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.
The live meeting will focus on the discussion for upcoming releases, and have an open floor section.
Additional items will be referred to in the various curated agenda sections, as below. If you have ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. requests for help, please do continue to post details in the comments section at the end of this agenda.
Announcements
The WordPress 6.5 retrospective post has been published, please fill in the survey if you would like to leave feedback or suggestions for improvements to the release process.
Forthcoming releases
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.6
There are currently 15 open tickets in the 6.5.3 release milestone. There is more information about this release in this post, including the 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. scrub schedule and how you can get involved.
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.2
As there are no immediate 6.6 discussion points and the 6.6 release squad has not yet been finalized, we can discuss some previously suggested topics:
How can we get PHP8 support completed and out of “compatible with exceptions”: suggested by @jorbin
Aligning the coding standards for CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. and Gutenberg so that both can use the same tooling: also suggested by @jorbin
Feel free to suggest additional topics in the comments.
Create BlockBlockBlock 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. Theme pluginPluginA 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: A new major version of the plugin, v2.0.0, has been released, including many new features for exporting themes. See a full list of changes in the changelog.
Please include detail of tickets / PR and the links into comments, and if you intend to be available during the meeting if there are any questions or will be async.
WordPress 6.5.3 is scheduled to be the next maintenance release for the 6.5 version. Its release will follow the following preliminary schedule:
2 May 2024 – Release Candidaterelease candidateOne 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). made available and announced here on the make/coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. site.
7 May 2024 – Final release made available.
Specific times will be decided in advance and adjustments to the schedule may be made. All adjustments will be noted in this post.
Minor or Maintenance releases of WordPress are intended as 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.-fix releases. If you have a tracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress.ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. that you think should be considered, please put it in the 6.5.3 milestone. If you have a 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/ issue, please add it to the 6.5.x Editor Tasks board. If you lack bug gardening capabilities and have a ticket or issue you wish to highlight for 6.5.3, please add a comment here.
Note: except in extreme situations, only bug fixes will be considered and generally only bugs that have been introduced during the 6.5 cycle.
Get involved with 6.5.3
Bug Scrubs will happen in the #core room during the following times:
Each of the open tickets is going to require development work along with testing and review. You can also run your own scrubs to help ensure that all of the correct tickets are fixed in this release. Additionally, while the intent is for no new translated strings in this release, some locales have strings in 6.5 in need of translation.
General coordination for the release will happen in the #6-5-release-leads channel and decisions around code for the release will be made in the #core room.
This minor releaseMinor ReleaseA set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality. will be led by @grantmkin and myself (@jorbin).
Thank you to @grantmkin for pre-publication review.
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.6
@jeffpaul commented that “at least finalizing the CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. & Editor tech leads and an RCrelease candidateOne 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). would go a long way towards formally kicking off.”
@jorbin said, “I’ve also seen a couple questions about default themes and getting that kicked off during this release, I think getting an answer there would be helpful”
@joemcgill asked, “…what the focuses of this release would be. @chanthaboune originally proposed that 6.6 be held as a maintenance and polish release in this post, but I’m unsure if that’s still the plan.” And later, “To be clear, I’m not necessarily advocating for 6.6 to be mainly a polish release, I just see the need to be intentional in release planning if we want to actually execute that objective.”
Later in the meeting @jorbin shared an initial proposed schedule for 6.5.3.
The first minor releaseMinor ReleaseA set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality. for 6.5 is out, though it was a quick turnaround security release. For a proper minor release, I would like to gather thoughts on the following plan:
@grantmkin has volunteered to help on the editor side (Thank you!)
I would like to suggest a target of 7 May for 6.5.3 with an RC on 2 May. This will allow for about 4 weeks to identify and fix any bugs. I think Tuesday’s have served us fairly well.
