WordPress 6.7.2 RC2 is now available

WordPress 6.7.2 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) 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-RC2.zip
  • Directly download the Beta/RC version.

What’s in this release candidate?

6.7.2 RC2 is a release candidaterelease 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). for a maintenance release with a focus on bugs introduced in WordPress 6.7. In total, this RC features fixes for 35 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. Please see the RC1 announcement for a list of fixes. New fixes in RC2 are:

  • #62907 – 6.7 broke accordion styles for themes/plugins using `do_accordion_sections()`
  • #62597 – WordPress 6.7 sizes=”auto” is messing featured imageFeatured image A 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. on chrome mobile.
  • fix ensure post meta panel stays visible in all rendering modes gutenberg#69083

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 RC2 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 @fabiankaegy and @desrosj for pre-publication review.

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

WordPress 6.7.2 RC1 is now available

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:

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-x, #minor-releases, #releases

WordPress 6.7.2 Release Planning

WordPress 6.7.2 is scheduled to be the next maintenance release for the 6.7 version. Its release will follow the following preliminary schedule:

  • February 4, 2025 – Release Candidaterelease 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). made available and announced here on the make/coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. site.
  • February 11, 2025 – 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 bugbug 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.-fix releases. If you have a tracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. that you think should be considered, please put it in the 6.7.2 milestone. If you have a 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 be the repository owner. https://github.com/ issue, please add it to the 6.7.x Editor Tasks board. If you lack bug gardening capabilities and have a ticket or issue you wish to highlight for 6.7.2, 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 6.7 cycle.

Get involved with 6.7.2

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 6.7 in need of translation.

General coordination for the release will happen in the #6-7-release-leads channel and decisions around code for the release will be made in the #core room.

This minor releaseMinor Release A 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 myself (@jorbin), building off work started by @cbravobernal and @desrosj.

Thank you to @desrosj, @jeffpaul, and @joemcgill for pre-publication review.

#6-7, #6-7-2, #6-7-x

WordPress 6.7 Performance Improvements

This post is the latest in a series of updates focused on the performance improvements of major releases (see 6.6, 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2).

WordPress 6.7, “Rollins” is the last major version of WordPress released in 2024. This release delivers important performance updates, including faster pattern loading, optimized previews in the data views component, improved PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher 8+ support and removal of deprecated code, auto sizes for lazy-loaded images, and more efficient 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.) processing in the HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. 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..

Explore the WordPress 6.7 Field Guide. Learn about the changes in this release with detailed developer notes.

Further details on the methodology behind these measurements are provided later in this article, along with an explanation of possible regressionregression A 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. sources.

Key improvements

Media: Auto sizes for lazy loaded images

In #61847,  support was added for sizes=”auto” for lazy-loaded images. This feature, which was recently added to the HTML specification, allows the  browser to use the rendered layout width of the image when selecting a source from the srcset list, since lazy loaded images don’t load until after the layout is known. It maintains backward compatibility while boosting performance, particularly for responsive and dynamic layouts. Explore the details in the official dev note.

Media: Caching _wp_image_editor_choose results for improved performance

In #61532, WordPress now caches the results of _wp_image_editor_choose, storing the WP_Image_Editor implementation that supports queried options. This avoids redundant and costly compatibility checks, such as multiple calls to WP_Image_Editor_Imagick::supports_mime_type(), often triggered during tasks like setting up wp_plupload_default_settings(). The cache, stored for one day, speeds up editor loading times and introduces a new global caching group, image_editor, to manage future optimizations for image editor performance.

Media: Improve speed of AVIF image generation

In #61758, the change results in the AVIF encoder working faster by raising heic:speed to 7 from the default of 5. AVIF generation time is reduced by up to 20% with minimal impact on image size.

Editor: New 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. type registration APIs to improve performance

In #62002, new block type registration APIs were introduced, offering a more efficient way to manage block metadata and improve performance across the board. These APIs allow developers to register blocks more flexibly, reducing server-side processing and enhancing editor load times. With these changes, WordPress lays the groundwork for faster, more scalable block-based experiences while maintaining backward compatibility. Explore the details in the official dev note.

