

Using Data in React Components

useSelect Hook

useDispatch Hook

Combining useSelect and useDispatch

Checking Resolution Status

Creating Custom Stores

Registry Selectors

Performance Optimization

Batch Updates

Memoized Selectors

Common Patterns

Loading States

Optimistic Updates

Best Practices

Next Steps