To assist in this, I would like to start 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. scrubs. I’m thinking twice weekly with one focused on tracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. and one on 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/ until we get closer to the release with the last few looking at both bug trackers
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.2
During discussion we checked in on the progress that the 6.5 release coordinators are making on organizing a release retro post (see this thread). @marybaum confirmed that @priethor, @marybaum, and @akshayar are working on this and will update the #6-5-release-leads channel soon.
It was confirmed that retros have been a part of our release process for several previous releases. Many of them can be found by lookin at the retrospectivetagtagA directory in Subversion. WordPress uses tags to store a single snapshot of a version (3.6, 3.6.1, etc.), the common convention of tags in version control systems. (Not to be confused with post tags.) on this site.
Highlighted posts
The full list of posts from the last week in Core can be read on the agenda at this link.
Open floor
Tony Gravagno proposed that retrospectives could be used for marketing. “People need an occasional reminder and reinforcement that their platform of choice is aggressively maintained, despite occasional press about pluginPluginA 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 vulnerabilities … which is all most people see about WP.” He then suggested that this might be better discussed in the #marketing channel.
Damon Cook shared that he has recently added details to the Project Updates and Details area in key Gutenberg GitHub Project boards (example: WordPress 6.6 Editor Tasks). Damon is planning on trying to keep those up to date throughout the cycle.
This prompted @jeffpaul to ask whether these updates could be provided on make/core to capture a broader audience.
“My lens is for someone who’s not in lots of GitHub issues, PRs, or boards and finds it hard to stay current on what’s transpiring there and thus not as able to contribute without that context. Trying to find ways to bring some of that scattered context back to make/core for broader consumption and contextual understanding.”
Damon was open to experimenting on how to best cross-share info in both places. “…for now, I just wanted to make folks aware that I’ve started utilizing the feature and can even deactivate or remove it if it is confusing.”
The full conversation about these status updates starts here.
@dmsnell wanted to remind folks about his proposal to remove support for HTML4 and XHTML. “Doing this is mostly ceremonial, since those formats aren’t supported in reality. Removing them officially though gives us liberty to modernize existing code and improve WordPress’ HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers.-handling reliability. More info in the linked ticketticketCreated for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker.: #59883“.
WordPress 6.5 “Regina” was released yesterday! Thank you to everyone who worked on, tested, and supported this release 🎉
Forthcoming Releases
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.6
Please leave your feedback about the schedule and release squad size in the comments by April 7th.
If you are interested in participating in WordPress 6.6’s release squad as a lead or as a cohort, please show interest in the comments, specifying the role and the type of involvement (lead/cohort).
@colorful-tones and @fabiankaegy will be covering and merging TracTracAn open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress./GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/TriagetriageThe act of evaluating and sorting bug reports, in order to decide priority, severity, and other factors. for 6.6, and if anyone has any recommendations to streamline things for overall Triage to make lives easier, then please reach out to them.
For 6.6, we discussed considering not having a sticky post for the 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. scrub schedule and instead ensuring the schedule is linked at the top of the main release page.
We also discussed 6.5.1, and noted that @jorbin published a post: Initial Bug Scrub for 6.5.1 for tomorrow. @fabiankaegy mentioned that the editor team have created this new board in GitHub to track any editor-related issues that may be candidates for a point releaseMinor ReleaseA set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality.. Currently, there are 5 tickets with the backport to wp minor release label.
We also already have quite a few tickets targeted for the 6.5.1 milestone, so any eyes before the initial bug scrub will likely help that be more efficient.
Next Gutenberg release: 18.1
The next Gutenberg release will be 18.1, scheduled for release on April 10, and will include these issues.
Discussion
We began by discussing any potential follow-up actions and reflections following the recent 6.5 release. @fabiankaegy asked about starting a conversation about possibly evolving how we approach the field guideField guideThe field guide is a type of blogpost published on Make/Core during the release candidate phase of the WordPress release cycle. The field guide generally lists all the dev notes published during the beta cycle. This guide is linked in the about page of the corresponding version of WordPress, in the release post and in the HelpHub version page. and dev notesdev noteEach 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. in future releases.