Editor: Caching Global Styles for Blocks

In #59595, profiling WordPress 6.4 revealed that the WP_Theme_JSON::compute_style_properties method could account for 6-11% of server time during page generation. To address this, the editor now caches the generated CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. for block nodes derived from merged Theme JSONJSON JSON, 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. data. By saving the computed styles in a transient, WordPress avoids repeated and resource-intensive operations, significantly improving performance and reducing server load. This change is a key optimization for sites leveraging block themes and theme.json.

Themes: Improve performance of applying background image styles in theme.json.

In #61858, the cost of using WP_Theme_JSON::get_block_nodes() for this in its original shape was high enough to lead to a performance regression. Therefore this changeset introduces a new option on the method that allows to bypass all logic except for retrieving the node paths, which is much faster and everything that this functionality needs.

Miscellaneous Editor improvements:

In addition to the previously listed editor improvements, this release includes the following list of changes that improves the editor experience itself:

Additional performance focused changes

In total, there were 23 performance related improvements included in this release, split evenly between new enhancements (12) and bugbug 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. fixes (11).

Performance metrics

In our analysis, block themes (Twenty Twenty-Four was tested) experienced a modest regression in performance. The median Largest Contentful Pain (LCP) time increased by ~6ms or ~3.5% in tests, and the median Time To First Byte (TTFB) shows a 2ms (2%) regression.

Classic themes show a slight improvement (Twenty Twenty-One was tested). The median Largest Contentful Pain (LCP) and Time To First Byte (TTFB) time shows a slight 0.2ms or 0.2% improvement in tests.

How release performance is measured

The performance measurements used for the overview are based on benchmarks conducted using an automated workflow on 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 be the repository owner. https://github.com/ action runners. Benchmarks were taken from the homepage of the Twenty Twenty-one, Twenty Twenty-three, and Twenty Twenty-four themes, comparing WordPress 6.7 with WordPress 6.6.2 (the latest version of WP 6.6 available when 6.7 was released).

Performance metrics were collected from 100 runs for both CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Web Vitals (CWV) and Server-Timing headers provided by the Performance Lab 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 using CLI scripts from the WPP Research repo.

Benchmark Data

Follow up from this release

WordPress 6.7 shows a regression in performance. While some overhead typically accompanies new features, these declines point to areas where the performance team continues to investigate where these regressions came from and how they can be addressed in the upcoming releases.

Each release, the Performance Team looks for opportunities to improve the performance of WordPress for the following releases, which includes identifying ways we can improve the tooling and processes we use to support the performance practice. For example, we’re collecting opportunities to improve our performance testing in this GitHub issue

Performance Lab – the plugin(s) we use to test out new performance features for core – continues to add new features such as Image Prioritizer , Embed Optimizer, Speculative Loading, Performant Translations, Modern Image Formats, Enhanced Responsive Images, and Web Worker Offloading.

You can also follow progress on other performance-related work being planned for the WordPress 6.8 release in Trac. A full list of the Performance Team’s priorities for the year is available on the 2024 Roadmap page. Additionally, the 2025 Roadmap will be published early in Q1 2025 in the team’s handbook. Come join us in making WordPress as performant as possible.

Props to @joemcgill, @flixos90, @westonruter, and @fabiankaegy for contributing to this post.

#6-7, #core, #core-performance, #performance

WordPress 6.7 Release Retrospective

Congratulations to all who helped make WordPress 6.7! Now that it has launched, you’re invited to reflect and share your thoughts on the release process and squad to learn, iterate, and improve for future releases. 

Whether you led, contributed, tested, followed along—whatever your role, even if you didn’t have one—you are welcome to participate in this retrospective. So please take a moment to complete the form or leave public feedback in the comments below.

Please note: the survey is not anonymous. That’s in case a relevant person wants to reach you for further clarification. But your email address will not be shared publicly, and nobody is going to use it for any other purpose.

The form and comments will be open until January 13, 2025. Shortly thereafter, you’ll see a follow-up post with collected, anonymized results.

Again, thank you for your contributions to 6.7 “Rollins,” and for taking the time to help make future releases even better!


