Joomla integration
No native Joomla connector, here is what does work.
We create articles through Joomla's core Web Services API with publish state and scheduling.
How it works
Since Joomla 4.0, a Web Services API ships in core, authenticated with an X-Joomla-Token header. We create articles with the state field controlling published versus unpublished, and publish_up for scheduling, so drafts, live posts, and timed releases all work through the standard API without extensions.
The API token is tied to a user account, and Joomla's token permissions are coarse: the token can do whatever that user can do, and in practice tokens often belong to super-admin accounts. We think that is a poor default for any integration, so our setup guide walks you through creating a dedicated user with least-privilege access to content only, and our connector works fine with that narrower account.
Best forJoomla 4 and 5 sites that want articles delivered into existing categories with scheduling intact.
Setup, step by step
- Create a dedicated Joomla user with permission to create and edit articles, not a super admin.
- Enable the Web Services plugin for content in your plugin manager if it is not already on.
- Generate an API token on that user's profile and add it to SearchHandled's Joomla connector with your site URL.
- Map your target categories and default article options during setup.
- Run the connect-time probe, which verifies the content endpoint responds and the token can write.
Best practices
Never use a super-admin token
The token inherits everything its user can do. A dedicated content-only user means a leaked token can touch articles and nothing else, and our setup guide covers creating one in a few minutes.
Schedule with publish_up
Joomla's own scheduling field handles timed publishing, so we set publish_up instead of holding content ourselves. Scheduled articles behave exactly as if an editor had set the date in the admin.
Keep categories mapped, not guessed
Articles land in the category we map at setup. If your team reorganizes categories, update the mapping so new content keeps filing into the right place.
Leave the content plugin enabled
The Web Services plugin for content must stay enabled for the API to answer. If someone disables it during a plugin cleanup, publishing stops, and our probe will tell you that is what happened.
Known issues
What practitioners actually report, from official docs, issue trackers, and community forums.
Coarse token permissions
A Joomla API token can do anything its user account can do, and tokens are commonly created on super-admin accounts, which over-grants access to every integration holding one.
How we handle itWe recommend and document a dedicated least-privilege user for our token, scoped to content creation, so our access is limited to exactly the work we do.
manual.joomla.org
Web Services plugins must be enabled per content type
The API returns errors or nothing at all when the Web Services plugin for the content type is disabled, which is easy to miss because the rest of the site works normally.
How we handle itOur connect-time probe checks that the content endpoint responds and, if it does not, shows instructions for enabling the right plugin rather than a generic connection error.
manual.joomla.org
Questions teams ask
- Which Joomla versions work?
Joomla 4.0 and newer, because that is when the Web Services API entered core. Joomla 3 sites have no core API, so the fallback there is our HTML export.
- Does the token need a super-admin account?
No, and it should not have one. A user who can create and edit articles is enough. We document the least-privilege setup because a token inherits every permission its user has.
- Can articles be scheduled?
Yes. We set Joomla's publish_up field, so an article stays hidden until its date and then goes live through Joomla's own mechanism, visible and editable in your admin the whole time.
Not connectable yet
Start with the plan, not the connector.
Build a Growth Map from your site to see the work itself. Approved pages can leave through the export or the webhook today, and telling us Joomla matters moves it up the rollout.