@jorbin has previously opened a related proposal to updating the field guide. We discussed where the most appropriate place was to start a conversation like this, and whether it sits more with CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., Docs, or Project. As it touches on many different areas and how we do things within software release cycles, then it seems to fit more into the Core team’s scope.
@audrasjb suggested this may be good to discuss in the future #6-6-release-squad Slack channel so maybe the squad could discuss it in the open with the future Docs Leads and come up with a formal proposal for 6.6 on Make/Core.
@joemcgill also proposed arranging another release retrospective post to collect feedback about the release while it’s still fresh in people’s minds. @chanthaboune mentioned being able to do this in any way that works for folks. For 6.4, we collected the data in an anonymized format and then that data was shared on make/core, and we discussed potentially following a similar approach for 6.5.
Highlighted posts
The full list of posts from the last week in Core can be read on the agenda at this link.
Open floor
We started by highlighting this PR for the WP Importer in support of the Font Library from @mmaattiiaass.
Two additional issues that were raised in the agenda comments were:
https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/15117 – “the excerptExcerptAn excerpt is the description of the blog post or page that will by default show on the blog archive page, in search results (SERPs), and on social media. With an SEO plugin, the excerpt may also be in that plugin’s metabox.regressionregressionA software bug that breaks or degrades something that previously worked. Regressions are often treated as critical bugs or blockers. Recent regressions may be given higher priorities. A "3.6 regression" would be a bug in 3.6 that worked as intended in 3.5., that impacts all plugins incl. WooCommerce”
I understand that’s an important issue — it has been for a long time! I know some designers have recently chimed in there and there’s some momentum gathering. The best thing to do at this point is to be specific and keep sharing what would be helpful. Beyond that, the main blockerblockerA bug which is so severe that it blocks a release. is finding solid design solutions and finding specific/targeted ways to implement as anything that is implemented has to be maintained.
WordPress 6.5 was scheduled for release on March 26, 2024, however, the release has now been rescheduled for April 2, 2024. Thanks to everyone involved in the related discussions around delaying the release by one week. You can read more in this post.
Forthcoming Releases
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.5
There was a lot of activity in the #core channel today with everyone coordinating efforts around 6.5. There is a good summary of the conversations from @desrosjon Slack here.
Please continue to test the 6.5 release. See this list of key features to test, which was published alongside WP 6.5 BetaBetaA 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. 3.
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.1
Gutenberg 18.0 was released on March 27 and included these issues. The next Gutenberg release will be 18.1, scheduled for release on April 10.
Discussion
We discussed the upcoming 6.5 RC4 scheduled for March 28, and we seem to be in really good shape. The following contributors are lined up to help:
We revisited plans for the 6.6 release squad. @priethor has a drafted post ready to publish with further details, however we have delayed the call for volunteers whilst decisions were still being made around 6.5. Now that we are in a good place for 6.5, @priethor suggested that we consider posting the call for volunteers after the 6.5 RC4 release party. Please leave a comment with your thoughts.
@jorbin shared that we’re still looking for a Gutenberg maintainer to help out with the 6.5 maintenance releases, but otherwise, we have all the pieces we need. The current release squad members are always welcome to help (but also understand that they may need a break). @jorbin also confirmed that the date for 6.5.1 is still being decided, but will avoid upcoming holidays where possible.
Please leave a comment if you’re interested in being part of the 6.5 maintenance releases. There are more details in the handbook about what’s involved in being part of a release squad.
Highlighted posts
The full list of posts from the last week in CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. can be read on the agenda at this link.
Open floor
During the open floor, Shariar Mahmud Prince requested help with an issue with the meta box docs, and @marybaum helped open a docs issue.
