WordPress is a massive project with dozens of teams, each with their own handbooks, tools, and processes. For someone new, it can be hard to know where to begin.
This effort started with WP Credits, where an influx of student contributors highlighted just how much easier onboarding could be. Pathways give all contributors a single starting point by pulling together the key links, steps, and context you need so you can spend less time searching and more time contributing.
What are pathways?
Pathways are concise guides that help you start contributing to WordPress. Each one includes what you need to get set up, steps to do the work, and what happens after you’re done.
These guides are not full manuals: they are meant to point you to the right places and keep you moving.
Three types of pathways
- Task — quick start, repeatable work. After a short setup, you can pick one up and do several a day or week.
- Project — focused work with a clear finish. These typically take a few weeks and may involve working with others.
- Team — ongoing contribution with a group. Join a team, attend meetings, and help with their priorities over time.
What makes a good pathway?
A good pathway is:
- Clear, linear, and complete
- Includes account and access info, where to connect, prerequisites, and steps to get started
- Explains what “done” looks like and what happens next
- Links out to existing resources rather than duplicating them
- Tested with real contributors
How pathways are maintained
Pathways live in a GitHub repository and sync to this handbook. Anyone can suggest, improve, or test them. The goal is community-owned maintenance and centralized feedback, so pathways stay current and useful.
How to contribute to pathways
You don’t need to be an expert — if you’ve followed a pathway and found something confusing, you’re already qualified to help.
Test a pathway
Right now, our biggest need is in testing. Here’s how to help.
Write or improve a pathway guide
Our pathway guide for writing pathways will walk you through the process! We even have pathways/PROMPT.md you can use for drafting guides with AI.
Share an idea
Know a contribution that should have a pathway? Suggest one.
Report a problem
Broken link, unclear step, outdated info? Let us know with pathway feedback.
Where this is headed
This is a living project. We’re starting with a coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. set of pathways and a simple index, then growing from there based on what contributors actually need. If a pathway is missing, broken, or confusing — tell us. And if you’d like to discuss things more, head over to #core-program; we’d love to have your help!
