The WordPress coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development team builds WordPress! Follow this site for general updates, status reports, and the occasional code debate. There’s lots of ways to contribute:
Found a bugbugA bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority.?Create a ticket in the bug tracker.
6.9 Release Day Timeline Shift for State of the Word
Each and every WordPress release day is an acknowledgment of the collective efforts from every single contributor in the community that helped to make that release possible. The State of the WordState of the WordThis is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/. has historically also been festive in nature, calling out the broad accomplishments of the WordPress community over the course of the previous calendar year.
The 2025 State of the Word was planned around an idea: what better way to celebrate and honor the 6.9 release and the community’s accomplishments from 2025 than combining the two occasions? With that in mind, the event was moved to December 2.
While that’s exciting, there’s still another level: publishing the 6.9 release to the world during the event! This sets the stage for the ultimate celebration of the WordPress community to close out 2025.
Release Day Planning
Because the release process can take a few hours, getting the timing correct will take quite a bit more coordination than usual.
The event will begin at 20:00 UTC (12:00 PST) and the new targeted release time is 20:30 UTC (12:30 PST).
Keep in mind that things happen. While this is the ideal schedule, unforeseen problems can (and do) come up. The timeline has extra time built just in case something goes wrong within a specific step. This is meant as just a guide.
Pre Final Release
Because the goal is coordinating a specific release time, this checklist should be completed as far in advance as possible. For this release, as much of the list as possible should be completed just after the dry run.
Dry Run (-26 hours)
The dry run should occur 26 hours prior to the planned final release time. This allows a few hours to complete the necessary tasks before starting the 24 hour code freeze.
There are a few different checklists for release day: CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., WordPress.org, Tell the World, and a post-release one.
Core Checklist
Here is the timeline for these tasks for the Core checklist:
4. Verify `package.jsonJSONJSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML.` is updated.
8. Run `npm run grunt prerelease`/check GitHubGitHubGitHub 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 be the repository owner. https://github.com/ Actions.
10. Tag the release from the 6.9 branchbranchA 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".
11. Create release packages via mc.wordpress.orgWordPress.orgThe 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/
12. Remind those in SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. that links should not be shared.
6. Update the PHPPHPThe web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher Compatibility page (link 6.9 row/column headers to .
The post release checklist can be handled on a less strict timeline as the event continues.
Summary
While each version of WordPress is released by a collection of contributors working synchronously around the globe, this is the first time a release will be published during an event with a specific release time being targeted. Please ask questions early and often to ensure everything is accounted for and everyone is on the same page. A little planning now will help get this right so the community can have lots of fun doing it.
It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all the hard work that’s gone into this release both in person and from afar. Let’s lean on each other, be kind, chip in where we can when we need to, and get 6.9 across the finish line!