Props to @priethor for the peer review

#6-7 #retrospective

#core, #release-process

WordPress 6.7.1 RC1 is now available

WordPress 6.7.1 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-6.7.1-RC1.zip
  • Directly download the Beta/RC version.

What’s in this release candidate?

6.7.1 RC1 is a fast-follow maintenance release with a strict focus on bugs introduced in WordPress 6.7. In total, this RC features fixes for 16 bugs throughout Core and the Block Editor.

The following coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. tickets from TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. are fixed:

  • Customize: Slight side-scroll in sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme. (#62313)
  • Customize: CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. error in 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. (#62335)
  • Editor: “Most Used” CategoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging. Tabs Not Synced with “All Categories” Tab in Classic Editor (#62440)
  • Editor: 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. Editor converting new PNG uploads to JPEG with mangled backgrounds (#62447)
  • Editor: Fix uncategorized pattern browsing when pattern has no categories (GB-66945)
  • Editor: Fix TypeError when duplicating uncategorized theme patterns (GB-66889)
  • Editor: Prevent HEIC and HEIF files from always being uploaded on Safari (GB-67139)
  • HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. 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.: serialize should include doctype when present (#62396)
  • i18ni18n Internationalization, 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.: Translationtranslation The process (or result) of changing text, words, and display formatting to support another language. Also see localization, internationalization. is not applied in load_theme_textdomain() function (#62337)
  • Interactivity API: Missing state properties and negation operator behave differently client/server (#62374)
  • Interactivity API: Remove redundant server state from Interactivity Router (#62465)
  • Login and Registration: Custom login logo CSS targets changed (#62410)
  • Media: Image editing in GD runs image stream functions multiple times (#62331)
  • Media: Auto-resizes reducing image sizes (#62413)
  • Menus: Untranslatable texts in adminadmin (and super admin) nav-menu.js (#62402)
  • Options, 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. APIs: Warning in wp_salt() since 6.7 (#62424)

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 Thursday, November 21st, 2024. 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 6.7.1 depends on proper testing, so please lend a helping hand

Thanks to @davidbaumwald, @cbravobernal, @sabernhardt, and @sarthaknagoshe2002 for pre-publication review.

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

Summary, Dev Chat, November 13, 2024

Start of the meeting in 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/., facilitated by @joemcgill. 🔗 Agenda post.

Announcements

WordPress 6.7 “Rollins” was released on November 12, 2024. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this release!

To quote the release post:

WordPress 6.7 reflects the tireless efforts and passion of more than 780 contributors in countries all over the world. This release also welcomed over 230 first-time contributors!

Forthcoming releases

Next major releasemajor release A 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.: 6.8

We are currently in the WordPress 6.8 release cycle.

Next maintenance release

There are no maintenance releases planned at this time.

Next GutenbergGutenberg The 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: 19.7

The next Gutenberg release will be 19.7, scheduled for November 20.

Discussion

There were two main topics today:

  1. Immediate issues that need to be addressed following the release
  2. Confirming volunteers to coordinate upcoming maintenance releases following 6.7

There are currently no immediate issues requiring a quick minor releaseMinor Release A 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., so the first minor will likely be released in around 30 days.

@azaozz mentioned #62401 as something that may need addressing soon, but it is from 6.6 rather than 6.7.

@oglekler also raised #62413 for potential inclusion in the next minor release.

We also discussed the need to start to identify volunteers who are willing to help with minor releases as they are ready. We already have a list of 21 issues (1 fixed) set to the 6.7.1 release milestone. @joemcgill suggested we do a call for volunteers if needed next week.

Props to @joemcgill for proofreading.

#6-7, #core, #dev-chat, #summary

Agenda, Dev Chat, Nov 13, 2024

Notice: This abbreviated Dev Chat agenda is will be entirely focused on coordinating follow-up from yesterday’s major releasemajor release A 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. of WordPress 6.7.

The next WordPress Developers Chat will take place on Thursday at 01:00 UTC in the core channel on Make WordPress Slack.

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 below. If you have ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. requests for help, please continue to post details in the comments section at the end of this agenda.