@joemcgill mentioned that the past several weeks have been intentionally focused on any discussion around WordPress 6.5, but we will soon have the bandwidth to discuss other topics and it would be great for those topics to be proposed by the attendees. Discussion topics can always be proposed in the comments of the agendas themselves, but @joemcgill and @mikachan would like to start to get a bit of a backlog of ideas to prioritize. We can do a call for topics posts, but would be happy to take any suggestions you have in the meantime.
How can we get PHP8 support completed and out of “compatible with exceptions”
Aligning the coding standards for Core and Gutenberg so that both can use the same tooling
Tony Gravagno asked about improving the marketing around each WordPress release, especially about the release teams, and how people contribute to this huge effort in multiple cycles per year. @desrosj mentioned that there is a related ticket here, and @marybaum suggested that this fits well with the Marketing team’s new direction.
The release of WordPress 6.5 will be delayed one week and is now scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024.
The delay is to accommodate the following:
The directory for font storage will be changed to wp-content/uploads/fonts.
The Editor team will work on including fixes for a select few high impact bugs that have been identified with the Font Library feature in the upcoming GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ 18.0.0 release. This ensures they will receive some testing before being considered for merge into trunk prior to WordPress 6.5 RC4.
An unplanned WordPress 6.5 RC4 is now scheduled for release on 28 March 2024 at 16:00 UTC with the updated font storage location and any other related bugs deemed critical to the release. This will be a normal release candidaterelease candidateOne 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)., with the announcement being published on the 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/ News blogblog(versus network, site) for extra reach.
The 1 week delay allows for ample time for testing, acknowledging that Thursday-Monday is a major holiday for parts of the globe.
Why the change?
This approach ensures that the greatest number of sites possible can benefit from the new Font Library feature without the need to install or configure anything.
While attempting to implement the originally suggested compromise, the sentiment from the trusted contributors involved was that a solution could not be shipped with a level of confidence that meets the standards that core contributorsCore ContributorsCore contributors are those who have worked on a release of WordPress, by creating the functions or finding and patching bugs. These contributions are done through Trac. https://core.trac.wordpress.org. hold themselves to in the remaining time before the originally scheduled release.
After evaluating the potential options and discussing the proposed solution, the most risk averse option was determined to be storing fonts in the wp-content/uploads/fonts directory.
Shipping a feature that requires additional configuration or technical knowledge isn’t in line with the guiding philosophies that have helped the project mature into the successful project that exists today. Part of the original post was a call to return back to those project philosophies, and something this change attempts to adhere to.
The Dry run post will be updated to reflect the schedule for the new release date of 2 April.
Post release
Following the 6.5 release, these items detailed in the original post should still be explored:
A roadmap will be published outlining where the project components are headed in relation to establishing new first-class concepts outside of previously established paradigms within the software (like breaking down themes into fonts, patterns, templates, etc.). Why was this such an important and impactful decision? What is the goal we are trying to accomplish? And how might it present itself again in the future?
A means to move the canonical location of the fonts directory. Should the wp-content directory become writable for a site, a safe path forward should be offered for its owners.
This post has been superseded by the post WordPress 6.5 release delayed 1 week, in which it’s announced fonts will be uploaded to the fonts sub-directory of the uploads folder.
The Font Library, a new feature of WordPress 6.5, will allow users of blockBlockBlock 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 themes to upload and customize their site’s fonts. You can learn about the full set of Font Library features in the #dev-note.
As fonts are a new first-class object, there has been some discussion around where to store the associated files while accounting for different file systems used by WordPress sites. The particular challenge has been for file systems that do not allow for the writing of files outside the uploads directory (See Gutenberg#59417 and Gutenberg#59699).
To account for such file systems, it was originally decided to natively fallback to the uploads directory natively in WordPress CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress..
Revised approach to font file storage
Exploratory work on supporting a fallback directory natively has demonstrated that this approach would lead to a high risk of bugs. Therefore, the original decision is being modified and the new approach will be:
WordPress Core will by default only attempt to store font files in the wp-content/fonts directory,
For file systems unable to write to or persistently store files in the new directory it is recommended to install the pluginPluginA 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-partyFonts to Uploads to store the files in the under existing uploads directory, in wp-content/uploads/fonts
Developers wishing to modify the directory without using a plugin can use the font_dirfilterFilterFilters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output.documented in the announcement post.
