How to Retrieve Published Articles from the WeChat Public Platform Using PHP

A client needs to avoid duplicating work by publishing an article on the WeChat public platform and then automatically publishing the same content on their own website. The solution leverages WeChat's material management API, which provides access to permanent article materials.

The relevant API endpoint is a POST request to

https://api.weixin.qq.com/cgi-bin/material/batchget_material?access_token=ACCESS_TOKEN

. This endpoint returns a list of stored materials when supplied with a valid access token.

First, obtain a valid access_token. The following PHP function retrieves the token, stores it in a database table named access_token, and refreshes it when it expires (7200 seconds):

public function getAccessToken(){
    $info = Db::name('access_token')->order('inputtime desc')->find();
    if($info){
        $time = time();
        $long_time = $time - $info['updatetime'];
        if($long_time >= $info['expires_in']){
            $url = "https://api.weixin.qq.com/cgi-bin/token?grant_type=client_credential&appid=".$this->appid."&secret=".$this->secret;
            $res = $this->getJson($url);
            if(in_array('access_token',$this->DbSy->GetArrElement($res))){
                $insert['access_token'] = $res['access_token'];
                $insert['expires_in'] = $res['expires_in'];
                $insert['updatetime'] = time();
                $up_info = Db::name('access_token')->where('id',$info['id'])->update($insert);
                if(!$up_info){
                    return json(['code'=>103,'msg'=>'AccessToken更新失败']);
                }
                $AccessToken = $res['access_token'];
            }else{
                return json(['code'=>100,'msg'=>'AccessToken获取失败']);
            }
        }else{
            $AccessToken = $info['access_token'];
        }
    }else{
        $url = "https://api.weixin.qq.com/cgi-bin/token?grant_type=client_credential&appid=".$this->appid."&secret=".$this->secret;
        $res = $this->getJson($url);
        if(in_array('access_token',$this->DbSy->GetArrElement($res))){
            $insert['access_token'] = $res['access_token'];
            $insert['expires_in'] = $res['expires_in'];
            $insert['updatetime'] = time();
            $insert['inputtime'] = time();
            $up_info = Db::name('access_token')->where('id',$info['id'])->insertGetId($insert);
            if($up_info){
                $AccessToken = $res['access_token'];
            }else{
                return json(['code'=>101,'msg'=>'AccessToken插入失败']);
            }
        }else{
            return json(['code'=>100,'msg'=>'AccessToken获取失败']);
        }
    }
    return $AccessToken;
}

Before using this function, create a database table named access_token to store the token and its expiration time, preventing unnecessary repeated requests.

With a valid token, retrieve the list of article materials using the following PHP method:

public function getArticleList($offset,$type='news',$length=20){
    $data = array(
        'type'   => $type,
        'offset' => $offset,
        'count'  => $length
    );
    $json_data = json_encode($data);
    $AccessToken = $this->getAccessToken();
    $url = "https://api.weixin.qq.com/cgi-bin/material/batchget_material?access_token=".$AccessToken;
    $res = $this->getJsonData($url,$json_data);
    return $res;
    //dump($res);
}

The parameters are:

type : material type – image, video, voice, or news (article).

offset : starting position in the material list; 0 returns from the first item.

count : number of items to return, ranging from 1 to 20.

By following these steps, developers can automatically pull already published WeChat articles and push them to their own website, streamlining content management across platforms.