Dev Chat summary: April 1, 2026

Announcements 📢

Editor

• What’s new in Gutenberg 22.8? (25 March)

General

• WordPress 6.9.2 retrospective
• Join Core at WordCamp Asia 2026 Contributor Day (April 9, Mumbai & Online)
• 2027 Default Theme call for volunteers

WordPress 7.0 Updates

• Extending the 7.0 Cycle
  This item will of course have an impact on the release party initially scheduled to happen during WC Asia Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/, which will probably more be focused on testing.
• New Dev Notesdev note Each important change in WordPress Core is documented in a developers note, (usually called dev note). Good dev notes generally include a description of the change, the decision that led to this change, and a description of how developers are supposed to work with that change. Dev notes are published on Make/Core blog during the beta phase of WordPress release cycle. Publishing dev notes is particularly important when plugin/theme authors and WordPress developers need to be aware of those changes.In general, all dev notes are compiled into a Field Guide at the beginning of the release candidate phase.:
  • Introducing the AI Client in WordPress 7.0
  • Client-Side Abilities API in WordPress 7.0
  • Introducing the Connectors API in WordPress 7.0

Discussion 💬

From Matt: Rethinking Left Navigation

• @audrasjb: “Ordering plugins in a menu is a pretty sensible [but] it would be great if users could order them themselves”
• @jorbin recommended to make it a Feature PluginFeature Plugin A plugin that was created with the intention of eventually being proposed for inclusion in WordPress Core. See Features as Plugins project
• @joedolson wanted to note that maintaining consistent navigation order is an explicit accessibility requirement

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From @joefusco: “Following the awareness/presence discussion in #64696, I built a feature plugin to test the workload independently from RTC feature.”

• @desrosj proposed to make it a Feature Plugin hosted on the WordPress 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/ repository and… tada! It’s live.

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From @wildworks: “I am proposing to remove the ability to embed YouTube videos in the cover 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.. I would appreciate your thoughts on this. In my opinion, this violates the terms of service and also presents accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) issues.” See this PR comment.

• @jorbin pointed out that WordPress has shipped with header video support for almost a decade with no complaints, so removing this from the cover block should not be rushed.
• @joedolson added that the accessibility issue is technically a content control issue; it doesn’t directly create an issue, but opens a door for significant issues that were previously easily prevented.
• @wildworks shared this Slack thread, where comments are welcome about this topic.