Patch Testing

Once a patch is made available for a ticket, it is critical to validate that the code change (a) addresses the issue (for bug report) or (b) delivers the expected behavior or result (for feature or enhancement).

If you haven’t applied a patch yet, see Test Core Tickets with Playground or Test Core Tickets with Grunt to get started.

During patch testing, please be aware of “regression” issues, where the patch may fix one thing, but break another unintentionally.

Example patch testing reports:

Generating Reports with the Test Reports Plugin

Instead of filling out the template manually, you can use the Test Reports 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. to auto-generate patch testing reports pre-filled with your environment details.

What it does

The plugin automatically captures your WordPress version, PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. https://www.php.net/manual/en/index.php version, active theme, plugins, browser, and OS — eliminating manual data entry for the Environment section.

Where to get it

Install Test Reports directly from wordpress.org/plugins/test-reports.

How to use it

Install and activate the plugin on your test site.
Navigate to Tools > Test Reports or click Test Reports in the admin toolbar.
Select the Report Type (Patch Testing) and Report Location (TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. or 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 by the repository owner. https://github.com/) — the plugin will format the output accordingly.
Fill in only the fields that require manual input: Steps taken, Expected result, and Additional Notes.

Plugin Screenshot

Test Reports plugin: admin toolbar menu, Report Type and Report Location selection, and generated patch testing report output

Tips

For GitHub issues, the plugin outputs Markdown-formatted reports ready to paste directly.
For Trac tickets, the plugin outputs Wiki-formatted reports compatible with Trac’s syntax.
Always review the auto-filled environment details before posting to confirm accuracy.

Patch Testing Report Template

Trac template

Use this version when posting a patch testing report to a Trac ticket:

In the “Steps taken” section, the final step reports the outcome using ✅ to indicate the patch is solving the problem or ❌ to indicate the patch is failing.

== Patch Testing Report

Patch tested: REPLACE_WITH_PATCH_URL

=== Environment
- WordPress: X.Y-Z
- PHP: X.Y.Z
- Server: Server Name X.Y.Z
- Database: Database Name X.Y.Z
- Browser: Browser Name X.Y.Z
- OS: Operating System X.Y.Z
- Theme: Theme Name X.Y.Z
- MU Plugins:
  - MU Plugin 1 X.Y.Z
- Plugins:
  - Plugin 1 X.Y.Z
  - Plugin 2 X.Y.Z

=== Steps taken
1. Step one
2. Step two
x. ✅ Patch is solving the problem: Describe what was fixed / ❌ Patch is failing: Describe what went wrong

=== Expected result
- Explain what results you were expecting from this patch.

=== Additional Notes
- Any additional details worth mentioning.

=== Screenshots/Screencast with results
- Screenshot/Screencast before
- Screenshot/Screencast after

=== Support Content
- Here you can add any support content useful for testing.
  1. Blueprint JSON
  2. Website Playground URL with parameters
  3. Snippets of code
  4. Additional Screenshots
  5. etc...

GitHub template

Use this version when posting a patch testing report to a GitHub PR:

## Patch Testing Report

Patch tested: REPLACE_WITH_PATCH_URL

### Environment

- WordPress: X.Y-Z
- PHP: X.Y.Z
- Server: Server Name X.Y.Z
- Database: Database Name X.Y.Z
- Browser: Browser Name X.Y.Z
- OS: Operating System X.Y.Z
- Theme: Theme Name X.Y.Z
- MU Plugins:
  - MU Plugin 1 X.Y.Z
- Plugins:
  - Plugin 1 X.Y.Z
  - Plugin 2 X.Y.Z

### Steps taken

1. Step one
2. Step two
x. ✅ Patch is solving the problem: Describe what was fixed / ❌ Patch is failing: Describe what went wrong

### Expected result

- Explain what results you were expecting from this patch.

### Additional Notes

- Any additional details worth mentioning.

### Screenshots/Screencast with results

- Screenshot/Screencast before
- Screenshot/Screencast after

### Support Content

- Here you can add any support content useful for testing.
  1. Blueprint JSON
  2. Website Playground URL with parameters
  3. Snippets of code
  4. Additional Screenshots
  5. etc...

Patch Testing

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