Testing a Gutenberg Pull Request (PR)

There is an easier way to try out a 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/ PR that does not require one to setup a local Development Environment. One can download a special version of a Gutenberg 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 that includes the PR one wants to test.

Here is a video I made showing how it is done. This is a great way to be able to give feedback to features as they are being worked on.

An alternative is to visit gutenberg.run and insert the PR number and sit and wait until the site has loaded up the Pull Request.

Quick start instructions.

Find a Github Gutenberg PR you want to test out.
Along the tabs just below the PR title. To the right of the active Conversation tab is the Checks tab.
Click the Checks tab.
Along the left side is a 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. containing various links. Scroll until you find Build Gutenberg Plugin Zip.
Click the Build Gutenberg Plugin Zip.
Scroll to the bottom and click the gutenberg-plugin link. The Gutenberg plugin is then downloaded.
(On a Mac) Double click to unzip. There is one zip within another zip. Both are uncompressed.
Right click and choose to compress the uncompressed folder back to a zip.
Upload the Gutenberg plugin zip to a test site and test out the PR.

Add a comment to the PR asking for the special Build Gutenberg Plugin Zip if you have not located it in the Checks tab.

An automated solution is being worked on: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/28881

If you happen to come across any errors after activating the special Gutenberg plugin. Then there might be errors present. One can turn off these errors by adding the following to the wp-config.php file:
https://wordpress.org/support/article/debugging-in-wordpress/#example-wp-config-php-for-debugging
(It would also be great to report the errors noticed.

// Disable display of errors and warnings
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
@ini_set( 'display_errors', 0 );