Props @mmaattiiaass and other contributors for working on the exploratory pull request.
WordPress 6.5 RC 3 was released on March 19, 2024, and Gutenberg 17.9 was released on March 13. Please continue to help test and provide feedback.
Forthcoming Releases
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.5
We are in the final week before WordPress 6.5 is scheduled to be released, with a Dry Run scheduled for next Monday, March 25, and the release scheduled for Tuesday, March 26.
Please continue to test the 6.5 release. See this list of key features to test, which was published alongside WP 6.5 BetaBetaA 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. 3.
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.0
Gutenberg 18.0 is scheduled for release on March 27 and will include these issues.
Discussion
Given that this was the last dev chat before the 6.5 release, we concentrated on discussing any final decisions, blockers, etc.
@swissspidy suggested starting with the Font Library:
From what we’ve seen so far, it seems that adding such a fallback logic appears to be more complex than originally anticipated and that it’s not feasible to land this in time for 6.5. Adding a silent fourth RCrelease candidateOne 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). solely for that would be too risky. So for 6.5 we might want to consider: 1. Leave the current situation as-is (fonts go to `wp-content/fonts`, no fallback) 2. Point people to plugins such as Fonts to Uploads and the dev-note explaining how to change the upload location. 3. Re-evaluate fallback logic for 6.5.1 or 6.6 if needed, also considering potential folders in the future (patterns, templates, AI models, etc.)
We discussed how the fallback logic is proving to be more complicated than expected and will present a future maintenance burden and potential for bugs that aren’t worth the risk of rushing to land a fix. We mentioned alternative options, including delaying the release and removing the Font Library.
The suggestion from release leads and people familiar with the latest state of the Font Library was that it is in a good enough shape to include, and that the difficulty is in the implementation of the potential automatic fallback and not in implementing the feature itself. Therefore, the plan following the conversation was that the feature will be shipped without the fallback logic in place.
Based on this, the following actions should be taken:
A post on make/coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. to communicate the decision — @peterwilsoncc offered to start on a draft
Update the docs with a pointer to the pluginPluginA 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 — @flexseth offered to help update docs (@mikachan also happy to help here)
Update https://wordpress.org/plugins/fonts-to-uploads/ to a Canonical plugin with maintenance by WP Contributors/WP.org with source moved under the WP org on 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/ so that it’s a shared responsibility
Once the post outlining the decision to change to the the fallback directory behavior is posted, we should inform #forums, along with a request from them to be on the lookout for issues with the lack of a default Font Library fallback — @jorbin offered to help with this
Will we have an extra RC, since there are some unresolved Font Library tasks?
There is currently no extra RC release planned
When discussing whether we needed another RC, the suggestion was to release an RC for any necessary Font Library changes (or any additional needed code changes) later this week, while the $_old_files change and theme bumps are handled during the Dry Run without publishing an extra RC.
@joemcgill closed the chat by suggesting that if the purpose of an RC is to allow time for more testing, to not make it silent, and encourage the release leads to finalize a plan. Coordination about an extra RC continued following the meeting in the release leads channel.
This guide outlines major developer features and breaking changes in 6.5 and is published in the Release Candidaterelease candidateOne 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). cycle to help inform WordPress extending developers, CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. developers, and others.
GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ included in this release has 373 enhancements, 515 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. fixes, and 65 accessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (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) improvements.
Changes in 6.5 are spread across 40 Core components. Below is the breakdown of the most important ones.
Table of contents
Principal Changes
Minimum System Requirement
The minimum version of MySQLMySQLMySQL 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/. has been raised from v5.0 to v5.5.5. (#60036)
BlockBlockBlock 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
A new attribute $variation_callback has been introduced in WP_Block_Type. This limits the ability to modify variations by reference directly as was done previously.
