Preparation for the WordPress 7.1 release is underway.
This post shares the release process, including the timeline and how you can help.
Release Timeline Overview
Extended Code Freeze
A mandatory code freeze will be in effect from August 17, 2026 at 14:00 UTC through the General Release on Wednesday, August 19. It begins one hour ahead of the RC4 release at 15:00 UTC, which is followed immediately by the Dry Run. Committing does not reopen once the Dry Run is complete. At the request of the Core Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Committers, the freeze has been extended beyond the usual 24 hours, so everyone has time to verify the release in full before it ships.
What does this mean?
No source code for 7.1.0 (i.e., in the 7.1 branch 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".) can be changed during the code freeze.
What happens if a critical bug A 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. is reported during this period?
The release squad will meet with committers and maintainers to determine if the issue is a blocker A bug which is so severe that it blocks a release..
- If it is, another RC 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). release happens and the release process restarts,
meaning the Dry Run repeats and the code freeze starts again.
- If it is not, the bug is targeted for the 7.1.1 release.
The Release Party
The WordPress 7.1 release party will run in two parts.
Part one is scheduled on August 19, 2026 at 19:45 UTC in the #core Slack channel and covers the release process itself.
Part two will take place live on stage at WordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US in Phoenix and will also be streamed. From August 19, 2026 at 23:10 UTC, WordPress 7.1 will be published from the event. The party in the #core Slack channel continues alongside it, where the remaining release tasks are completed.
The release party walks through the steps in the Major Version Release process if you want to follow along.
Please note: releasing a major version requires more time than releasing a beta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. or release 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).. There are more steps in the process. If any last-minute issues need addressing, those issues will take more time, as well.
How You Can Help
A key part of the release process is checking that the .zip packages work on all server configurations. If you have any less commonly used servers available for testing (IIS, in particular), that would be super helpful. Servers running older versions of PHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher and MySQL MySQL is a relational database management system. A database is a structured collection of data where content, configuration and other options are stored. https://www.mysql.com will also need testing.
You can start this early by running the WordPress 7.1 RC packages, which are built using the same method as the final packages.
During the release party, you will be instructed on several ways to help test the release package.
Tips on What to Test
In particular, testing the following types of installs and updates would be much appreciated:
- Does a new WordPress install work correctly? This includes running through the manual install process, as well as WP-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/ https://make.wordpress.org/cli/ or one-click installers.
- Test upgrading from various versions.
- Remove the wp-config.php file and test a fresh install.
- Test single site and multisite Used to describe a WordPress installation with a network of multiple blogs, grouped by sites. This installation type has shared users tables, and creates separate database tables for each blog (wp_posts becomes wp_0_posts). See also network, blog, site/network (versus site, blog) (both subdirectory and subdomain) installations.
- Does it upgrade correctly? Are the files listed in $_old_files removed when you upgrade?
- Does multisite upgrade properly?
Testing the following user flows on both desktop and mobile would be great to validate each function as expected:
- Publish a post, including a variety of different blocks.
- Comment on the post.
- Install a new plugin 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/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party./theme, or upgrade an existing one.
- Change the site language.
- If you’re a plugin developer, or if there are complex plugins you depend upon, test that they’re working correctly.
For a more in-depth list of what features to test, make sure to check the Help Test WordPress 7.1
Props to @amykamala, @benjamin_zekavica, @westonruter, @joedolson and @wildworks for help reviewing to this post.
#7-1, #development, #dry-run, #releases
