WordPress 6.7.2 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) is available for testing! Some ways you can help test this minor release:

• Use the 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/ 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). release, select the Point Release channel and the Nightlies stream. This is the latest build including the RC and potentially any subsequent commits in trunk.
• 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/ https://make.wordpress.org/cli/ to test: wp core update https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.7.2-RC1.zip
• Directly download the Beta/RC version.

What’s in this release candidate?

6.7.2 RC1 is a maintenance release with a focus on bugs introduced in WordPress 6.7. In total, this RC features fixes for 32 bugs throughout Core and the Block Editor. This also includes one fix for Twenty Twenty-Five which means a new version of that default theme will be released.

The following coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. tickets and PRs are included:

• #62534 Pagination broken in adminadmin (and super admin) for categories / tags / plugins
• #62110 AtomParser_Parse_Test::test_parse_sets_handlers failing
• #62808 Puppeteer tests in old branches failing
• #62843 Update Playwright to the latest version
• #62455 Twenty Twenty-Five: Update schema version
• #62491 CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. accordion height fills screen
• #62494 Some links on the left controls of theme customise non responsive
• #62140 Relax restrictions around registration of 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. metadata collections
• #62422 Can’t edit pages after update to 6.7 and also later after downgrade
• #62504 Checking “Uncategorized” categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging. adds all categories with an ID starting with 1
• #62523 Can’t register Block Templates for CPTs with an underscore “_” character in the key
• #62639 Block HooksHooks In 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.: Wrongly typed context when updating wp_navigation post metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.
• #62269 WP_HTML_Processor::next_token() cannot be extended in subclasses to keep track of state
• #62290 Unable to seek to any bookmark in HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. Processor
• #62363 HTML APIAPI An 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.: Expects closer should report true on svg:input element
• #62427 HTML API: Next tagtag A 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.) tag name query is c
• #62522 Whitespace can trip up WP_Interactivity_API::_process_directives() when there is a core/button text block binding
• #62380 About page: ‘See everything new’ link can extend outside its container
• #62646 PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher Warning in REST APIREST API The 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/. when post_type doesn’t support post-formats, but a post-format filterFilter Filters 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. is applied.
• #62434 Missing Escaping functionality for async-upload.php Some Variable
• PostTitle: exit early when post type doesn’t support titles gutenberg#67086
• Patterns: receive intermediate responses while unbound request is resolving gutenberg#66713 
• Backport: Try/patterns receive while resolving to 6.7.2 gutenberg#67244
• Fix: Show Meta Boxes at the bottom of the screen regardless of the current rendering mode gutenberg#66508
• [6.7] Zoom in/out to correct location gutenberg#66618
• Composite: Restore Hover and Typeahead functionality – Backport to 6.7.2 gutenberg#67258
• Interactivity API: fix property modification backport to 6.7.2 gutenberg#67259
• Fix unexpected unlock control in block toolbar in non-default editing mode  gutenberg#67121
• [WP 6.7] Fix meta boxes saving when they’re not present gutenberg#67503
• iAPI: Fix the logic path that merges plain objects – Backport to 6.7.2 gutenberg#68713
• [WP6.7] e2e:fix WP Editor Meta Boxes test gutenberg#68886
• Keep meta boxes unsplit from content in device preview
• Get active element within the iframe when restoring focus gutenberg#68060 
• Backport: Block editor – Fix use focus return iframe. gutenberg#68200

What’s next?

Reminder: the dev-reviewed workflow (double committer sign-off) is required when making changes to the 6.7 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 is expected on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025. This date is subject to change if any issues with RC1 are discovered. 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/ SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. #6-7-release-leads channel, and releases are always packaged and tested in #core.

A special thanks to everyone who reported issues, helped test, and helped create patches. The success of 6.7.2 depends on proper testing, so please lend a helping hand.

Thanks to @audrasjb and @desrosj for pre-publication review.

#6-7, #6-7-2, #6-7-x, #minor-releases, #releases