Include results with tags relevant to the search keyword with JSON rest API v2

Question

Wordpress doesn't natively search for tags so I need to install WP Extended Search and add post_tags as one of its parameters so whenever I search for keywords natively, posts with that tag will appear.

However, when I tried searching on the wp-json REST API, that post doesn't appear. Here's an example with a post that is tagged with "technology".

When I search "technology " using this json rest api url, it returns an empty array:

example.com/posts?search=technology

But if I search natively using this url, the posts tagged with technology appears

example.com/wp-json/wp/posts?search=technology

The only way the posts will appear is when I put "technology" somewhere in the title or in the content but I don't want to put it in the content. How will my posts with tags appear in the results on the REST API when I search for that keyword?

Answer 1

WP Extended Search does not work with REST by default since version 2.0.2 This is to achieve maximum compatibility with WordPress and other plugin/themes.

To enable the support, pass wpessid in REST request with ID (for specific search setting) or without ID (for global search setting). e.g. /wp-json/wp/v2/posts?search=technology&wpessid or /wp-json/wp/v2/posts?search=technology&wpessid=10

Ref: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/search-queries-with-metakey-name-issue-version-2-0-2/#post-14376988

PS:- I am the author of this plugin. To keep things organized I suggest do not post plugin/theme support questions here. Use relevant support forum to ask plugin/theme related question.