WordPress 6.5 brings 10 Gutenberg releases into core – 16.8, 16.9, 17.0, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4, 17.5, 17.6, and 17.7. You will find new features, APIs, and various improvements. Highlights include the Interactivity APIAPIAn API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways., Font Library, and Block Bindings API.
HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. API
WordPress 6.5 brings significant updates to the HTML API. The tagtagA directory in Subversion. WordPress uses tags to store a single snapshot of a version (3.6, 3.6.1, etc.), the common convention of tags in version control systems. (Not to be confused with post tags.) processer has received a major overhaul and a further amount of the HTML specification is now supported. If you have been sub-classing WP_HTML_Tag_Processor, there are some specific changes you should pay attention to.
I18Ni18nInternationalization, or the act of writing and preparing code to be fully translatable into other languages. Also see localization. Often written with a lowercase i so it is not confused with a lowercase L or the numeral 1. Often an acquired skill.
The Performant Translations feature plugin has been merged into Core. The new translation system is much faster and uses less memory with the new .l10n.php format; it also continues to support all three existing translationtranslationThe process (or result) of changing text, words, and display formatting to support another language. Also see localization, internationalization. formats: .l10n.php, .mo, and .po files. Two new filters translation_file_format and load_translation_file are introduced.
AVIF support comes to 6.5. AVIF is a modern image format that can be up to 50% smaller than JPEGs while maintaining the same image quality. You can now upload/edit/resize/save AVIF images if supported by your hosting environment. The way you operate on AVIF images remains the same as with other existing image formats. If you run multisitemultisiteUsed 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, there is a FAQ just for you.
The Script Modules API brings native JavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/. Module support to 6.5 and provides two modules for use with the WordPress Interactivity API.
It is strongly recommended that developers currently utilizing JavaScript modules in their extensions migrate to the Script Modules API.
A pluginPluginA 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’s dependencies can be declared by using a new Requires Plugins headerHeaderThe header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. in the dependent plugin’s main file. The header must contain a comma-separated list of 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/-formatted slugs.
Example:
/** * Plugin Name: Bridge for Foo and Bar * Requires Plugins: foo, bar */
Dependency slug conditions:
Dependent plugins hosted on WordPress.org can only declare dependencies that are also hosted on WordPress.org.
Dependent plugins not hosted on WordPress.org can declare dependencies whether hosted on WordPress.org or elsewhere.
Declaring a plugin dependency places the following requirements:
Requirements on dependent plugins:
Cannot be installed until its dependencies are installed.
Cannot be activated until its dependencies are activated.
Requirements on dependency plugins:
Cannot be deactivated while its dependents are activated.
Cannot be deleted while its dependents are installed.
The following features are not currently supported:
Version management
Must-Use plugins as dependencies
Themes that require plugins
Automatic deactivation of dependent plugins
A new filterFilterFilters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output.wp_plugin_dependencies_slug has been introduced to allow for alterations to dependency slugs.
A new class WP_Plugin_Dependencies has been introduced with public API methods available.
The UIUIUser interface of the plugin row the plugin row has been changed to reflect a plugin’s dependencies/dependents. The UI of dependent plugin cards has been changed to reflect its dependencies, with modal links to install and activate them first.
Automatic redirection from Plugins > Add New is no longer performed upon activation of a plugin.
Props to @cosdev for review.
Additional Changes
External Libraries
The following libraries were updated to the latest versions:
wordpress/scripts version 17 has dropped official support for unmaintained Node.js versions. The oldest supported Node.js version is now Node.js 18. (Misc Editor Dev Changes)
Classic themes can now opt in to appearance tools support. (#60118)
Media
Control of jpeg progressive image output has been enabled. A new image_save_progressive filter has been added, which controls whether intermediate image sizes are saved in a progressive format (when available). By default, progressive image output is disabled, matching the current behavior. (#21668)
Permalinks
Caddy web server: support pretty permalinks when Caddy web server is detected. (#41877)
Rest APIREST APIThe REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/.
