Title: WordPress 6.6.2 RC1 is now available
Author: Tonya Mork
Published: September 4, 2024

---

 [  ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/) [Tonya Mork](https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/)
6:37 pm _on_ September 4, 2024     
Tags: [6-6 ( 57 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/6-6/),
[6-6-x ( 4 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/6-6-x/), [minor releases ( 42 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/minor-releases/),
[releases ( 58 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/releases/)   

# WordPress 6.6.2 RC1 is now available

WordPress 6.6.2 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) is available for testing! Some ways you
can help test this minor release:

 * Use the [WordPress Beta Tester](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/)
   pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions 
   that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add
   new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the
   PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be
   free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/)
   or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.
    - As this is a minor RCrelease candidate One of the final stages in the version
      release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to
      the public. Also see [alpha (beta)](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/09/04/wordpress-6-6-2-rc1-is-now-available/?output_format=md#alpha-beta).
      release, select the _Point Release_ channel and the _Nightlies_ stream. This
      is the latest build including the RC and potentially any subsequent commits
      in the [6.6 branch](https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/contribute/codebase/).
 * Use WP-CLIWP-CLI WP-CLI is the Command Line Interface for WordPress, used to 
   do administrative and development tasks in a programmatic way. The project page
   is [http://wp-cli.org/](http://wp-cli.org/) [https://make.wordpress.org/cli/](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/)
   to test: `wp core update https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.6.2-RC1.zip`
 * [Directly download the Beta/RC version](https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.6.2-RC1.zip).

## What’s in this release candidate?

Multiple fixes in this release are related to [CSS specificity](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/64243)
leading to front end sites not looking as intended. If you reverted to 6.5 due to
this issue, please test this release candidaterelease candidate One of the final
stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a 
final release to the public. Also see [alpha (beta)](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/09/04/wordpress-6-6-2-rc1-is-now-available/?output_format=md#alpha-beta).
on your staging site.

6.6.2 RC1 features [15 fixes in Core](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&id=!61982&milestone=6.6.2&group=status&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&col=keywords&order=id)
and [11 fixes for the Block Editor](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61982#comment:5).

The following coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The
Core Development Team builds WordPress. tickets from TracTrac An open source project
by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for
WordPress. are fixed:

 * [Setting Button block to Outline Style causes CSS output order to change and cause conflicts](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61748)
 * [global-styles-inline-css rule introduces breaking changes ” :root :where(body)”](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61704)
 * [Global Styles: Prevent empty CSS rules and malformed selectors for custom css for blocks](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61769)
 * [Some layout styles have increased specificity in WordPress 6.6 within the non-iframed editor](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61829)
 * [About Page: `text-wrap: balance;` adds unintended new lines in Japanese](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/60892)
 * [Template contents are wiped out on rename](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61550)
 * [Autofocus query string parameter in customizer url is broken](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61561)
 * [Issue with search functionality in installed themes section](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61578)
 * [Site Health Tool – Directory sizes stuck in loading state](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61638)
 * [wp_calculate_image_srcset triggers warnings when WP_CONTENT_URL is a relative URL](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61690)
 * [Text “None” disappeared from Align Display in WordPress 6.6](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61714)
 * [WP_HTML_Tag_Processor doesn’t allow to set a valid image src](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61719)
 * [Docs: Improve docs to include recommendations for changing existing admin bar menu items](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61738)
 * [Interactivity API: Directives cannot access derived state properties on the server](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61741)
 * [`wp_list_pages() depth of 0` can show only top level of pages](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/61749)

The following blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup
that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress
editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes,
custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.
editor issues from GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation
of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers.
Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription.
GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches
by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository
owner. [https://github.com/](https://github.com/) are fixed:

 * [Fix bumped specificity for layout styles in non-iframed editor](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64076)
 * [Global Styles: Fix block custom CSS pseudo element selectors](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63980)
 * [Featured Image Block: Reduce CSS specificity](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64463)
 * [Update postcss-prefixwrap dependency to 1.51.0 to fix prefixing in `:where` selectors](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64458)
 * [Don’t allow duplicating template parts in non-block-based themes](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64379)
 * [Data Views: Don’t render action modal when there are no eligible items](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64250)
 * [Fix canvas issues by removing VisualEditor’s height](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63724)
 * [Post Editor: fix click space after post content to append](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64992)
 * [Post Editor: Prevent popover from being hidden by metabox](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/63939)
 * [Post editor: apply space below content using a pseudo-element instead of padding-bottom](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64639)
 * [Avoid errors for post types without a ‘menu_icon’](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/64015)

## What’s next?

The `dev-reviewed` workflow ([double committer sign-off](https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/about/release-cycle/releasing-beta-versions/#double-committer-signoff))
remains in effect when making changes to the 6.6 branchbranch A directory in Subversion.
WordPress uses branches to store the latest development code for each major release(
3.9, 4.0, etc.). Branches are then updated with code for any minor releases of that
branch. Sometimes, a major version of WordPress and its minor versions are collectively
referred to as a "branch", such as "the 4.0 branch"..

[The final release](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/08/19/wordpress-6-6-2/)
is expected on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Please note that this date can change
depending on possible issues after RC1 is released. Coordination will happen in 
the WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created
and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress
core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations
and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) SlackSlack Slack
is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/).
The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/)
[#6-6-release-leads](https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C06U06K50Q5) channel.

A special thanks to everyone who helped test, raised issues, and helped to fix tickets.
With this release candidate, testing continues, so please help test!

_Thanks to_ [@jorbin](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/) _for pre-publication
review_.

[#6-6](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/6-6/), [#6-6-x](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/6-6-x/),
[#minor-releases](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/minor-releases/), [#releases](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/releases/)

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 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3a0d4408354ac7f1fddc273366daae9126187a427e91b7798e3502d2ba499b4d?
    s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 2.  [Anne-Mieke Bovelett](https://profiles.wordpress.org/annebovelett/)  8:00 pm _on_
    September 4, 2024
 3. Fantastic! Thank you all. 🙏

Comments are closed.

# Post navigation

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