Announcements

WordPress 6.7 “Rollins” was released on November 12, 2024.

Discussions

The discussion section of the agenda is to provide a place to discuss important topics affecting the upcoming release or larger initiatives that impact the CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Team.

Topics for this week will include:

  1. Immediate issues that need to be addressed following the release
  2. Confirming volunteers to coordinate upcoming maintenance releases following 6.7

If you want to nominate a topic for discussion, please leave a comment on this agenda with a summary of the topic, any relevant links that will help people get context for the discussion, and what kind of feedback you are looking for from others participating in the discussion.

Open floor

Any topic can be raised for discussion in the comments, as well as requests for assistance on tickets. Tickets in the milestone for the next major or maintenance release will be prioritized.

Please include details of tickets / PRs and the links in the comments, and if you intend to be available during the meeting for discussion or if you will be async.

#6-7, #agenda, #dev-chat

WordPress 6.7 Release Day Process

Preparation for the WordPress 6.7 release is underway.

This post shares the release process, including the timeline and how you can help.

Release Timeline Overview


24-Hour Code Freeze 

A mandatory 24-hour code freeze is now in effect for 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"..

What does this mean?

No source code for 6.7.0 (i.e., in the 6.7 branch) can be changed during these 24 hours.

What happens if a critical bugbug 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 blockerblocker A bug which is so severe that it blocks a release..

  • If yes, another 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 happens, and the release process restarts (meaning the dry run is repeated, and then the 24-hour code freeze clock restarts).
  • If not, then the bug is targeted for 6.7.1.

The Release Party 📅

The WordPress 6.7 Release Party will start on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 20:00 UTC in the  #core Slack channel.

The release party walks through the steps in the Major Version Release process for anyone who wants to follow along.

Please note releasing a major version requires more time than releasing a betaBeta 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 candidaterelease 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, more time will be needed.

How You Can Help

A key part of the release process is checking that the ZIP packages work on all the available server configurations. If you have some of the less commonly used servers available for testing (IIS, in particular), that would be super helpful. Servers running older versions of PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher and MySQLMySQL 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 6.7 RC5 packages, which are built using the same method as the final packages.

During the release party, options will be provided on how 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-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/ or one-click installers.
  • Test upgrading from various versions.
  • Remove the wp-config.php file and test a fresh install.
  • Test single site and multisitemultisite 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/networknetwork (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 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/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 6.7 post.

#6-7, #dry-run

WordPress 6.7 Release Candidate 5

The fifth release candidaterelease 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). (RC5) for WordPress 6.7 is ready for download and testing!

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC5 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.7 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 6.7 RC5 in four ways:

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-partyInstall and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the “Bleeding edgebleeding edge The latest revision of the software, generally in development and often unstable. Also known as trunk.” channel and “BetaBeta 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./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). Only” stream).
Direct DownloadDownload the RC5 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command LineUse the following WP-CLI command:
wp core update --version=6.7-RC5
WordPress PlaygroundUse the 6.7 RC5 WordPress Playground instance (available within 35 minutes after the release is ready) to test the software directly in your browser without the need for a separate site or setup.

The current target for the WordPress 6.7 release is November 12, 2024. Get an overview of the 6.7 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.7-related posts in the coming weeks for further details.

What’s in WordPress 6.7 RC5?

Get a recap of WordPress 6.7’s highlighted features in the Beta 1 announcement. For more technical information related to issues addressed since RC4, you can browse the following links:

  • [59383] Feeds: Avoid fatal error with empty blog_charset value.
  • [59381] Media: Remove dimension suffix from full size converted HEIC images.

How you can contribute

WordPress is open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is critical to ensuring WordPress is performant and stable. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 6.7. For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bugbug 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. report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

From now until the final release of WordPress 6.7 (scheduled for November 12, 2024), the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users. 

Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 6.7 beta releases. With RC5, you’ll want to conclude your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.7.

If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the support forum.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本? हिन्दी? বাংলা? You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

Release the haiku

RC5 arrives,
Final release dawns tomorrow,
Code’s last breath awaits.

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @jorbin.

#6-7, #development, #releases