A featured_media field for featured imageFeatured imageA featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. (also known as a poster image) has been added to the REST API wp/v2/media attachments endpoint. (#41692)
Site Health
Site ID has been included in the debug data on multisite installations. (#60081)
Upgrade/Install
During bulk upgrades, a theme upgrade is now checked for satisfying the minimum WordPress version or the server PHPPHPThe web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher version. This was previously done for plugins, but not themes. (#59758)
New/Modified HooksHooksIn WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.
WordPress 6.5 RC 2 was released yesterday, March 12, 2024 and Gutenberg 17.9 was released earlier today. Please continue to help test and provide feedback.
Forthcoming Releases
Next major releasemajor releaseA release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope.: 6.5
We are in the final weeks before WordPress 6.5 is scheduled to be released, with our final scheduled Release Candidaterelease candidateOne 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). (RCrelease candidateOne 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). 3) scheduled for next week.
There are several important changes to our normal development process during the RC stage. For more, see this post: WordPress 6.5 Release Candidate Phase.
Please continue to test the 6.5 release. See this list of key features to test, which was published alongside WP 6.5 BetaBetaA 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. 3.
@marybaum confirmed the release team for RC3 on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. @audrasjb as the committercommitterA developer with commit access. WordPress has five lead developers and four permanent core developers with commit access. Additionally, the project usually has a few guest or component committers - a developer receiving commit access, generally for a single release cycle (sometimes renewed) and/or for a specific component., with @hellofromtonya on backup and @davidbaumwald as mcpilot; @akshaya will host with @priethor as backup.
@swissspidy also shared that RC3 is the last scheduled RC before the stable release. The topmost priority should be solving the Font Library uploads location as per Josepha’s recent blog post. If you would like to help, there is an open architecture discussion where you can get involved, and a couple of remaining related PRs:
Primarily, we need to find a robust way to ensure that, when deleting a font, the font files are deleted from the right folder. If we don’t have a solution for the above by RC3 we could consider an additional fourth RC.
There are also some open Interactivity API bugs and editor bugs, but nothing severe. It would be helpful if these issues had owners. @joemcgill suggested scheduling another 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. scrub this week to review these issues and assign owners.
Next GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ release: 18.0
Gutenberg 18.0 is scheduled for release on March 27 and will include these issues.
Discussion
The discussion today started with organizing release squads for 6.5.x and 6.6 releases.
@jorbin confirmed that we’re still looking for folks to be involved in the 6.5.x maintenance releases. Please reach out if you’re available to help with these releases – particularly if you were already involved in the 6.5 releases (but that’s not a requirement).
@priethor has a draft for a post that identifies people who have raised their hands for 6.6.
A related discussion topic is whether we should reevaluate the size of release squads prior to 6.6. This came out of the discussion following the 6.5 release squad announcement (context). There was a discussion around the pros and cons of having larger release squads, including:
Larger squads spread the responsibility that used to be focused on just one person to a bigger team. However;
It doesn’t feel like there is much need for others to help or be involved when there are so many people responsible for a release.
The more individuals, the greater number of relationships and opportunities for both cliques and interpersonal conflictconflictA conflict occurs when a patch changes code that was modified after the patch was created. These patches are considered stale, and will require a refresh of the changes before it can be applied, or the conflicts will need to be resolved..
It sometimes leaves the team not knowing who should be making key decisions about features.
There were also suggestions for better documenting the responsibilities both within the release squad and within a lead group. Also, having feature leads would be helpful, i.e. folks spearheading and owning a specific big feature in a release.
@joemcgill suggested that we could review the release squad size as part of a debrief post for 6.5, and @priethor is working on a proposal for a reduced release squad that will be published in the upcoming days.
Highlighted posts
The full list of posts from the last week in CoreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. can be read on the agenda at this link.
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